VW Scirocco Studie R unveiled at Bologna motor show

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 03 December 2008 11:50 Volkswagen today surprised Bologna show goers with another hint at what the forthcoming hot Scirocco coupe will look like. The Scirocco Studie R is a more roadgoing version of the Scirocco GT24 race car – and is a thinly veiled guide to the R20T that’s in development. CAR Online revealed VW’s plans for a hot Scirocco earlier this month, and this white concept car further fleshes out Wolfsburg’s thinking.

Paolo Pininfarina elected Chairman at Pininfarina SpA

Paolo Pininfarina has been unanimously elected to become Chairman of the Board of Directors at Pininfarina S.p.A., one of the roles previously occupied by his late brother Andrea Pininfarina. The Board of Directors agreed to assign authority over the Group's design operations and Pininfarina Extra to Paolo Pininfarina and also elected to hand over the Group's communications to his sister Lorenza Pininfarina, the Provisional Deputy Chairperson. There has been much speculation about the company's future following the untimely death of CEO Andrea Pininfarina in a traffic accident last week.

Toyota will push safety in ad blitz

Its image still bruised by driver complaints about unintended acceleration, Toyota Division has decided to revamp its marketing message and shift the focus to safety in a big way, top executives said last week. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s sales fell 34 percent in August and are down 1 percent for the year--it's the only major manufacturer with a decline for 2010. Executives admit consumers have doubts about the safety and quality of Toyota vehicles, so they are planning an advertising blitz to counter that perception.