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Design Review: Bertone Birusa concept

The new Birusa concept unveiled today shows Bertone returning to what they do best - a flamboyant showcar giving us a vision of how the high performance GT car (front engine, rear drive, two seats) could evolve stylistically in the near future. Based on a BMW Z8 aluminium chassis lengthened by 300mm, it's a refreshing piece of exuberance by the Italian company and a celebration of what they achieved in the 1960s and 70s. The wedge-shaped profile is characterised by a classic Bertone device - a dihedral-shaped side window with an undercut lower glass section, as featured on showcars such as the Boomerang and Carrabo.

New Ford Kuga: Titanium and Titanium X make up 87% of sales

The new Ford Kuga is now hitting UK showrooms, and Ford has revealed that 87% of buyers are opting for the range-topping Titanium and Titanium X models. But what’s most interesting – in what is supposed to be a cash-strapped economy – is that a full 87 per cent of all the new Kugas ordered so far have been the range-topping Titanium and Titanium X models, and the average up-spend on options is another £1,000 on top of that. That means that although the Ford Kuga range starts at £21,000, 87 per cent of buyers are actually spending between £25-30k on their new compact SUV, which must warm the cockles of Ford’s heart.

Nissan scales back on auto shows

Nissan said on Friday that it will not participate in some of the major auto shows in its new business year starting April 1, Reuters is reporting. The reason: to save money. This means no Nissan display at the show in Frankfurt in September and probably another absence in Detroit in January 2010.