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Lexus previews production NX compact crossover

Lexus has published a preview of the 2015 Lexus NX luxury compact crossover, scheduled to debut April 20 at the 2014 China auto show in Beijing. The upcoming Lexus NX is meant to battle the likes of the BMW X1, the Audi Q3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and it was previewed earlier in concept form as the LF-NX. Lexus has once again gone from concept to production vehicle in record time, and if this teaser image is any indication, it has significantly toned town the design of the LF-NX concept -- no surprise there, though in this case it appears Lexus has ditched the angular design language almost entirely.

Porsche Museum opens in Stuttgart

Porsche will open the doors to its new museum in Stuttgart tomorrow, January 31. With a collection of 80 vehicles and three exhibit areas spanning the periods before and after 1948, the Porsche Museum includes an array of iconic vehicles and celebrates the outstanding technical achievements of Professor Ferdinand Porsche during the early 20th century. Located in the Stuttgart suburb of Zuffenhausen, where Porsche produces the 911 model series and all of its engines, the new museum was designed by Vienna-based architectural firm Delugan Meissl - which beat 170 other firms in a race to design the building in 2004.

Ford eyes dandelions as sustainable alternative to synthetic rubber

Ford, in conjunction with Ohio State University, is turning to the humble garden weed as sustainable resource, researching the dandelion's potential use as an alternative to synthetic rubber. While the automaker already makes considerable use of sustainable materials in its vehicles – such as soy foam seat cushions and straw-filled plastic for interior trim – this latest discovery opens up a wealth of new possibilities for automotive applications. According to research conducted by Ford, a milky-white substance that is found in certain dandelion roots can produce a sustainable rubber that could be used to create plastic parts for vehicle interiors.