Jaguar Land Rover profits up 34 per cent to £1.5 billion

Just four years after Tata took over what looked like a basket case in Jaguar Land Rover, profits have hit £1.5 billion. It’s become the norm for Jaguar Land Rover to report ever improving profits and sales, but the news that JLR made profits of £1.5 billion in the year to end of March 2012 is still amazing. Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata four years ago as it unwound its faltering luxury car brands, and as recently as 2009 JLR were almost begging for government help to keep going.

Ford Escort returns – for China: Shanghai Motor Show

The Ford Escort Concept has been built by Ford with the aim of taking a sizeable chunk of China’s compact saloon market – estimated at 5.5 million sales a year – and looks remarkably production viable and far from ‘budget’. Escort is a badge China knows – there are plenty of old Escorts floating around Chinese roads – so it’s a sensible move by Ford to revive a badge that already resonates as a compact, affordable saloon with Chinese car buyers. This new Escort gets a proper version of Ford’s latest design language – including the Aston Martin grill – and has good lines and strong detail including jeweled headlights with the lucky Chinese ’8′ discernible ; it looks entirely cohesive and nothing like a Focus with a boot grafted on.

Infiniti M

Less than two years after the mid-life facelift of its 'M' series luxury sedan range, Infiniti has taken the wraps off an all-new 2011 version. Launched 'virtually' at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the third-generation M is scheduled to be publicly unveiled later this year bearing toned-down styling cues from the company's Essence concept. The influence of the Essence is most apparent in the sedan's undulating character line and the way that the hood plunges down to meet a low-set front grille complete with concave outer edges.