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Ford, Hyundai, Toyota lead industry to 15 percent gain

Ford, Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai Group spurred a year-end U.S. sales rally that took some sting out of a painful year. Overall, December sales of 1,030,096 light vehicles rose 15 percent from December 2008, when the credit crisis and a deepening recession dragged industry demand to 27-year lows.

Are the Mini Coupe and Roadster on their way out?

The slow-selling Mini Coupe and Roadster could be replaced by an all new sports model soon, Australian site CarSales is reporting. The pair haven't fired up the Mini faithful as some other recent models from the brand, and a refreshed Mini lineup is on the horizon including 18 new cars based on Mini's two platforms. Knowing Mini's ability to spin off models, that number doesn't sound too far-fetched.

Who's Where: Christopher Reitz appointed Director of Design at Alfa Romeo

Christopher Reitz has been appointed to the top job at Alfa Romeo, replacing Frank Stephenson as Director of Design. A relative of Wolfgang Porsche, Christopher Reitz graduated from Art Center Europe in Switzerland and began his career at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in 1993. Reitz joined Audi in Ingolstadt from 1996 to 1998, where he was in charge of Advance Design.