I must confess that as a car enthusiast my first interest is design. Driving comes second. So it was with considerable pleasure that I read a feature article in today's Detroit News, headed "Design Gets Personal".

The story relates how the car market is splintering as consumers demand vehicles that are original and individualistic. Buyers seek vehicles which express their own sense of self and designers are ready to meet those demands. The computer is making this possible. Designs that took once years to evolve can be rendered in weeks using computer-aided digital drawings. With a few clicks of the mouse designers can visualise their concepts from any angle, create virtual worlds in which to drive their designs, explore how they look in different types of light, see how they blend into various landscapes. Computers turn these ideas into precise clay models which, in turn, speed up the manufacturing process. Inspiration, as Ford director of strategic design Freeman Thomas explains, can come from anywhere: "in the muscle cars of the 1960s, in the futuristic geometry of the latest architecture, in Nordic furniture and Japanese power tools."

What particularly got my attention was Thomas' claim that "there's a huge opportunity in smaller vehicles." The small car is making a comeback as a result of fuel prices and ever-more-crowded roads and US designers, most of whom are small car enthusiasts themselves, are eager to capitalise on the trend. I can assure my colleague Brooklyn Bob that small wagons will be included and like him I agree that Chevrolet missed an opportunity with the Nomad. But that was then and designs are changing. (Dodge Caliber concept shown.)