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News watch Feb 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 2 February 2010• Spyker has outlined its plans for Saab, which include a new 'all Saab' 9-3 to be launched in 2012. Read the full story here (Saab)• EuroNCAP has named the VW Golf as 'Safest Car of 2009' after ranking all the 33 models it crashed last year (Volkswagen) • Toyota's massive recall to fix fault accelerator pedals could cost the company £1.25bn in lost output and sales (BBC)• Ford will unveil an Edge SUV at next week's Chicago auto show with a turbocharged four-cylinder Ecoboost engine, but the extensive visual mid-life facelift has been made economically possible thanks to Ford's worldwide consolidation of its model ranges (Detroit News) • Toyota has denied that it ignored warnings and acted slowly over reports of unintended acceleration in its vehicles (Detroit News) Monday 1 February 2010• Lotus's vehicle engineering director Roger Becker announced his retirement today. Becker, 64, joined Lotus in 1966, worked alongside Colin Chapman and helped develop every single model since (Group Lotus)• Tata Motors' total sales last month hit 65,478 vehicles – a rise of 77% over January 2009.

Lotus boss Dany Bahar ousted

Dany Bahar, Lotus boss, suspended from his job Controversial Lotus boss Dany Bahar has been suspended from Lotus pending an enquiry in to his conduct. Since ex-Ferrari man Dany Bahar arrived at Lotus it’s all turned in to a bit of a soap opera. From announcing the creation of six new Lotus cars and plans to turn Lotus in to an East Anglian cross between Ferrari and Aston Martin, to the completely bizarre Lotus PR meltdown rant we saw recently, it’s not been quiet in Hethel since Dany Bahar arrived.

Whos Where: Jean-Pierre Ploué promoted at PSA

Jean-Pierre Ploué, Citroën Styling Director since 2000, has been appointed Director of Styling for the entire PSA Peugeot Citroën Group effective October 1. In this capacity, he will lead all of the Peugeot and Citroën styling teams, which have been consolidated at the Group's Automotive Design Network facility in Vélizy since 2004. This combined Peugeot and Citroën design center provides effective support for the Group's commitment to strengthening and differentiating the two brands' styling universes, a process that was initiated by Chairman Christian Streiff as part of the dynamic of the CAP 2010 program.