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Seat at the Paris motor show 2008

By Ben Whitworth Motor Shows 02 October 2008 15:12 Seat wheeled out its feisty new Ibiza Cupra – all 180bhp of it – and followed it up by its new old A4-based Exeo, and topped off its show with its ultra-clean Ibiza Ecomotive.  Penned by ex-Lamborghini designer Luc Donkerwolcke, the Cupra is the first Ibiza that we’ve really warmed to. On its chunky 17-inch alloys, aggressive body kit and go-faster details, it looks far closer to the Bocanegra concept we saw in Geneva at the start of the year. And that’s a good thing.

GM spending $336 million on plant upgrades for Volt production

General Motors on Monday said it would spend $336 million on upgrades to the Hamtramck plant near downtown Detroit to build the Chevrolet Volt hybrid car. The plant will begin building Volt prototypes next spring, using the Hamtramck plant's existing production line. Production of saleable vehicles begins next fall.

Tesla Model S outsells luxury competition

As if Tesla needed any more good news this month, first-quarter sales are in and the electric Model S outsold the Mercedes S-class, Audi A8 and BMW 7-series, according to “CNN Money.” In the first three months of 2013, Tesla sold 4,750 sedans while Mercedes sold 3,077 of the S-class, BMW sold 2,338 of the 7-series and Audi sent 1,462 A8s out of the dealership. The Model S does have its sticker price going for it. The base model can be had for $69,900 -- possibly less with tax incentives -- while the cheapest S-class goes for $93,255, the 7-series for $74,525 and the A8 for $73,095.