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Who's Where: Bryan Nesbitt becomes General Manager of Cadillac

Bryan Nesbitt, who until last week was General Motors' North American Vice President of Design, started his new role as general manager of the Cadillac brand on Monday, July 27. His appointment, which surprised many, is part of an effort to integrate design, marketing and advertising, which have always been intrinsically linked. While this move marks a significant step change in the positioning of the new General Motors, which, under the direction of product czar Bob Lutz, has seen fit to promote a young designer into such a high level managerial position, it is a triumph not only for Nesbitt, 40, but for all designers: it is the first time that a designer has been promoted to one of the top executive roles at an automotive company.

Poll: Would you buy a Hyundai i20?

Last week we asked you if you'd be interested in a Nissan Micra, which is built in Mexico and is available in Canada and dozens of other countries, but not in the U.S. A substantial majority of our readers, 77 percent, voted that they would be interested in buying the $9,100 Micra if it was sold in America, a slightly lower percentage than for most of our past foreign-vehicle polls (which were all quite different, it should be noted). The Micra essentially offers the same engine and almost the same amount of interior space as the Nissan Versa Note at 2/3 the price of a stateside Note, which is already considered to be about as spartan as it gets despite a $14,780 price tag.

Aston Martin make Nissan’s Andy Palmer their new CEO

Andy Palmer (pictured) is taking the reins at Aston Martin Lagonda Aston Martin has effectively been without a boss since Ulrich Bez stepped down from the role last year, but that changes with the announcement that Andrew Palmer – until now, Chief Planning Officer of Nissan – is to step in to the role. There’s no specific start date for Andy Palmer at Aston, but Nissan has announced that Philippe Klein will take up Palmer’s role at Nissan on 15 September, so it shouldn’t be long before Palmer holds the reins at Aston Martin. But what exactly has persuaded Andy Palmer to jump from a big corporate behemoth like Nissan to a struggling luxury car maker with owners who either want to tug the operating strings (the Kuwaitis) or are looking for a quick return (Investindustrial)?