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Qvale, nearing 90, sees life after crash for U.S. industry

The troubles roiling Detroit's automakers are familiar to Kjell Qvale, the legendary importer and dealer in San Francisco. Qvale, who turns 90 on July 17, has seen this movie before. For instance, many of the British automakers that Kjell Qvale (shel kah-VAH'-lee) depended on for sports and luxury cars collapsed in the 1970s.

Driven: Lexus IS-F

The Lexus IS-F is a significant new design for one core reason: it introduces a performance sub-brand parallel to that of the M-cars from BMW, AMG from Mercedes-Benz, and the S and RS sub-brands from Audi. This then is Lexus making a logical next step to further encroach on the established German premium brands. BMW originated the premium brands' performance sub-brand with the 'M for Motorsport' M3 of 1986 (the M1 supercar of 1978 preceded that, but was a singular model, not a performance derivative).

Who's Where: Luc Donckerwolke appointed Head of Advanced Design at VW Group

Luc Donckerwolke has been appointed Head of Advanced Design at the Volkswagen Group effective August 1, 2011. In this new function, he will report directly to Walter de'Silva, Volkswagen Group's Head of Design. Donckerwolke's successor as Director of Design at the Seat brand is Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos.