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New design boss for Alfa

By Jack Rix Motor Industry 14 June 2007 11:42 Frank Stephenson, the man credited with designing the new Mini and Fiat's retro 500, has been appointed to head up Alfa Romeo's design centre. He replaces Wolfgang Egger, responsible for the swooping 8C Competizione, who left earlier this year to join Audi. Stephenson joins Alfa at a crucial time, prior to its re-entry into the US market.

Bentley plans to add four-seat sports car, crossover to lineup

Bentley Motors is looking to add a four-seat sports car and a crossover vehicle to its lineup, using borrowed platforms from Volkswagen Group siblings Porsche and Audi, its top executive said. In an interview during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer said the crossover would borrow from the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne platforms. While the crossover may carry a V12 engine like the rest of the Bentley lineup, Duerheimer said, "not everyone needs to have a V12." Duerheimer, who oversaw Porsche's push into SUVs as the company's development chief, said he "knows what is possible" in bringing a luxury brand into new segments.

One Lap of the Web: Remembering the dearly departed

-- With news that Toyota is leaving the great state of California for the greater (by landmass, anyway; your own opinion may vary) state of Texas, it's worth reminding ourselves that Toyota in America started as one lonely building on 6000 Hollywood Blvd., having taken over a former Rambler dealership. (The site is still a successful Toyota dealership.) That first year of sales in 1958 saw 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser sold -- more as curiosities than as practical transportation, we'd wager. -- At any rate, Toyota's move from California to Texas is moving from "one of the most eco-friendly states in the union," according to Ward's Auto, "to the U.S.’s equivalent of China." -- Ten years ago today, the last Oldsmobile rolled off the line at Lansing Car Assembly.