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Alan Mulally spells out the future

Ford CEO Alan Mulally is famously on-message, handing out business-card-size versions of his business plan to all and sundry, including his “One Ford” mantra. “One Ford” covers a lot of ground, but it's shorthand for Ford becoming a single entity where the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. It's close kin to the concept of building global product platforms that spread costs for product development and parts over the greatest possible volume.

Vauxhall to launch sub-£7k city car

Vauxhall is believed to be working on a budget city car to rival the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 trio unveiled earlier this month at Geneva. According to Auto Express, the new small hatchback will be based on the Chevrolet Spark platform and will start at less than £7,000 – undercutting the firm’s current Adam model by over £4,000. On Bing: see pictures of Vauxhall city cars Find out how much a used Vauxhall costs on Auto Trader If you’re expecting a bland box on wheels like the Agila, don’t fear – as Vauxhall has reportedly said the new car will “have its own distinct personality”.

University students learn product development at Eco Car Challenge

The Eco Car Challenge spring workshop had a flavor of cutting-edge environmental technologies in advanced prototypes--developed by students. The event, at the Environmental Protection Agency's laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., allowed journalists to get behind the wheel of these test cars. It was part of a competition among 16 North American universities to design, develop and build vehicles that are forward-looking yet practical.