Last year Ford brought Peter Horbury, who had earlier reinvigorated Volvo's look, to the U.S. to spiff up Ford, Lincoln and Mercury designs.

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Working for him are English designers, such as Gerry McGovern at Ford's Lincoln division in California, and Peter Horbury, at Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar.

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In the case of a new small car, the Fiesta, that will be sold worldwide starting next year, Ford's top U.S. designer, Peter Horbury, suggested jazzing up the largely European design by adding certain chrome details favored by Americans.

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