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Where is Kinetic Design headed?

Martin Smith has been guiding Ford of Europe's design efforts since he was appointed to the position of Executive Design Director in 2004, coming straight over from an illustrious career at General Motors. During his tenure as Director of Design at GM Europe, Smith oversaw the Insignia concept car as well as much of the Opel range, including the acclaimed Astra. At Ford, Smith spearheaded the automaker's 'Kinetic Design' strategy and has since presented this vision in both concept and production car form.

Wulin Gaowa on GM’s new Chinese Advanced Design Studio

Following on from our story in September about Wulin Gaowa's appointment to GM Design as Director of its China Advanced Design, the company has released more details about the new studio and an interview with the designer. The company's "future hub for automotive design in Asia" will move into its new home in July 2012. The studio will be located at GM's GMIO and GM China Headquarters in Shanghai.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 actually gets 650 bhp and 650 lb/ft of torque

The new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible (pictured) gets 650 bhp The American are found of telling us there’s no substitute for cubic inches, but throw in a supercharger to the equation and numbers become even more appealing, and more linear than a turbo too. So the fact the 6.2 litre V8 under the bonnet of the new Corvette Z06 already manages 465 bhp in naturally aspirated guise, it wasn’t a stretch when the car world was expecting around 625 bhp when Chevrolet finally revealed the power for the Z06. But it’s more.