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2015 Prius said to have even better fuel economy

The next Toyota Prius will get “significantly better fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter weight and lower cost,” according to Satoshi Ogiso, the Prius program's chief engineer. Ogiso, who is also Toyota Motor Corp.'s managing officer, said the next-gen Prius' performance will reflect “significant advances” in battery, electric-motor and gas-engine technologies. He said Toyota is looking at improving miles per gallon to 55, compared with today's 50 mpg and that the next-generation Prius electric motors will be smaller and more powerful; in addition, its gasoline engine will be among the world's most efficient.

Scuola Politecnica di Design Milan 2007

Milan, Italy is well known for being a style center, so it's fairly apt that there is a design school based in one of the most fashionable and creative areas of the city. Scuola Politecnica di Design has been molding new designers for over 50 years and has a program specifically devised for students seeking to master the art of transportation design. On June 29th the school held its annual degree show, and Car Design News went to Milan to see what the students in the Masters Course had dreamt up. This year marked the second time that Audi sponsored the course, giving students a brief that consisted of creating "a sporty, small lifestyle car for the 'Generation Mobile'": a small car for young customers living in urban areas that would also be accustomed to using iPods.

Daimler to build a fifth Mercedes-Benz model at its Alabama plant

Daimler AG said it will invest $350 million to produce a fifth Mercedes-Benz model at its factory in Vance, Ala., starting in 2015. The investment will create an additional 400 jobs at the plant. The company did not provide details about the additional vehicle.