Spyker Cars to change name, shift focus

Spyker Cars is changing its name to Swedish Automobile N.V., and its new Chinese partner, Pang Da, is waiting for authorities to approve the investment in Spyker and Saab. Known for more than a decade as a producer of exclusive muscle cars, Spyker sold off its sports-car business in February to focus on Saab. The company bought the Swedish automaker a year ago when General Motors was on the verge of shutting Saab down.

Fiat 500 by Diesel – now it’s the convertible 500C by Diesel

The Fiat 500C by Diesel Fiat has been trying hard to churn out as many limited edition versions of the 500 as MINI have managed on their own re-created motoring icon. That’s probably an impossible target (we reckoned that MINI managed a new model a month last year) but that’s not going to stop Fiat having a good old bash at milking the ‘Limited Edition’ market. One of the earliest limited edition specials from the Fiat 500 was the ‘Style’ makeover from designers Diesel.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.