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Japan automakers extend shutdowns as quake impact widens

Japan's seven big automakers are extending nationwide production shutdowns amid growing concern about supply chain interruptions, power shortages and export difficulties following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hammered northern Japan, killing thousands. Toyota Motor Corp., one of the few automakers with a major manufacturing presence in the quake zone, suspended all manufacturing--at both assembly and parts plants--on Monday and extended the shutdown through at least Wednesday as an added precaution. The company will lose output of roughly 40,000 vehicles over the three-day period, spokesman Dion Corbett said.

Infiniti Q50 teased ahead of Detroit debut

The first Infiniti to carry the new nomenclature for the marque – the Infiniti Q50 – gets teased in a short video ahead of a Detroit debut. We managed to break the news that the new Infiniti G37 would be arriving at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show back in October, but what we didn’t know then was that it would be getting a new name. The new Infiniti G Series cars will now be the Infiniti Q50 as Infiniti change their car names (for reasons only Infiniti understand) to be prefixed by ‘QX’ for anything resembling a crossover and just ‘Q’ for anything that’s not.

Is Stefan Sielaff about to jump ship from Audi to head BMW interior design?

Here at CDN we hear plenty of gossip, much of which ends up as hot air and hardly any of which we publish. But when the source of a potential story is as reliable as Georg Kacher – a giant (physically and metaphorically) of a journalist with uncannily strong connections to those within the Germany industry – there's good cause to pay attention. His 'predictions' rarely fail to materialize.