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New 2015 Skoda Fabia revealed – well, sort of

The design sketch of the 2015 Skoda Fabia We’re not entirely sure we can consider the design sketch of the new Skoda Fabia (above) as a reveal of Skoda’s supermini, but it is a clue to what we can expect when the new Fabia arrives in the coming weeks. Skoda tell us that the new Fabia will be taking its design cues from the Vision C Concept we saw at Geneva – and the new Octavia –  and that is a new direction for Skoda  with added width and a flatter body creating, say Skoda, more harmonious proportions. Of course, the design sketch of the new Fabia has the usual artistic license to make it more dynamic than the reality will be, with the end product when it arrives likely to look much like a smaller version of Skoda’s latest efforts.

Ford announces electric car plans at the Detroit auto show

Not to be left out of the electric car party, Ford announced Sunday at the Detroit Auto Show that it was developing a line of electric powered vehicles. In addition to its already announced hybrids and plug-in hybrids, Ford is working with Magna International to bring fully electric cars to market with lithium-ion battery packs. In the works is a Focus and Fusion-based vehicles that will be available in with all three powertrains.

Chrysler Group names new chief for Fiat in North America

Chrysler Group on Monday named Timothy Kuniskis head of the Fiat brand for North America, replacing Laura Soave, who "has left the company and will pursue other interests." Kuniskis, 44, most recently served as director of marketing for the Chrysler and Fiat brands. The change is effective immediately, Chrysler said in a statement. Soave, 39, who supervised Chrysler's efforts to reintroduce the Fiat brand in North America after a 17-year absence, attended the rollout last week of the Fiat 500 Abarth at the Los Angeles auto show but did not participate in the press conference, raising further questions about her tenure.