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Crunch watch Mar 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Ben Pulman and Tim Pollard Motor Industry 31 March 2009 13:48 Tuesday 31 March 2009• Porsche said that its earnings before tax rose to €7.3 billion in the six months to the end of January – including a €6.8bn windfall from its VW share options (Financial Times)• Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer, will step up to replace Rick Wagoner, who was ousted on Sunday as CEO of General Motors (Financial Times)• President Obama is essentially CEO-in-chief of GM – despite not owning a single cent of stock, says Detroit News commentator (Detroit News)• German chancellor Angela Merkel gives assurances that any would-be investors in GM's European arm will be given state support. Opel is asking for €3.3 billion in aid – and up to 25,000 jobs in Germany depend on it, with up to 300,000 jobs across Europe including Saab and Vauxhall (BBC News)Monday 30 March 2009• General Motors' chief executive Rick Wagoner has been ordered to resign by US president Barack Obama with immediate effect. It's part of Obama's administration's critique of GM and Chrysler's turnaround plans – he's understood to be unhappy with the plans submitted (BBC News)• New GM non-executive chairman Kent Kresa has admitted that at the company's next general meeting it will have 'a majority of new directors' (General Motors)• Chrysler will receive US government aid for the next 30 days, but the Obama administration has said that if the company cannot secure a tie-up with the Fiat Group within that time period it will not receive any more money from the taxpayers and could go into liquidation.

Who's Where: Wolfgang Egger to head Audi Group Design

Following fast on the heels of the appointment of Walter de'Silva as Volkswagen Group Head of Design earlier this month, is the appointment of Wolfgang Egger to head of Audi Group Design. Egger will begin his new position effective from 1 May, 2007. Stefan Sielaff remains head of the Audi brand design department.

Lexus LF-LC Coupe heading for production

It looks like the impressive Lexus LF-LC Concept is heading for production as Lexus tries to inject some sportiness in to their brand. The stunning Lexus LF-LC Concept we saw at the Detroit Motor Show in January was certainly the most impressive Lexus concept for some time, although Lexus made it clear it was just a showcase of what their US designers were capable of envisaging. But we thought at the time that the LF-LC had potential as a proper halo coupe for Lexus (ignoring the stand-alone, madly priced LFA) that could be brought to market as an LS Coupe – the Lexus LC, perhaps?