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Daimler agrees to unload remaining Chrysler stake

Daimler AG announced today that it has reached an agreement to unload its remaining 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler LLC. "Daimler's remaining 19.9 percent shareholding in Chrysler will be redeemed, and Daimler will forgive repayment of the loans extended to Chrysler, which were already written off in the 2008 financial statement," Daimler said in a prepared statement. All told, Daimler will write off $700 million as a result of the deal, according to the statement.

Toyota's incoming chairman wants new Supra

Toyota Motor Corp.'s incoming chairman said he wants the sports car the company is developing with BMW to be a midsized vehicle comparable to the discontinued Supra. Toyota's next sports car should be like the Supra so that it doesn't overlap with the 86 coupe, Takeshi Uchiyamada said in an interview today in Osaka at a gathering of members of the Keidanren, Japan's biggest business lobbying group. Still, such decisions are up to engineers, Uchiyamada said.

BMW ready to shift small coupes, convertibles to even-number nameplates

Reports in Europe say that BMW is planning a shake-up in the naming strategy for its smaller coupes and convertibles, as well as planning to shift its 1-series cars onto a front-drive platform. The nameplate shake-up will have coupe and convertible variants of the 1-series become the 2-series, while coupe and convertible variants of the 3-series will become the 4-series. The changeover is expected to start in 2013, according to a report on the Web site of Car magazine.