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Audi does Vegas

Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi AG, became only the third car company executive to deliver a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, and he did it--as all the best Toastmasters do--by starting with a joke. “When I received the invitation to speak here this year, I thought: why don't I bring a nice example of an electronic device made by Audi,” said the chair. “Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Audi E-tron Spyder concept car.

News watch October 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourMonday 31 October 2011• The two companies planning to buy Saab - China's Youngman and Pang Da - have agreed to pay a €50 million bridging loan, court documents show. And they are pledging €610m in long-term funding from 2012, according to ANE (Automotive News Europe)  • Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of the Volkswagen group, says he is pleased with the performance of Seat and Skoda.

Toyota ME.WE Concept: It’s an egalitarian EV

Based on the electric running gear of the Toyota i-Road we saw at Geneva (but with a full set of wheels) Toyota and Massaud have created an urban vehicle that takes transport back to the basics; a 2CV for the 21st century, perhaps, or a grown up home-made kart seems to be where the ME.WE is at. The construction of the ME.WE comprises a tubular aluminium chassis and a pile of interchangeable polypropylene panels that can change the function of the ME.We from city car to convertible to pickup to 4×4 (thanks to electric motors on both axles) and is, by any definition, transport and not a car you’d have to make a statement. Inside is just as basic with a single dial for the instruments, flat surfaces made from bamboo (designers love a bit of bamboo), batteries for the electric motors under the floor and you have to store any luggage on the roof under a weatherproof cover.