Karim Habib to Head Exterior Design at BMW

It was only a matter of time before we expected a talented designer to fill the position vacated by Anders Warming when he was promoted to the role of Design Director at Mini. News of that new appointment was revealed today and, as of March 2011, Karim Habib will become the new Head of Exteriors at BMW Design. No stranger to BMW Design, Habib comes back to the Munich-based carmaker after a two year absence, during which time he worked for rival German carmaker Mercedes-Benz.

Chrysler says it has Wrangler hard-top shortage covered

Chrysler Group says it has solved the problem that caused a shortage of hard tops for Jeep Wranglers. Michael Manley, CEO of the Jeep brand, said there will be two production increases of the hard tops--one in early April and the second in late April. “We’ve been working to increase hard-top capacity,” Manley said at a Jeep event Thursday.

Autoweek contributor Patrick Paternie dead at age 65

Longtime Autoweek contributor Patrick C. Paternie, who shared his love of cars with readers for 12 years at this publication and for 25 years with other magazines and in his many books, died on March 10 at age 65. Paternie had just finished a race in his Porsche 911 at Willow Springs and pulled into his pit area when he suffered a heart attack.