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Seat Toledo concept [w/gallery]

The Seat Toledo returns to the market as a compact (4,480mm) sedan that sits between the B-segment Ibiza and larger Leon hatchback. The Toledo – and its Skoda and Audi siblings – marks a return to the lower end of the sedan market and sensible family transport. Whether this translates into Seat's supposed youthful image remains to be seen, but from the initial press images, little of the ‘dynamic lines' form introduced on the Ibiza by former design chief Luc Donckerwolke appear.

CES: Cranking up Harman's QuantumLogic 3D surround-sound system

Yesterday we reported how Audi was readying a lavish 3D sound experience with 23 speakers and 1,400 watts of goosebump-inducing audio power. Not to be outdone, Harman had been quietly developing a system of its own: Quantum Logic 3D brings together 25 speakers and more than 2,000 watts of Tubthumping power to a new car near you, like driving inside Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Sitting inside the demonstration BMW 7-Series that Harman painstakingly lifted into the Studio at the Palms, Global Audio Engineering vice president Phil Muzio explained, "great music is delivered in stereo, yet our consumer research indicates that people enjoy surround sound." QuantumLogic 3D's surround sound expands beyond the boundaries of the vehicle's cabin, providing "a sense of detail and spatial placement that you don't get in stereo." Five height component speakers mounted in the corners of the headliner, and above the rearview mirror, elevates audio beyond the confines of the roof, "almost like you're in a convertible," said Muzio.

Germany to tax foreign drivers

GERMANY plans to introduce a car toll that seeks to make money from the millions of foreigners who drive through the country every year, the transport minister said today. Germany has a truck toll but, unlike many European countries, no car toll. Alexander Dobrindt said it wasn't fair that foreign drivers do not contribute to maintaining the roads and that "fairness gap" should be closed.