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Kia plots rear-wheel-drive strategy

Kia is going rear-wheel drive. The company's first-ever production rear-wheel sedan will launch in Korea in the first half of this year. It's code-named “KH,” and it shares a platform with the Equus, Hyundai's top-of-the-line RWD sedan.

Opel/Vauxhall teases Cascada mid-size convertible

Opel/Vauxhall has given us a sneak peek of its new mid-size convertible, the Cascanda, which effectively replaces the Astra Twin Top. The Cascanda features a full-size fabric roof that can be opened or closed with one button up to speeds of 30mph and is the latest model to shun a folding hardtop in favor of the lighter and more practical soft option. The company claims this is its first D-segment cabrio for more than 70 years but, unlike them, we haven't forgotten the Cavialier Convertible of the 1980s (see pic).

Captain Jack goes rallying with Fifth Gear

John Barrowman - Captain Jack Harkness - tackles the Sweet Lamb Rally Stage with Tiff Needell John Barrowman – a.k.a. Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who / Torchwood (a proper petrol-head) – jumped at the chance to take on the rally stage in the Prodrive Impreza N2009 under the tutelage of Fifth Gear’s Tiff Needell. Not surprisingly, it took a bit more effort from Tiff than the Stig needs to put in to get a star round a lap of the TG track, but he managed to show John the basics before John put in a time on the Sweet Lamb stage.