ANALYSIS: The incredible shrinking Alfa stand at the Geneva motor show

When he talks, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne conveys high hopes that the Alfa Romeo brand soon will be a huge business success, but actions often speak louder than words. Fiat has massively reduced the size of the 100-year-old sporty brand's stand at the forthcoming Geneva show. In March, Alfa's stand will shrink to 639 square meters from this year's 979 square meters, which was the second-largest display space among Fiat Group's portfolio after the Fiat brand.

Senate considers more funds for cash-for-clunkers program

The cash-for-clunkers program is running on fumes, and government officials are working to get more funds for the popular program before the end of the week. A plan to add $2 billion to the fund passed the House and is being considered by the Senate, where is appears to have support, Reuters reports. The initial $1 billion clunkers outlay is nearly exhausted.

College Exhibition: CCS - American Iron and Steel Institute Challenge 2004

Transportation Design students at Detroit's College for Creative Studies recently presented the results of a project sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The unveiling of the students' concept vehicles is the finale of the 16th annual AISI/CCS Summer Internship Program that set the transportation design students the task of designing functional, innovative 'Hollywood-inspired' vehicles that integrate environmental responsibility, cost efficiency and innovative steel materials. "The AISI/CCS summer internship was created to inspire a new generation of automotive designers to develop alternative fuel vehicles, lightweight steel structures and a flexible platform base, all of which are real goals for today's automotive product developers," said Brian Aranha, vice president of commercial for Dofasco Inc.