Jaguar XF is ‘Car of the Decade’

The Southern Guild of Motoring Writers has declared the Jaguar XF the car of the decade at the SGMW’s 10th anniversary event. Designed by Ian Callum, under Ford’s ownership, the XF demonstrated that Jaguar had finally realised that building cars that were a pastiche of past glories was no longer enough to guarantee sales. Under the skin, much of the Jaguar XF carried over from its predecessor – the Jaguar S Type – but it was in the execution that the XF demonstrated it was capable of giving Jaguar new life.

Michelin design contest inspires young minds

The College for Creative Studies in Detroit held its 24th Michelin Design challenge, in which Michelin sponsors a design and development project for one of CCS' transportation design classes. The competition works like this: CCS and Michelin get together to develop a theme, then CCS picks which transportation design class will work on the project. The idea, Michelin says, is to celebrate and promote the kind of vehicle design that highlights original thinking and innovation.

Mazda3 Tamura launched

The limited edition Mazda3 Tamura hits UK showrooms in February Good car, the Mazda3, and if you’re looking for a Mazda3 with extra spec you could do a lot worse than the newly announced Mazda3 Tamura. Mazda already has Tamura versions of the Mazda2 and Mazda6 on offer which were launched last year, and now it’s the turn of the Mazda3 to get the Tamura treatment. The Tamura is based on the TS but gets a sporty styling kit including sports front grille, side skirts and sports bumpers, a set of 17″ alloys, front fogs, metallic paint and the required badges.