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Alfa Romeo will reportedly become standalone company

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to turn Alfa Romeo into a standalone company, Automotive News Europe reports. Marchionne is expected to announce wide-ranging plans for the brand on May 6 which will see Alfa Romeo become a stand-alone legal entity within Fiat-Chrysler, with a publicly disclosed profit and loss statement. Alfa Romeo is currently part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., which also contains Lancia, Fiat Professional trucks and vans and the Abarth performance brand.

First details of new Volkswagen Golf revealed; GTi planned for Paris

Volkswagen has revealed the first details of its seventh-generation Golf--including a classy new interior--at a heavily cloaked press event ahead of the car's official unveiling in September in Berlin. The Golf, VW's perennial best seller, has raked in worldwide sales of more 29 million cars over 38 years of production. The new model, which is described as being up to 23 percent more economical than its predecessor, is planned to go on sale across Europe in November, replacing today's model, introduced in 2008.

First Sight: Smart Fortwo and Forfour

"Dress-down Wednesday," remarked a colleague as Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche walked on stage wearing jeans and no tie. While it was a hot day in Berlin, Zetsche's excuse for his informal attire was the occasion – the new Smart is here. Its prospective owners, he explained – young, urban consumers with an active lifestyle, not the typical members of corporate Germany – adhere to a different, if similarly rigid etiquette.