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Marc Girard appointed head of Interior Design at BMW Cars

Marc Girard starts his new job as head of the Interior Design department at BMW Automobiles today, taking over the post previously held by Michael Ninic who died unexpectedly last year. His appointment also alleviates some of the pressure put on Adrian van Hooydonk, who has effectively been managing both exterior and interior design departments for BMW Cars as well as acclimatizing to his new role as design director of the BMW Group following Chris Bangle's departure last month. A BMW Group designer for the last 15 years, French-born Girard was most recently team leader for Interior Design at BMW Automobiles, having been promoted from the position of head of interior design at MINI - a role he filled from 2004 to 2006.

German Grand Prix 2012: Alonso on pole for Ferrari

Fernando Alonso put his Ferrari on pole in Hockenheim for the 2012 German Grand Prix, with McLaren trailing far behind. It’s not just the UK that offers F1 a wet experience, the 2012 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim did a very good impression of the British weather for today’s qualifying. Star of the show – once more – was Fernando Alonso who put his Ferrari on pole position for the second time in a row, comfortably beating second place Sebastian Vettel who was half a second slower, just in front of team mate Mark Webber.

BMW: Don't fear the stop/start system in the 2012 3-series

BMW is taking a calculated risk by installing an automatic stop/start system on its best seller, the 3-series, for 2012. But company brass is optimistic that American consumers will adjust to the relatively foreign technology. "Many customers will enjoy the car very quickly," said BMW board member Ian Robertson, who oversees sales and marketing.