Infiniti demands luxury look for Leaf variant

Infiniti executives are taking pains to ensure that their luxury version of the electric Nissan Leaf hatchback will be markedly different and more upscale. This year, U.S. officials of Infiniti reviewed initial designs at Nissan's San Diego styling studio and complained that they simply looked like another version of the Leaf, say people who were there.

Saab finds a buyer

Bankrupt automaker Saab has found a buyer. But instead of picking up where the Swedish firm left off, the buyer plans to use Saab's resources for the production of electric cars. The new owners of Saab, a Chinese-Swedish investment group with Japanese backing called National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), did not release details on how much it paid for Saab or how much it planned to invest in the company.

Automotive X Prize teams begin performance testing in Michigan

The 28 teams competing in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize will begin performance testing this week at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The teams are vying for $10 million in prizes, which will be awarded to consumer-friendly vehicles that exceed 100 mpg. This week begins the first of the three on-track performance testing stages: shakedown, knockout qualifying and finals.