Infiniti‘s Etherea Concept, shown off earlier this year at Geneva, may become a reality thanks to its partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Car and Driver has reports that Infiniti will be using Mercedes-Benz’s A-Class platform to build their own entry-level luxury hatchback, leading to speculation that a production model based on the Etherea Concept is on Infiniti’s to-do list.

But with access to both Nissan and Renault parts, why would Infiniti want to turn to Mercedes? An Infiniti exec spoke about how the new model would be all about luxury, requiring better torsional rigidity, and much better NVH than you would put into a mass brand.

Infiniti won’t just be borrowing and simply using the A-Class platform though, their engineers will be working on setting it apart from the Mercedes. When we’ll actually see this new model is an unknown, but Infiniti could definitely use a little spice and excitement next year.

GALLERY: Infiniti Etherea Concept

[Source: Autoblog]

The replacement for Ford‘s current CEO Alan Mulally will likely come from within, and four contenders have come out on top despite no realistic timeline for someone to replace Mulally.

Those four contenders include Mark Fields, the president of the Americas and current frontrunner (age 50), current CFO Lewis Booth (age 63), Jim Farley, group vice president of global marketing, sales and service (age 49), and Joe Hinrichs, group vice president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa (age 45).

The talk of a CEO successor for Alan Mulally is probably premature, as his success in Ford will allow him to leave on his own terms, when he wants. But at age 66, Ford’s board of directors has to realistically begin to consider successors. One thing is for sure, Ford will be promoting from within rather than hiring from the outside – as they did with Mulally – in order to send a message of stability. Another option that Ford is considering is that Mulally could act as a mentor for Ford’s future leader.

[Source: Automotive News]

While Chevrolet is readying a diesel version of their Cruze compact in 2013, an interesting tidbit of information leaked out regarding another gas-saving variant of the Cruze – a plug-in hybrid model.

Australia’s GoAuto reports that the Cruze will be a traditional plug-in hybrid, where the engine and hybrid system work in tandem, rather than the Volt, which is described as an electric vehicle with a range-extending gasoline engine. “Plug-in Cruze doesn’t make Volt redundant at all. Plug-in Cruze would have a different powertrain. Plug-in hybrids use both the engine and motor all the time,” said Jim Frederico, who is in charge of General Motors’ small electric vehicle program. “The plug-in Cruze has a place and it will be a hybrid.”

GM is testing an all-electric Cruze in South Korea currently, but so far it remains an experimental vehicle. A Cruze plug-in could debut as early as 2014, given the car’s strong sales and the introduction of the diesel version in 2013 (which a plug-in version would likely overshadow).

[Source: GoAuto]

Toyota unveiled today their Fun-Vii concept car ahead of its official debut at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept, dubbed as a “smartphone on wheels” by Toyota President Akio Toyoda, allows drivers to customize the skin of the car to display anything from stock quotes to advertising to pictures downloaded from their phones.

Seating three, the Fun-Vii’s ultimate goal is to add a fourth dimension to the driving experience. That is, interconnectivity will join driving, turning and stopping. Toyota of course has no realistic release date for such a concept (if it even goes into production in any form), but has envisioned it to have other features such as auto-pilot and an onboard 3D hologram avatar for a year 20XX release. That’s right, 20XX – Toyota is pretty confident something like this will be manufactured in this century.

With an announcement by Honda that it will debut a small electric sports car concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, rumors are swirling that more performance concepts are on their way.

According to a report by AutoCar, after the reveal of the Small Sports EV Concept (above) in Tokyo, Honda will then debut a Super Sports concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January. A spiritual successor to the NSX, it is expected to use either an electric or hybrid drivetrain, while all-wheel drive is possible.

Back in September Honda CEO Takanobu Ito first confirmed an NSX successor was in the works.

[Source: AutoCar]

Volkswagen is out testing the 7th generation Golf, as seen here in spy shots, and the new car looks like it will retain much of the current car’s styling, but get a lower, wider and more aggressive profile.

