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BMW takes the Active Tourer Outdoor outdoors this weekend

This weekend BMW will be taking its BMW Concept Active Tourer Outdoor to the annual OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany. We first saw the concept last September, noting that it was a departure for BMW in more ways than one -- with the German automaker stretching itself into segments in which it previously had no foothold. The BMW Active Tourer is meant to preview a whole new generation of small cars from BMW, but one of the biggest changes underneath is a transverse layout of the engine -- a setup that BMW has traditionally shunned in favor of a longitudinal layout.

Watch: 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel video walkaround

Mike Cairns, chief engineer for Ram, says that people just can't help but pester him with the same damned question: “Why don't you put a diesel engine in a 1500?” Thanksgivings were, we imagine, brutal. The coming 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel ought to steer family dinners back to less abrasive topics, like partisan politics. Get an up-close look at the truck in this video walkaround hosted by none other than Cairns himself.

Who's Where: Ken Okuyama parts company with Pininfarina

Pininfarina, the Turin, Italy-based automotive styling house, has announced that its design director, Ken Okuyama, has left the company. In a tersely-worded statement Pininfarina said, "The Company's decision comes as a result of the various external activities Ken Okuyama was carrying out beyond his responsibilities within Pininfarina." Ken Okuyama had been Design Director at Pininfarina since July 2005. During this time, Okuyama's most high-profile work was the Maserati Birdcage prototype, created to celebrate 75th anniversary of the Italian styling house.