Lotus Eterne: Lotus flagship saloon revealed

The Aston Martin Rapide mimicking Lotus Eterne You’ll have to stick with this if you’re going through these in chronological order. There was no way we could seriously do one story on all of the Lotus announcements today, so you’re getting one for each. Sort of.

Fiat 500X: A sneak peek at Fiat’s 500 SUV

The Fiat 500X is an SUV based on the same platform as the 500L, and we’ve got a sneak peek of it at a press event in Italy. Fiat are determined to extend the 500 franchise with an extended range of models, such as the Fiat 500L we saw officially launched earlier today. Next up will be the Fiat 500X, a crossover come SUV based on the same Punto platform as the new 500L and aimed at the same market place as the MINI Countryman.

Vauxhall & Opel – no plant closures before 2014

Will the new Mokka help GM in Europe Despite reports that GM Europe are planning closures at Vauxhall and Opel, GM boss says there will be no closures before 2014. GM in Europe are not having an easy time of things, with both Vauxhall and Opel struggling for sales as the car market in Europe polarises and the mainstream car makers struggle. GM have made some moves to consolidate their European operation with a co-operation agreement with Peugeot Citroen, but that deal has more of a sticking plaster feel to it than a real way to fix the issues of over-production in a difficult European market.