Who's Where: Gert Hildebrand appointed Head of Design at Qoros Auto

Gert Hildebrand, former General Manager of Mini Design, was appointed Head of Design at Qoros Auto in January this year. In his new role, Hildebrand is responsible for overseeing a regeneration of the existing design and styling processes at the joint venture company, a collaboration between Qoros and Israel Corporation, which was founded in 2007. One of many high level designers making the transition to China, Hildebrand is is currently tasked with leading the creation of the new Qoros brand, which was unveiled at a presentation in Shanghai last week.

Nissan debuts Sport Sedan Concept at Detroit auto show

Nissan introduced the Sport Sedan Concept to go along with its IDx twins at the Detroit auto show on Monday. The company says the sleek four-door embodies the next-generation design cues, including the V-Motion front end, floating roof and boomerang headlights. “The Sport Sedan Concept shows a new, highly emotional and energetic design direction that takes Nissan's approach of applying sports-car principles to a sedan to the next level,” said Nissan vice president Shiro Nakamura.

Ford offers C-Max Hybrid owners rebates for overstated mpg

In the wake of Ford's decision yesterday to lower its fuel mileage estimates on the C-Max hybrid, the company says it will also offer a payment to C-Max hybrid owners and lease holders for the estimated average fuel cost between the new and former mpg figures. Owners will get a check for $550 while lessees will get $325. The window sticker on the C-Max hybrid will now read 43 mpg, instead of the originally promised 47 mpg.