Thursday, August 7, 2008

Nissan Sebring? Chrysler Altima? America and Japan's Number 3s Doing The Mid-Size Tango

Chrysler is really taking this who mid-size thing seriously, at last. The Chrysler Sebring has been the automakers sore point for quite some time now. With a bad visual design and the car itself not thought out all that well, it is no surprise that they haven't been flying off the lots.

Nissan and Chrysler have made some recent partnerships with regards to small cars and full size trucks. Now, it is rumoured, that they are looking to get together on a mid-size car.

From details over at Reuters, it is thought that Nissan will produce a mid-size car for Chrysler that will be sold under the Chrysler name. It would probably be build on the same platform as the Nissan Altima, with powertrains possibly coming from either company.

Let's just hope that it doesn't look like an Altima with a Sebring grille pasted on to the front.

Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina, Dies In Road Accident

Though, there has been no confirmation as of yet on the Pininfarina press release page, Autocar is reporting that Pininfarina CEO, Andrea Pininfarina, was killed this morning on his way to work in Cambiano, Italy. Pininfarina was riding his Vespa scooter when struck by a car in Turin.

Pininfarina (the company) has been responsible for such cars as Ferraris, Fiats, as well as the Euro Ford Focus. The company was started in 1930 by Battista "Pinin" Farina, Andrea's grandfather.

Andrea joined the family design firm in 1983 after receiving a mechanical engineering degree. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Our condolences to his family, friends, co-workers, and admirers.

[Source: Autocar]