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Luc Donckerwolke appointed as Seat Design Director

Belgian designer Luc Donckerwolke will be appointed as Seat Design Director, starting next month. Donckerwolke moves within the Audi Brand Group to replace Walter De'Silva who retains his position as the group's Director of Design. In his new position, Donckerwolke will also take over the Spanish company's Design Centre, currently run by Steve Lewis who is moving on to assume new responsibilies within the Audi Brand Group.

Renault teases extra hot Megane RS

Renault has teased a new, more hardcore version of its Megane Renaultsport coupe on its Facebook page, hinting that the French firm is developing an even more focused version of the sporty hatch to rival the SEAT Leon Cupra 280. The picture appeared with the hastag “#Under8”, meaning the SEAT is a logical target. The Cupra 280 model recently set the front-wheel drive Nurburgring production car lap record with a time of 7 minutes 58.4 seconds.

BMW works hard to avoid gas-guzzler tax

BMW AG hopes to get out from under the gas-guzzler taxes that are tacked on to the sticker prices of some of its high-performance models in the United States. Jim O'Donnell, president of BMW of North America, says the company is studying fuel-efficiency improvements that could eliminate the gas-guzzler taxes on its vehicles as early as the launch of their redesigns in the next few years. The 2010 550i GT incurs a $1,000 gas-guzzler fee, for example.