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Who's Where: Chrysler's new Design VPs

Following the recent acquisition of a majority stake in the Chrysler Group by Cerburus comes the announcement that there will be a reshuffling at Chrysler's North American design offices.  Joseph Dehner and Brandon Faurote will be taking over Vice President positions at the product design offices in Auburn Hills, replacing Thomas Tremont and David McKinnon. Joseph Dehner will be replacing David McKinnon as Vice President for Small, Premium and Family Vehicle Design on June 1, 2007, moving up from his position as Director of Truck Exterior and Interior Design.

Italian firm buys stake in Aston Martin

The former owner of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati has bought a 37.5-percent stake in financially strapped British car maker Aston Martin. The move means future Astons could use modern drivelines and electric architectures from Mercedes-Benz's AMG division, insiders with knowledge of the deal suggest. Private equity fund Investindustrial has signed a memorandum of understanding with current Aston Martin owner Investment Dar of Kuwait that will see it pay $240 million (150 million pounds) for the ownership stake.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage pricing announced

A couple of months ago, we noted that Aston Martin had upgraded the V8 Vantage for 2012. After all, even the entry-level sybarite doesn't want to feel abandoned by the luxe maestros in Gaydon, and Gaydon doesn't want them to feel slighted. We previously mentioned the upgraded self-shifting transmission, which receives a seventh gear, as well as the quicker steering ported over from the Vantage S.