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Kia Sportage (2010) first official pictures

These are the first pictures of the new Kia Sportage, the Korean car company's latest compact SUV. It will be unveiled at the 2010 Geneva motor show next month, and UK sales start in the autumn. It’s up against everything from the Nissan Qashqai to the Ford Kuga, and underneath it sits on the same platform as the new Hyundai ix35 – the pair will roll out of the same Slovakian plant.

College Exhibition: IED Degree Show 2007

The Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) teamed up with Toyota to create "Prius of 2010-2015", the third year project of 26 students in the post-graduate Transportation Design Course. Led by Fulvio Fantolino, IED's Transportation Design Course Coordinator and followed in the various design stages by Elvio D'Aprile, Assistant Chief Designer at Toyota Europe Design Development, and by Tateo Uchida, General Director Research and Project Forum, the task to come up with concepts that, in addition to heightening the technological excellence, could stress the emotional element, an essential characteristic to conquer the European and world market. In all, ten projects were created and submitted to Toyota as the students' final thesis projects, showcasing a variety of different proposals for future ecological hybrid vehicles.

Lotus Evora does special duty for Italian Carabinieri

In a tip of the hat to Britain, the Italian Arma dei Carabinieri, a division of the army charged with civilian police duties, accepted two new Lotus Evora S models for special duty. The headquarters of the Carabinieri in Rome hosted a ceremony culminating in the Evora twins being turned over by Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar. “Everyone knows that Italy has more than its fair share of high-profile sports-car manufacturers, so it’s a real honor for a relatively small British brand to be in this position,” Bahar said.