Alfa Romeo has no plans to export the Giulietta to North America

Alfisti, control yourselves: There are no plans right now to bring the sultry Alfa Romeo Giulietta to North America. In the wake of numerous sometimes conflicting reports circulating about the hot hat hatch's future, we wanted a straight answer from Torino. This is what we got: “There are no plans at present to export the Alfa Romeo Giulietta to the North American market,” Richard Gadeselli, vice president of communications for Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, wrote in an e-mail to AutoWeek.

Concept Car of the Week: Renault Vel Satis (1998)

The approach to the design of top end models varies greatly depending on the manufacturer's heritage and the cultural differences of each country. It might be a conventional combination of wood and leather for some, power and technology for others, but it is generally packaged into a three-box four-door sedan or two-door fastback. Renault on the other hand had a much more cutting edge vision of what a luxury automobile could be.

Aston Martin CEO to auction his Rapide for Japan aid

Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez will put his own Rapide up for auction at the Bonhams yearly sale of Aston Martin and Lagonda cars and automobilia on May 21. All proceeds from the sale of Bez's car will go to aid victims of the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan. "Nobody could have failed to be moved by the recent events in Japan," Bez said.