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GM cancels Opel Vauxhall sale to Magna

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 03 November 2009 22:59 General Motors tonight surprised the world by pulling its proposed sale of its European division – Opel and Vauxhall – to Magna. In a dramatic U-turn, Detroit said 'an improving business environment for GM over the past few months' had made it reappraise its spin-off plans.The 11th hour switch means that GM will still retain full ownership of Opel and Vauxhall, which will now 'be restructured in earnest'. Canadian parts giant Magna had won the race to buy a controlling stake in GM Europe, as a newly relaunched Detroit sought to shore up its finances.

Aston Martin make Nissan’s Andy Palmer their new CEO

Andy Palmer (pictured) is taking the reins at Aston Martin Lagonda Aston Martin has effectively been without a boss since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the role last year, but that changes with the announcement that Andrew Palmer – until now, Chief Planning Officer of Nissan – is to step in to the role. There’s no specific start date for Andy Palmer at Aston, but Nissan has announced that Philippe Klein will take up Palmer’s role at Nissan on 15 September, so it shouldn’t be long before Palmer holds the reins at Aston Martin. But what exactly has persuaded Andy Palmer to jump from a big corporate behemoth like Nissan to a struggling luxury car maker with owners who either want to tug the operating strings (the Kuwaitis) or are looking for a quick return (Investindustrial)?

Japanese Cars Top Reliability Table

THERE’S some good news for owners of cars from Japanese brands, as they have topped a recent reliability survey conducted by Warranty Direct. The bad news? Certain UK brands didn’t perform so well.