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Whos Where: Ken Okuyama appointed Creative Director at Pininfarina

The talented Japanese designer Ken Okuyama, who penned the Pininfarina Enzo and 'Rossa' during his days at Pininfarina Studi e Ricerche, is going back to the famous Italian coachbuilder, after completing his experience as Chair of the Transportation Design Department at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He is expected back as Creative Director of the Pininfarina Spa group as of May 10th. There he will be reporting, as before his departure, to Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Executive Vice President Design .

Toyota says software glitch in data boxes can give faulty speed readings

A top Toyota executive says the crash data boxes in its vehicles are reliable but a bug in the software that reads the information can provide inaccurate vehicle speeds. The disclosure comes as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration continues its investigation into unintended acceleration of Toyota models. “Toyota has acknowledged previously that the event data recorders are not accurate,” said Takeshi Uchiyamada, executive vice president in charge of research and development.

Contest: Mazda Design Challenge

The 'Mazda Design Challenge', launched September 27 exclusively through the social networking website Facebook, is enlisting help from Facebook users in the United States to compete to design a future Mazda 3. The winner of the contest will work with Franz von Holzhausen, director of Mazda Design in North America, and his team, to bring the concept to life, live on stage at the 2007 Los Angeles International Auto Show in November. Contestants submitted a 150-word description of their vision of the 2018 Mazda 3 including an optional sketch.