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Lorenzo Ramaciotti to head Chrysler and Lancia design

Lorenzo Ramaciotti, current head of design at Fiat Group, has been tasked with leading the design of future Chrysler and Lancia products in a bid to more than double the sales figures of the newly collaborated brands. The 63-year-old former Pininfarina designer – credited to some of the most beautiful Italian machinery of the modern era – has been asked by Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC, to create a common styling language for the two brands that wouldn't look out of place in Detroit or Milan. Ramaciotti has made it clear that badge-engineering isn't going to be the future for the two brands and is hoping to inject a unique, but global flavor, into the two brands.

Jaguar XK leaves the lineup

Production of the Jaguar XK stretched from 1996 with the XK8 and will wrap up as the final 50 limited edition XK models roll off the assembly line this summer. The farewell XKs will be branded as "Final Fifty Limited Edition" cars, and will carry the same specification as the current XKR model, along with some added features that celebrate the history of Jaguar and the evolution of the brand's grand touring coupes and convertibles. Under the hood, a supercharged 510-hp 5.0-liter V8 is capable of bringing the XK to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds according to Jag, and an active exhaust system helps ensure the engine note remains prominent.

Ford speeds up effort to cut vehicle platforms

Ford Motor Co. is accelerating its One Ford global product development plan by reducing its target for vehicle platforms worldwide to nine from 11 previously, and by moving the target date up to 2013 from 2014, global marketing chief Jim Farley said Wednesday. "It won't be 11 platforms" as earlier planned, Farley said at the Automotive News World Congress.