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Who's Where: Dave Rand resigns from Changan Automobile

Dave Rand, the former General Motors Design Chief, has resigned from the Chinese State-owned automaker after joining the company last October. Rand's resignation, which was made official last week, follows that of his senior at Changan, Ken Ma who stepped down as Vice President of Design earlier this year. It is not clear precisely why both men have decided to leave the Chinese carmaker, but several people familiar with the situation have said that both Rand and Ma's departures are connected with Changan Auto's recent financial difficulties.

Volkswagen Phaeton will return to U.S. market

The Phaeton large sedan is coming back to Volkswagen's lineup in the United States, according to the head of the German plant that builds the car. VW pulled the $85,000 Phaeton from the U.S. market in 2006 after four years of falling short of sales expectations.

Scuola Politecnica di Design Milan 2008

The Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy, held the annual exhibition of its Master's course in Transportation Design this past June. Done in collaboration with Alfa Romeo, this year's final presentation was attended by Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Head of Styling for Fiat Group Automobiles and Maserati. The final thesis projects presented by the 15 students on the course answered a brief to design the next flagship sedan from Alfa Romeo.