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Renault designers on their interpretation of luxury [w/Video]

Renault's design chief Laurens van den Acker and his design team have stressed how the Initiale Paris concept previews how Renault design's tactics will help steer clear of its rivals within the premium segment.  The concept – the sixth to be developed in the design strategy inspired by the cycle of life, now in the Wisdom stage – heralds Renault's return to the high-end market after a number of years. It was, therefore, important that the design be a positive rejection of traditional ideas of luxury, design director of concept cars Axel Breun believes. Designer Choung Sun Oh goes to great pains to stress how the design team worked towards developing a highly original design to set them apart from rivaling brands upon re-entry.

Enthusiast demand forces Aston’s hand: V12 Vantage coming America

Thanks to enthusiasts, the most powerful road-going Aston Martin ever is coming to the United States. The British sports-car maker confirmed on Friday that the V12 Vantage--packing 510 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque--will be sold in North and South America. This is a reversal from a year ago, when Aston tantalizingly showed off the car and promptly said it wasn’t coming here.

Chrysler issues recall for steering-column fix

Buyers of 11,351 Chrysler products will be getting a recall notice to fix a problem in the steering column. The recall covers 2011 models of the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible and the Town & Country minivan; the Dodge Avenger sedan, the Caliber, Nitro and Journey SUVs, and the Grand Caravan minivan; and the Jeep Compass, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler SUVs. The steering column in some of those vehicles might be missing a pivot rivet, or the rivet may have been installed incorrectly.