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Audi A1: American buyers not ready says U.S. chief De Nysschen

Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen says the United States and its small-equals-cheap mentality isn't ready for premium subcompacts such as the Audi A1, which goes on sale in Europe later this year. In an interview with Automotive News on Monday, de Nysschen said Audi is "seriously looking" at bringing the A1 to the United States in the car's next generation six to eight years from now. Bringing it here earlier could damage Audi's efforts to build widespread recognition for the brand, he said.

New options make Prius pricey

High-tech features and luxury options will push the redesigned Toyota Prius into new territory--namely, $30,000-plus. The 2010 Prius hybrid will offer options found on luxury cars: systems that automatically park the car in a parallel parking space and slow the vehicle when a crash is likely. But Toyota is aware of a new competitor--the 2010 Honda Insight, a hybrid that is a little smaller and expected to be less expensive than the Prius.

Michael Mauer appointed head of design at Porsche

Porsche AG has anounced the appointment of Michael Mauer to take over as chief designer from Harm Lagaay, who will retire on July 1 after 15 years in the post. Michael Mauer, 41, studied automobile design at Pforzheim University, and started his career at Mercedes-Benz. In 1989, he was appointed design project leader for the Mercedes V Class models, and was in charge of design work for the first SLK model generation.