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Ford S-Max is Car of the Year

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 14 November 2006 08:54 Ford's S-Max MPV has been crowned European Car of the Year, by a panel of journalists. Is it a victory for originality, or yet another duff decision from Europe's motoring journalists? The shortlist for the award comprised: • Citroen C4 Picasso • Fiat Grande Punto • Ford S-Max• Honda Civic• Peugeot 207 • Skoda Roomster • Vauxhall Corsa • Volvo C30 The panel of 58 writers selected those eight contenders for the 41 cars eligible for the award.

New Car Flash site is social network for petrolheads

Newcastle-based entrepreneur Kasim Malik has launched a new social network called Car Flash, targeted specifically at car enthusiasts. Car Flash aims to take advantage of the current trend towards niche social networking, and connect petrolheads across the globe through their shared enthusiasm. On Bing: see pictures of car enthusiasts Find out how much a used car costs on Auto Trader The site, Carflash.com, allows you to create a personal profile, find and add friends, browse a news feed and make use of a real-time messaging function.

Dan Darancou appointed Chief Designer at CH-Auto

Former GM design manager Dan Darancou has become Chief Designer at CH-Auto, a major Chinese car design studio that supports numerous domestic car manufacturers as well as international car companies looking to sell vehicles in the burgeoning automotive market. Darancou, who started his new role on November 1, will be overseeing all design activities as well as facilitating the liaison between the styling and engineering departments so the company can deliver complete ready-for-production vehicles and services. As well as tackling these initiatives, Darancou will also be promoting the organization, furthering the company's goal to become the premier car design studio in China.