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Martin Smith retires, Joel Piaskowski in as Ford Europe design chief

The mind behind the look of much of the modern Ford global range is retiring. Martin Smith, Head of Ford Design in Europe, will give up his position on July 1 and will leave the company altogether at the end of the year. He will be replaced by current Strategic Concepts Group leader Joel Piaskowski (pictured above).
Smith has led Ford of Europe design for the past 10 years, and he was partially responsible for the brand's Kinetic Design language with a large grille and swept-back headlights found on the Focus, Fiesta and C-Max, as well as several other vehicles abroad. After stepping down on July 1 until his retirement at the end of 2014, Smith will work on a project to decide the future direction of the company's look with Moray Callum, its vice president of design.
Piaskowski already has some impressive credentials in terms of automotive design as well. He joined Ford in 2010 as director of exterior design and led the teams responsible for the 2015 Ford Mustang and next-generation F-150. He was also previously design director at Ford Asia Pacific. Before working at the Blue Oval, Piaskowski held positions at Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and General Motors. Scroll down to read the complete announcement of this changing of the guard.

Ford fixing 130k vehicles in three recalls

Ford is issuing three new safety campaigns that cover a total of 130,801 vehicles in North America, but the company has no reports of accidents, injuries, or fires from any of these issues. The largest of these campaigns covers 128,823 examples of the 2009-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX that are currently registered or originally sold in rust-prone areas of North America, including 110,636 in the US. On these crossovers, "corrosion under the reinforcement brackets where the fuel tank is mounted" can potentially result in a fuel leak. To fix the issue, dealers will inspect the tank and will repair or replace it as necessary. The affected locations are: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin; and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. Ford is also recalling 1,906 North American examples of the 2016 Mustang, including 1,900 in the US, because of possible damage to some components during shipping to the factory. On the affected pony cars, "dealers will replace front and rear seat belt assemblies, rear seat buckle assemblies, and child tethers," the company says in its statement. Finally, the smallest campaign is for 72 units of the 2016 Ford E-Series cutaway and chassis cab in North America, including 65 in the US. On these, the trailer brakes don't activate when pressing the brake pedal, and dealers need to update the powertrain control module software. Related Video: FORD ISSUES TWO SAFETY RECALLS AND ONE SAFETY COMPLIANCE RECALL IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 28, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety recalls and one safety compliance recall in North America. Ford is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires related to these conditions. Details are as follows: Ford Motor Company issues safety recall for certain 2009-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles in North America for potential fuel tank issue Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety recall for approximately 129,000 2009-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles in corrosion states and provinces in North America for possible corrosion under the reinforcement brackets where the fuel tank is mounted to the vehicle.

Would a Mustang-based Lincoln look like this?

Designer Josiah LaCalla has taken a stab at what a Ford Mustang-based Lincoln model might look like with the Continental Mark X1 concept. Make no mistake, Ford's luxury arm has made it abundantly clear that it won't be pursuing any new products outside of volume models, which means a flashy halo grand tourer like the one you see here isn't in the cards. LaColla used the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as a basis for his creation, which explains the long nose, but we certainly don't mind the idea of a rear-wheel drive Lincoln with a cabin pushed to the aft.
While we're dreaming, there's certainly nothing stopping us from imagining what's under that lengthy hood. We like the idea of the 5.8-liter supercharged V8 from the Shelby GT500 pushing the Mark X1 down the road, but how about something a little more inventive? Something like a high-revving, buttery V12 with enough torque to push the contraption well past 200 miles per hour. Dream a little dream, people.