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Chief designer for Lincoln Aviator SUV is brand's new design director

The man behind the looks of cars like the 50th anniversary 2015 Ford Mustang, the current-generation Lincoln Continental and the luxury division’s new 2020 Aviator SUV is LincolnÂ’s newest design director. Kemal Curic replaces David Woodhouse, who left earlier this year and is now a vice president overseeing design at Nissan and Infiniti. Curic, 41, was born in Sarajevo and grew up in Germany and Croatia. He began his career with Ford of Europe in 2003 after earning a bachelorÂ’s degree in industrial design and a masterÂ’s in transportation design in Germany. There, he worked on the European version of the Fiesta, the Mondeo (the European version of the Fusion) and the Kuga compact SUV. aviator-4 View 38 Photos In 2010, Curic won a global sketch competition Ford created to pick a designer for the 50th anniversary Mustang. He moved to FordÂ’s headquarters in Dearborn, where he joined the design team for the 2015 Ford Mustang, which won the EyesOn Design award for Best Production Vehicle at the 2014 Detroit auto show. Curic became exterior design manager in 2014 for the reborn Lincoln Continental sedan, then lead the overhaul of the brandÂ’s design language. He became chief designer for the three-row Aviator, which debuted at the 2018 L.A. Auto Show, and he served a lead exterior designer on the all-new 2020 Corsair, LincolnÂ’s compact crossover that was formerly known as the MKC. In an interview earlier this month with Truck Trend, Curic talked about how the midsize Aviator exemplifies LincolnÂ’s new design ethos. “This is the anti-wedge, which is very elegant,” he said. “If you think about cars of the 1960s, they had that exuberant attitude with more anti-wedge than most vehicles today. Think about the angle of attack of an airplane. You have this gliding gesture, sort of leaning back. The anti-wedge, a teardrop shape, is also the most optimized shape for aerodynamics.” Curic has said he was captivated by American cars as a child growing up in Europe, and he told Truck Trend that he grew up doodling cars in his notebooks at school, which sometimes got him in trouble and made his parents worry. HeÂ’ll reportedly split his time between Dearborn and LincolnÂ’s design studio in Irvine, California, where he lives with his family.

Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.

Editors' Picks, May 2023: Some Subarus and a pair of luxury SUVs

The month of May saw a number of new vehicles jump into the pool of Editors' Picks. Subaru grabbed a pair with its brand-new generation of Crosstrek for 2024, and the Legacy earns one in the ever-shrinking midsize sedan segment. In the luxury space, we have one entry from Britain and one from here at home. The new Range Rover already got an Editors' Pick, but now the Range Rover Sport joins the ranks. The Corsair earned Editors' Pick status before its update, too, but now the refreshed version rejoins the ranks. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, here’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get an EditorsÂ’ Pick designation. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in May that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2023 Subaru Legacy 2023 Subaru Legacy View 15 Photos Quick take: The Legacy brings all-wheel drive with sedan dynamics to a shrinking segment, and it does so with a competitive price, respectable tech and tons of utility. Score: 7.5 What it competes with: Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5 Pros: All-wheel drive in every trim, spunky turbo engine, tons of space in the rear and trunk Cons: CVT makes for a dull drive, infotainment is clunky, styling is on the bland side From the editors: Associate Editor Byron Hurd — "Not everybody has abandoned sedans. Not only is Subaru keeping some of its eggs in this four-door basket, but it's dyeing them in some festive shades. The new turbocharged and tightened Sport model makes a great case for itself as a grown-up WRX without all the GT-themed nonsense. Shame about the CVT." In-depth analysis: 2023 Subaru Legacy gets Sport trim, more tech, fresh design   2023 Range Rover Sport Quick take: It may not be outwardly sporty, but the Range Rover Sport has a killer design, gorgeous interior, buttery-smooth driving characteristics and a clean tech interface.