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German premium brands go SUV crazy: 10 new 4x4s coming

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 04 August 2014 11:15 Here’s a new trend among the German premium manufacturers that appears to be reaching boiling point: the insatiable rise of SUVs and crossovers. It’s been happening for a while, of course, but CAR can reveal that no fewer than 10 - ten! - new 4x4s are on the drawing boards at Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Who's Where: Jason Castriota joins Stile Bertone

Contrary to what was previously disclosed, Car Design News has now confirmed that Jason Castriota, who left his position at Pininfarina on the eve of the Paris Motor Show in September, is set to become Design Director at Stile Bertone. He will start his new position on December 1. Castriota had initially intended to set up his own design consultancy before being approached by Bertone.

Last summer of speed?

If you want to enjoy driving on the unlimited-speed German autobahn, you might want to get in gear. If the opposition Social Democratic Party wins in this September's elections, party leader Sigmar Gabriel promises to form a coalition with the Green Party -- and both say they'll limit autobahn speeds to 120 kmh (about 75 mph), the German publication Bild is reporting. Not so fast, says the SDP's actual candidate for German chancellor, Peer Steinbrueck, who said he saw “no reason” to reignite the long-running debate over autobahn speeds, Bild reported.