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Lotus Cars prepares to hire Lutz, Purves as advisers, sources say

Lotus Cars Ltd. is poised to tap former General Motors Co. product guru Bob Lutz and retired BMW executive Tom Purves to advise the British niche carmaker on a five-year turnaround plan.

Fiat 500 Abarth USA: A sexy little number

Fiat 500 Abarth USA - Seduction Fiat had high hopes for the Fiat 500 in the US, hoping to emulate the success MINI has enjoyed by tickling the trendy button in US car buyers’ brains. But that plan hasn’t been an unmitigated success. Talk to car lovers in California and they’ll say there’s a Fiat 500 outside every coffee shop; same in New York.

New SEAT Leon goes in to production

The new SEAT Leon (2013) – revealed at the Paris Motor Show – has started production in Spain ahead of first deliveries in March 2013. SEAT has invested heavily in the Martorell plant in recent years – a shining light of success in a sea of Spanish manufacturing despair – with a £650 million investment in new facilities and R&D making Martorell a modern and efficient facility for the new Leon as well as the Ibiza, Altea and Exeo (and the Audi Q3). Not only has the investment in Martorell secured the jobs of 1600 Spanish workers (and four times as many in the supply chain), it promise more jobs too if the Leon turns out to be as appealing as it looks.