Porsche approves the Cajun, a junior 4x4

Porsche's supervisory board today confirmed it would build the Cajun, a junior SUV to slot beneath the Cayenne in its range. The announcement from Stuttgart confirmed the 'working name' Cajun and said the new model would increase growth. Critics will surely say that the Cajun represents yet another move away from Porsche's sports car roots, but don't forget the effect that Cayenne sales have had on the company's balance sheets.

Studio Focus: SAIC European Design Centre

SAIC European Design Centre Brands MG and Roewe Established 2010 (in current guise) Location Longbridge, UK Staff 35 Studio leader Martin Uhlarik SAIC's presence in Europe is limited at best through its MG brand, but if its sales are almost exclusively concentrated in its home Chinese market currently, MG's design roots are firmly planted in its spiritual British soil. All current Morris Garages cars – the MG6, 3 and 5 (in chronological order) as well as the CS concept shown at the Shanghai motor show in April – are products of SAIC's European Design Centre in Longbridge, near Birmingham in the English midlands, albeit finalized in Shanghai. The studio was opened in 2010 after a £5million investment in SAIC's UK Technical Centre but such are the ambitions of the company that it has already received a further £1.5million investment to almost double its size.

Lexus future products: Sedans will be redone by spring 2013

Lexus sales have slipped behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz this year, but the next few years will show what kind of counterpunch Toyota's luxury brand can deliver. The passenger-car lineup will be made over by the spring of 2013, as the GS, ES, IS and LS sedans will all be either redesigned or re-engineered. But there are challenges.