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Lotus to invest £500 million to build Esprit, Eterne, Elite & Elan. 1900 new jobs

The new Lotus Esprit Dany Bahar – Lotus boss – revealed plans at last year’s Paris Motor Show to turn Lotus in to an East Anglian Aston Martin. Those plans included one car we knew about – the new Lotus Esprit – and a number we didn’t – the Lotus Eterne, Lotus Elite, Lotus Elan and a new Lotus Elite. But the plans seemed to be nothing more than a wish list, and although it was intimated that Lotus owners Proton were going to provide a war chest of £770 million to fund the development, that later appeared to be an intent to provide Lotus with funds to develop a new range of cars, rather than an actual commitment.

Lotus Evora won't reach roads in the United States until 2010

The guys in Europe will have first crack at Lotus's first all-new production car in more than a decade. Assembly of the Evora is under way, with deliveries of the 2+2 mid-engine coupe beginning in May. North American will have to sit tight until the Evora lands here early next year.

Mercedes E Class gets AMG Pack

Mercedes quietly unveiled the 2009 Mercedes Benz E Class at Detroit. Quietly, because it wasn’t actually planned, but due to details leaking out ahead of the show, it seems Mercedes decided they may as well get the reveal over. Bigger than the last generation E Class, the new E Class gets a complete styling overhaul, with a new style in keeping with Mercedes more recent ‘Family’ looks.