Scotty 439bk-8 Black 8" Rod Holder Slide Track on 2040-parts.com

Who's Where: Martin Smith to retire, succeeded by Joel Piaskowski as Ford Europe head of design

Martin Smith, head of Ford of Europe design for the last 10 years, will retire at the end of this year, before which he will work on a project to study the future direction of the company's global design direction. He will be replaced by current head of strategic concepts group, Joel Piaskowski on 1 July. Smith (64) first joined Ford back in 2004, leaving General Motors as director of design for Opel/Vauxhall.

CDN - Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Competition - Exterior Phase Update

There are less than two weeks left for European design students to submit their exterior entry to the Car Design News - Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design competition. The competition, which closes to entries on Friday February 11th, asks students to design a lounge exterior, based around the design of one of the three finalists of the interior competition. To register and view the brief go to www.cardesigncontest.com Students must base their exterior design around one of the designs by either: Victor Uribe and his ‘Opel City Lounge' - a maglev-inspired, levitating lounge in which users can sit in a variety of position thanks to the reconfigurable maglev interior surfaces.

New Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde gets Alfa 4C engine

The new Alfa Giulietta & MiTo Cloverleaf Heading for Geneva next week will be a pair of updated range-toppers from Alfa Romeo – the Alfa Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde and MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde – with the Giulietta the more interesting of the two. The engine in the new Alfa 4C is based on the engine in the current Alfa Giulietta, but now Alfa has decided the old 1750 TB engine in the Giulietta should make way for its new, lighter sibling from the 4C so the Giulietta will come with the same 1750 Turbo Petrol developing 237bhp and good for a 6.6 seconds 0-62mph sprint. Other tweaks for the Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde include big tail pipes, 320mm Brembos, new bodykit, 18″ alloys, sports seats, leather and Alcantar trim, new instruments and a black roof.