Aston Martin V12 Vantage ends & big changes afoot at Aston Martin

Launched as a limited edition V12 Vantage in 2009, by 2010 Aston decided there was enough demand to make the V12 Vantage a proper part of Aston’s standard offerings, and since then it’s been the same. The V12 Vantage has also spawned a Roadster version (which, we think, stays in production – at least for now) and the slightly bonkers V12 Zagato, which conspired to look a bit too extreme for an Aston and cost an arm and a leg. We know that AM sold around 1200 V12 Vantage Coupes, around 100 V12 Vantage Roadsters and a handful of V12 Zagatos, but now the run is at an end and we do wonder if there will be a replacement?

Chrysler first-quarter profits down

Chrysler Group said net income fell to $166 million in the first quarter as costs of two large product launches crimped the automaker's seventh consecutive quarterly profit. Profit fell 65 percent from the $473 million posted during the same quarter of 2012, Chrysler said in a statement today. First-quarter revenues dropped 6 percent to $15.4 billion.

Jaguar executive O'Driscoll to retire in March

Mike O'Driscoll, the managing director at Jaguar Cars, has announced his plan to retire at the end of March 2011. O'Driscoll, 54, moved to the United Kingdom to lead the company's brand after Ford announced its plan to sell Jaguar and Land Rover. While there, he managed the introduction of the XF, the XK, and the XJ.