Daimler agrees to unload remaining Chrysler stake

Daimler AG announced today that it has reached an agreement to unload its remaining 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler LLC. "Daimler's remaining 19.9 percent shareholding in Chrysler will be redeemed, and Daimler will forgive repayment of the loans extended to Chrysler, which were already written off in the 2008 financial statement," Daimler said in a prepared statement. All told, Daimler will write off $700 million as a result of the deal, according to the statement.

Car Design News Contest

As one judge, Geert Jan Schellekens, Principal Automotive and Industrial Designer at SABIC Innovative Plastics, said; "From several hundred entries to 20 finalists in a day's time - what could have turned out to be a cumbersome process, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, actually became an intensive yet fun session with many intriguing and interesting interpretations of the contest brief - fuelling some lively discussions!" Another strong impression from judges was also of the variety of design entry and the effort that had been put into them, as Dale Harrow said: "I'm very impressed with the standard, and particularly with the diversity of entries to the contest". Derek Buckmaster,Global Market Director, Body Panels & Glazing for SABIC Innovative Plastics, said: "I was surprised by the depth of thought which the entrants had put into their designs to meet the diverse needs of the three 'milenniumites' described in the design brief. The designs displayed numerous approaches to meeting the environmentally-friendly and light-weight goals." All designs were considered relative to the Assessment Criteria a critically important part of the contest, created to ensure as much fairness in the process as possible and detailed in the Contest part of Car Design News.

Volkswagen Golf R Cabriolet price cut – down by £5,600

The VW Golf R Cabriolet (pictured) drops in price by £5,600 We’ve long wondered why Volkswagen hadn’t built a Golf R Cabriolet. But when they did finally bite the bullet and take the top of the Golf R for a production run, it was a bit of a let down. It was a let down because it seemed so cynical.