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Exclusive: Laurens van den Acker to replace Patrick le Quément at Renault

The wheels of change are continuing to turn within the automotive design industry, with yet another new appointment being made at the director level. According to industry insiders, Laurens van den Acker is set become the new Design Director at Renault when Patrick le Quément retires later this year. One of the most pre-eminent car designers in the world, Patrick le Quément began his design career at Simca, worked at Ford for 17 years and did a brief stint at Volkswagen before taking the top design job at Renault.

Infiniti EX35

The EX35 is a slightly smaller and more mainstream SUV than its FX bigger brother from which it takes its core 'coupe SUV' theme.  Despite the coupe design references, the vehicle is similar proportionally to the Lexus RX300 and BMW X3 which it will compete with in the US - and also in Europe when the Infiniti brand debuts next year.  Little different to the Infiniti EX concept shown in New York, the EX35 uses the core Infiniti graphic design signatures and soft form language but introduces a new flowing side feature line not seen on the Infiniti G37 Coupe launched a few months ago. Interesting technical innovations include the 'Around View Monitor' that uses four cameras to give a 'top-down view' of the outside of the car, and 'Scratch Shield' - a new self-healing clearcoat paint. Related Stories: Infiniti EX concept - New York Auto Show 2007 Infiniti G37 Coupe - New York Auto Show 2007

GM, SAIC to develop electric cars in China

General Motors will work with its joint-venture partner, Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor Corp., to develop parts and vehicle platforms for electric cars, the companies said on Tuesday. The automakers will use their existing joint venture in Shanghai, the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, as the home base to develop the electric car--aimed primarily at the Chinese market. GM says it plans to use the platform, components and technology from the project to build electric cars around the world for various markets.