Toyota hybrid tech looking toward the future

Toyota continues to build momentum as a leader of the hybrid industry. At an inaugural event held in Ypsilanti, Mich., the brand brought together all of the Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles from the Japanese, American, and European markets. In a display by Toyota representatives, presentations started with a quick look back at the infancy of the company's hybrid program, starting with the first-generation Prius in 1997.

Infiniti Q50 teased ahead of Detroit debut

The first Infiniti to carry the new nomenclature for the marque – the Infiniti Q50 – gets teased in a short video ahead of a Detroit debut. We managed to break the news that the new Infiniti G37 would be arriving at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show back in October, but what we didn’t know then was that it would be getting a new name. The new Infiniti G Series cars will now be the Infiniti Q50 as Infiniti change their car names (for reasons only Infiniti understand) to be prefixed by ‘QX’ for anything resembling a crossover and just ‘Q’ for anything that’s not.

News watch December 2010: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourFriday 31 December 2010• A judge in Manhattan has dismissed two lawsuits from hedge funds claiming for $2bn losses when it bought VW shares in 2008. Elliott Associates LP, Black Diamond Offshore and 39 other funds filed a complaint, claiming Porsche misled short-sellers who hadn't realised that Porsche had cornered the market in VW shares (Automotive News)Thursday 30 December 2010• Volvo plans to hire an extra 200 staff as it claims demand for its cars is rising.