Who's Where: Craig Metros heads back to Michigan to become Ford's exterior design director of The Americas

Craig Metros is heading back to his native Michigan to take up a new position as Ford's exterior design director of The Americas. Metros leaves his current role as design director of Ford Asia Pacific in the company's Melbourne studio in Australia, where his team led the Everest, Falcon and Ranger programs. During Ford's PAG (Premier Auto Group) era, the CCS graduate was the first American designer to work in the Jaguar design studio in the UK before returning to America to lead the interior and exterior design themes of the 2004 Ford F-150.

CDN-GM Interactive Competition launched

The Car Design News - GM Interactive Competition interior design phase has launched and is now accepting uploads from students studying any kind of design course in North America and Canada. You can register and upload an initial entry right now at www.cardesigncontest.com GM's four brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC have each set a brief, of which students can choose to answer one or several. It's traditional to focus your design efforts towards the close of a design competition, but GM, and our sponsors, Dassault Systèmes and Faurecia, have mentors standing by to guide your design work, so we encourage you to begin uploading work as soon as you can.

Vauxhall's 200bhp Corsa leads VXR onslaught

By Angus Fitton Motor Industry 23 August 2006 09:50 Vauxhall is in the final stages of signing off the storming Corsa VXR. The latest VXR runs a turbocharged 1.6-litre developing a thumping 200bhp, spinning the front wheels via a six-speed box. Much of the development work has been carried out at the Nurburgring, which the Corsa has been relentlessly lapping to fine tune the suspension and engine mapping.