NEWSWORTHY

A portion of Magna's minivan business maybe at risk for 2000, says Merrill Lynch analyst John Casesa. DaimlerChrysler is redesigning the vehicle (code: RS) for 2001. He says DCX expects to build about 650,000 minivans in 1969, but suggests that "this number could fall in 2000." That would hurt Magna, since the minivan accounts for about 8% of its total sales.

BMW soon decide whether to bring the new 2002 Mini to the U.S., says Tom Purves, the new head of BMW North America. He says the Mini would be heated as a separate brand. BMW may also bring in fwd Rover cars, to cover market segments in which BMW does not compete.

As we went to press DaimlerChrysler announced an October 14th press conference to unveil their plans for a return to NASCAR Winston Cup racing. Rumors have mega-crew chief Ray Evernham fielding at least one of the six or seven Dodge-powered teams. The questions now are not if, but when and in what? Could the Dodge Charger be returning to the high banks of Daytona? Here is our proposal based on the '99 Charger concept car.

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