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Lamborghini set sales record despite decline in U.S.

Lamborghini sales in the United States fell in 2008, but the brand still had a record year worldwide, said president Stephan Winkelmann. "We balanced sales in the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia with the drop in the United States," he said. Lamborghini sold 741 cars in the United States in 2008, down 20.3 percent compared with 2007.

Tesla asks NHTSA to investigate fires

In response to concerns following a recent accident which appeared to result from road debris damaging the underside of a battery compartment of a Tesla Model S, causing a fire in the engine compartment, the company has announced that it has requested that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a full investigation into the fire incidents. In a blog post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote the following about the investigation: "While we think it is highly unlikely, if something is discovered that would result in a material improvement in occupant fire safety, we will immediately apply that change to new cars and offer it as a free retrofit to all existing cars. Given that the incidence of fires in the Model S is far lower than combustion cars and that there have been no resulting injuries, this did not at first seem like a good use of NHTSA's time compared to the hundreds of gasoline fire deaths per year that warrant their attention." Tesla has also released a software update to the cars which will maintain their standard ride height at highway speeds, preventing the air suspension from lowering the car an extra inch at highway speeds for greater aerodynamic efficiency.

Jaguar C-X16 concept scoops 'Design Concept of the Year' award

The Jaguar C-X16 concept car has won Design Concept Car of the Year at the 2012 Scottish Car of the Year Awards. The two-seater concept – which acted as a teaser for the recently revealed production F-Type model – was first seen last year at the Frankfurt motor show and was designed to indicate Jaguar's future design direction. Collecting the award was Ian Callum, Jaguar's Director of Design, who said, "With the C-X16 concept, we set out to move Jaguar's award-winning design language on to the next generation, creating a car that is the very essence of future Jaguar performance." John Murdoch, association president, declared: "Many of these show stunners don't see the light of day but they are valuable for gauging public reaction to new ideas.