Lotus to build Ethos mini with Proton, Elan delayed

Lotus today confirmed it will build its city car concept - with help from parent firm Proton - but the Elan sports car has been put on ice. The new Lotus city car will be called the Ethos, continuing a long tradition of E-names for products from Hethel. The Lotus city car is go Chief executive Dany Bahar said the city car would be on sale in early 2014.

Crunch watch Nov 09: the auto industry in crisis

Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Monday 30 November 2009• Saab's future is likely to become clearer tomorrow when the GM board meets in Detroit. It will have to decide whether to seek a new buyer or put Saab into liquidation (Financial Times)• Don't rule out an eastern bid for Saab: Beijing Automotive is still interested in buying the Swedish car maker despite its joint bid with Koenigsegg hitting the rocks, reports Automotive News.

Parade of Woodward Dream Cruise classics gets underway

Friday marked the final prelude of the 17th annual Woodward Dream Cruise but pre-event festivities have been underway for days throughout suburban Detroit. A lights-and-sirens cruise graced the streets of Ferndale, Mich., during late afternoon, while an emergency-vehicle show ran through the evening; live DJs set up to play through the day and night in Pontiac, Mich.; a classic-car parade lit up the streets in the nearby suburb of Berkley; and classic-car displays have now claimed much of the pavement in Royal Oak. Among local car enthusiasts participating in the week-long buildup to the Woodward Dream Cruise, Kathy Lang and her husband have been set up with their 1964 Dodge Polara in the Royal Oak vicinity since Monday.