TOP British designer Simon Cox is to join the team which creates vehicles for the world's biggest car company. But the 38-year-old stylist will not be moving from his studio in Birmingham when he starts working for General Motors next week.

'Apart from making the odd visit to Detroit, I plan to stay put. I'll be operating a satellite studio,' said Cox, who was recently rumoured to be joining Ford. After working on the Elan and Esprit, he left Lotus in 1990 for Isuzu, the Japanese company in which GM has a stake. His Moon buggy-like Vehi-CROSS off-roader won instant acclaim when it went on display at the London Motor Show last year.