For North America, expect the 2.0TDI diesel to carry over, but the base 2.5L 5-cylinder is out, to be replaced with a 1.8L turbocharged 4-cylinder (based off of the much-loved 2.0T motor). Golf production may move to the United States, but Volkswagen has been very tight lipped about details, as it remains Volkswagen’s bread-and-butter car in virtually every market except the United States,

Gallery: Volkswagen Golf MKVII

Gumpert is set to unveil a new supercar at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and the German carmaker has released a teaser for the world to enjoy. Not many details have been revealed by Gumpert on their new supercar, but the teaser image clearly shows some hints of resemblance to Gumpert’s Apollo.

But let the speculation begin, as Gumpert also mentioned that they recently tested their new supercar at the Altenburg airport near Leipzig and that it emits an “unmistakable” sound. It’s worth mentioning that this year Gumpert showed off their Tornante at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, so there’s a possibility that this teaser could be a new version of the Tornante. We’ll probably have a bit to wait before something else gets revealed, but for now we’ll take what we can get from Gumpert.

[Source: GT Spirit]

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We’re getting close and closer to seeing one of the world’s best looking race cars in the flesh soon, as Aston Martin announced that they’ve begun testing their 6.0L V12 racecar with 600-hp.

In fact, the new Vantage GT3 has already logged over 620-miles in shakedown runs, preparing it to take on several race series including the FIA GT3 championships, Blancpain Endurance Series and the VLN Nürburgring Series.

The V12 Vantage GT3 is replacing the outgoing DBRS9 and weighs in at a scant 2,755-lbs. Aston Martin hopes to start delivering the race vehicle to teams in early 2012 with a cost of around half a million big ones.

GALLERY: Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3

Volvo‘s Chief Executive, Stefan Jacoby, has said that the company plans to add some 10,000 additional employees to the workforce in the next decade; currently Volvo employs some 25,000 people worldwide.

Perhaps not surprisingly the vast majority of new positions will be in China, where Volvo plans to reach annual sales targets of some 200,000 units by 2020 (current levels are around 48,000 per annum).

In order to handle the projected growth, Volvo is planning to open up a manufacturing facility in Chengdu in 2013, which will boast some 3,000 employees and a maximum capacity of some 150,000 vehicles per year; a second plant is also planned, pending approval from the Chinese government.

According to Jacoby, despite the current economic crisis in Europe, Volvo hasn’t reported a slowdown because of it, since its biggest markets are  Scandinavia and Germany where demand is steady and sales in southern Europe have always been marginal. “Our [order] books are filled up until spring 2012,” Jacoby said in a recent statement.

[Source: Automotive News]

Sergio Marchionne revealed Maserati‘s big plan to introduce three new products in quick succession during a recent interview at the CBI business conference held in London.

The three new vehicles are a replacement luxury sedan for the Quattroporte, a smaller Maserati four-door based on the Chrysler 300, and the Maserati Kubang SUV based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Marchionne explained the ambition behind the launch, saying, “Maserati will increase its volumes by having three cars… We are a bit secretive over what you get first because it has implications for the industrial footprint of the group.”

According to CAR magazine, it is likely that the first car launched will be the new Quattroporte. Marchionne also hinted that the smaller four-door will likely be built alongside the flagship luxury sedan, “You see, there is a site in Modena that makes the Quattroporte, there’s some debate what happens to that plant after Quattroporte. There is sufficient commonality in what we’re doing between the smaller car and the bigger one that we can do what we want.”

While some traditionalists may question the merits of a Maserati SUV, the Kubang is real. The new Kubang will be based on Grand Cherokee underpinnings and will likely be built in Jeep’s U.S. plant.

While a Chrysler-based Maserati sedan and SUV may not sound very appealing, Marchionne assures that the important bits will be thoroughly Italian with Ferrari/Maserati-based engines, suspensions, styling, and cabin furniture.

GALLERY: Maserati Kubang

[Source: CAR magazine]