Design Contest: Renault UK launches Twizy student design competition

We all know how expensive higher education is, so the chance to win up to £9,000 towards UK tuition fees in return for submitting graphic designs for the Renault Twizy sounds very appealing. All you have to do is visit designatwizy.co.uk to download a layout of the front, side and rear and submit as many entries as you like. The closing date is 20 February, when a panel including Senior Vice President, Corporate Design, Laurens van den Acker will choose a top 10 to enter a public vote.

The Duster is back at the Geneva motor show--and it's a Dacia

Story Highlights http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090302/GENEVA/303029998 Renault on Monday unveiled a concept for a coupe crossover concept from its Romanian subsidiary, Dacia. Named the Duster, the concept was designed as an image booster for Dacia, which makes the low-cost Logan car. The Duster is Dacia's first concept car and it was partly designed by a Renault design team based in Bucharest.

Ford at CES: Charge your car with science and wash your dishes while you sleep

Ford's C-Max Solar Energy Concept is a "plugless plugin," said Donna Bell, which initially sounds silly -- as if the carefully structured chaos and noise of CES may have finally gotten to her. But as someone who has been managing Ford's electric vehicle infrastructure for the past 20 years, she isn't being facetious. Solar panels on the roof of a car aren't anything new -- the Fisker Karma used them to power the radio and other in-car accessories, to cite a soon-obscure example.