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BMW unveils Super Bowl spots, digital shorts

According to said Dan Creed, Vice President of Marketing, BMW of North America, "The BMW 3 Series is the global benchmark for a sports sedan. With these shorts, we turn a spotlight on the innovations that make the 3 Series the standard to which others aspire." Funny, we always thought the 3's sterling reputation lay squarely on its continually-stellar dynamics and excellent powertrains. Despite the fact that the tagline, “We only make one thing, the Ultimate Driving Machine” is repeated at the end of each of these six digital shorts, only one of them actually shows the car in motion--the one to be broadcast in the Los Angeles area during the Super Bowl.

Alfa Romeo is not for sale, Fiat chairman says

Fiat will not sell its Alfa Romeo unit and plans to relaunch the brand in the United States in late 2012, top Fiat executives said. “We would not sell Alfa even if we were offered tons of money,” Fiat chairman John Elkann told reporters at the Detroit auto show on Monday. Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said: “Alfa is part of Fiat's operational perimeter and we've already invested too much to get rid of it.” Volkswagen AG is rumored to be pursuing Alfa Romeo.

Who's Where: Karim Habib joins Mercedes-Benz

Karim Habib, former Team Leader for Advanced Design at BMW, joined Mercedes-Benz earlier this month, becoming Head of Advanced Design at the German automaker's Stuttgart studio. Habib will work under newly appointed Mercedes-Benz Head of Design, Gorden Wagener. Habib, who celebrates his 38th birthday today, was born in Beirut, Lebanon and attended elementary school in Iran, France and Greece before moving to Montreal, Canada in 1982.