Ralph Gilles talks past, present and SRT future

Ralph Gilles -- SRT boss, Chrysler vice president of design, curator of something called the "Man Van," has become the public face of Chrysler performance, carrying the legacy of Firepower engines and 428 Coronets and the Dodge Viper RT/10 into the future with the Challenger, Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s. Since "unofficially" helping form it in 2003, Gilles has seen SRT transformed into Chrysler's most coherent performance strategy since Plymouth Rapid Transit, a company-wide force so much greater than the flagship Dodge Viper. He was there from the beginning.

Scrappage helps UK car sales in October

Scrappage Scheme sales accounted for 20% of sales in October Despite our reservations about the Scrappage Scheme, it does seem that it has inspired buyers in to showrooms in the last few months. And October has recorded a year on year increase of 31.6%, although total car sales are still down over 12% on 2008 figures. October saw a big rise in new cars sales to private buyers with sales rocketing by 86%, and there were rises in the fleet and business market.

Nissan-Conran

Nissan and British design group Conran have unveiled 'Plus Conran' limited versions of the Cube, March (Micra) and Lafesta minivan for the Japanese market. The series follows Nissan's 'Modern Living Concept', which stresses advanced design values in cabins, first introduced with the Teana in 2003, and seen in the the Amenio concept minivan, shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005. Cube + Conran features leather seats emphasizing texture and color, enhancing and refining the sofa-like feel of the Cube seats.