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Essay: Variable Degrees of Translucency

Car door panels and fenders are generally made of steel, sometimes of aluminum or plastic composites, and you can't see through them. Car windows, on the other hand, are made of a transparent sandwich of glass and plastic - and you can see through them. But in the future there will be variable degrees of transparency: translucent elements where once there were none, traditional window areas that will have opaque elements and graduated progressions from opaque to see-through.

Mini reveals John Cooper Works Concept at Detroit auto show

Today at the Detroit Auto Show Mini debuted the new 2014 John Cooper Works Concept. The JCW (as the cool people call it) is the performance version of the Mini, and the debut of the concept included a rock band and impressive amount of smoke courtesy of a fog machine. The JCW concept was decked out in traditional John Cooper Works style, and that meant an exclusive color scheme with red color accents over Bright Highways Grey paint, and 18-inch light alloy wheels.

Chrysler’s future will see Lancia back in the UK

Lancia Phedra - to be replaced by a rebadged Chrysler Voyager Now Fiat and Chrysler have had time to sort out what the future holds for their joint future we are starting to see some concrete details emerging from the US. Chrysler revealed its grand five year plan this week and it seems clear that the only Chrysler brand that will see the light of day outside the US will be the Jeep. But even the Jeep is going to find itself endowed with Fiat underpinnings from 2013.