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RCA's Dale Harrow: Car design more crucial than ever

As well as serving as head of the RCA's Vehicle Design Program, Dale Harrow is also a Financial Times columnist. His latest piece suggests the car is in the process of change, and at a rate beyond that undertaken in its first century of existence. Manufacturers have 'solved' the function of the car, and as reliability is no longer a concern for the consumer, design is now crucial.

Citroen Cactus concept (2013) first pictures of Frankfurt crossover

Citroen is planning a new crossover model that’ll launch in early 2014. The Citroen C4 Cactus joins the Hyundai ix35 and Kia Sportage in battling the all-conquering Nissan Qashqai soft-roader. The Cactus Concept is the dressed up preview of the production model, which goes on sale in early 2014.

Design Services: Car Menu launched

Within almost every automotive design department throughout the world, their comes a time when a junior designer is dispatched to find a picture of some new model's tail lamp, the side view of a particular class leading competitor or examples of several new cars' colour and trim packages. Whilst looking at the competition is not necessarily a healthy way of finding ideas, it is often essential to demonstrate what is feasible, check in-house proposals are not too derivative, or show how advanced a design theme is relative to the same type of cars on the market. But even if the particular aspect of a car can be found, press packs and magazines typically show cars in the flattering light of an exotic location or being drifted around a corner on opposite lock; rarely are these images particularly useful.