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Lajdziak replaces Schembri as the president of Smart USA

Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's former top executive, was named president of Smart USA just three days after starting with the company. David Schembri, who previously held the job, will take an unidentified position with the Penske Automotive Group, which distributes the Smart ForTwo microcar in the United States, the company said. "Dave will transition into retail operations at Penske Automotive Group with our dealerships," said Penske spokesman Anthony Pordon.

Petersen Museum gets new chair

Peter Mullin, a car guy with excellent taste and the means to do something about it, has become chairman of the board of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Lucky place, the Petersen. Mullin's vice-chairs, who will help lead the museum into the 21st century, are uber car guys Bruce Meyer and David Sydorick, both longtime supporters of the institution.

Domestic brands top latest consumer satisfaction survey

Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Co. fared well among automakers in an annual study released Monday measuring quality and how deeply consumers feel about a new car or light-truck purchase after several months of ownership. And for the first time in over a decade, domestic automakers, led by GM, topped foreign brands in individual product segments surveyed by Strategic Vision, a California research and consulting firm.