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Lexus Design Awards open for entries under the theme 'Senses'

When we visited Milan Design Week earlier this year, the winners of the Lexus Design Award were a particular highlight – refreshingly free from automotive references, the work was in the true spirit of the city's celebrated annual festival. The theme of the 2015 competition is Senses, which opens up the opportunity for designers to explore sight, sound, smell, taste and/or touch. Entrants will be judged by a panel including architect Toyo Ito, curators Paolo Antonelli and Aric Chen, and Lexus president and former head of Toyota design Tokuo Fukuichi.

Chevy Malibu Eco hybrid is a tough sell

Most prospective Chevrolet Malibu buyers at Castle Chevrolet in suburban Chicago quickly decide that they don't want to pay nearly $3,000 more for the Eco mild-hybrid version. "For most people, it's hard to justify the extra money based on the extra fuel economy" of a combined 3 mpg more than the base model, says Jeff Tuckman, the dealership's inventory manager. "You've got the base LS model sitting next to it that's just as nice and luxurious." It's a problem flagged by many Chevy dealers.

Mitsubishi considers a Lancer Evo hybrid

Mitsubishi is working on a green overhaul of its turbocharged all-wheel-drive Lancer Evolution so the gas-guzzling sedan won't go extinct. The new vision for the performance car is an gasoline-electric hybrid with in-wheel motors, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko says.