News watch January 2013: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourFriday 18 January 2013• Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) and Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (Fiat) announced today the signing of the Final Agreement which will see Mazda produce an open-top two-seater sports car for Fiat’s Alfa Romeo brand at its Hiroshima, Japan, plant starting from 2015 (Mazda) Thursday 17 January 2013•  Mark Reuss, North American chief of General Motors, has jumped to the defence of Electric vehicles and said he is not giving up on them despite struggling sales in 2012.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse. It’s the final, final Gallardo. Probably.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse (pictured) will debut at Frankfurt We did think Lamborghini had come to the end of the road with the Gallardo ahead of an all new Gallardo arriving in 2014, but they have one more trick up their sleeves to milk the last drop out of the most successful car in Lamborghini’s history – the Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse. The Squadra Corse is, in effect, a road-going version of the tgrack Super Trofeo – as was the Blancpain and the Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale – but this looks certain to be the last of the Gallardos. The Squadra Corse gets plenty of input from the Super Trofeo, with a carbon fibre rear wing, carbon ceramic brakes and a carbon fibre, removable, engine cover.

Mini: the 2011 facelift news and pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 28 June 2010 10:40 Mini has facelifted its range of hatchbacks, Clubman estates and Convertible soft-tops for the 2011 model year. There's the subtlest of design upgrades – mainly to the lights, front and rear – plus a family of new diesel engines. The new 2011 Mini goes on sale in August 2010.