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Mercedes-Benz hires BMW designer

Seems like the Mercedes-Benz design department is bulking up on new talent. Karim Habib, the exterior designer of the new BMW 7-series, has been lured to Mercedes-Benz where he will head up the advanced design studio on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany. Habib will work under Mercedes-Benz's new design boss, Gorden Wagener.

Subaru’s seven-seat Exiga (2008): first pictures

By Ben Whitworth First Official Pictures 17 June 2008 12:08 This is the Exiga, Subaru’s rather straightlaced seven-seat people carrier, designed to bridge the gap between the current Legacy and Tribeca. Based on existing Legacy architecture, the Exiga has a long 2750mm wheelbase, and at 4750mm long, 1775mm wide and 1660mm high, it’s roughly the same size as Ford’s S-Max. There’s a choice of two engines – both 2.0-litre petrols and both flat fours.

VW Taigun Compact SUV heading for production

It was a good-looking and appealing effort from VW to tap in to the very compact SUV market, with a real family look (a Tiguan on a boil wash), peppy little 3-cylinder 1.0 litre engine delivering 108bhp and a 0-62mph of 9.2 seconds (with 60mpg economy) and enough room to carry stuff and people thanks to an extra 50mm in the wheelbase compared to the Up! Now it looks like the Taigun is heading for production after VW’s Chief designer, Klaus Bishoff, told Autoexpress that he deeply believed the Taigun would be heading for VW showrooms very soon, and could be sold in the UK and Europe as well as in emerging markets. So you can add the Taigun to the list of VW’s SUV offerings, and with new versions of the Tiguan and Touareg (perhaps based on the CrossBlue Concept) and a Polo based SUV on the way too, it looks like VW are covering all the bases.