‘Old Pang’ spends another €15 million at Saab

Pang Qing Hua - Pang Da boss - thinks Saab are 'Great, great, great'! The ‘Old Pang’ bit isn’t our derogatory name for the head of China’s Pang Da – who are busy getting in to bed with Saab – but is how the Beijing Times referred to Pang Da boss Pang Qing Hua on his return from Saab;  ’Old Pang Returns from Sweden’, they said. We have no idea how old Pang Qing Hua is, but he’s old enough to have amassed a few bob from owning a huge car distribution network in China, and is flush with cash from a recent floating.

Whos Where: Pierre Castinel is Head of Design at Tata

Indian automaker Tata has been front page news often in recent times, first because of the impressive one-lakh Nano, which changes the automotive industry playing field, and most recently because of its acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premiere Automotive Group for the tidy sum of $2.3 billion - less than half what Ford paid for both companies in 1989.  At the helm of Tata's design efforts is Pierre Castinel, Head of Design. Though only officially announced in March this year, Castinel has been active at Tata since he left Renault in summer 2007, a company he worked at for 20 years. Castinel started as a modeler for Peugeot and worked there for three years.

Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe debuts at China motor show

The Volkswagen NMC (New Midsize Coupe) concept makes official the German carmaker's plans for a style-led sedan to challenge the likes of the strong selling Mercedes-Benz CLA. Unveiled at the Beijing motor show, the new four-door closely previews a future Jetta-based model that will slot into the Volkswagen lineup beneath the existing Passat CC, most likely in 2016. Volkswagen design boss Klaus Bischoff describes the NMC as “avant-garde protagonist for a new compact sedan class.” Looking all but ready for production, it continues the current Volkswagen design lineage, with crisp features and lines, heavily horizontal detailing, and taut surfacing -- all aimed at providing it with a technical-inspired appearance.