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Car of the Year shortlist revealed

Shortlist for Car of the Year 2009 is announced today By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 October 2008 00:27 The European Car of the Year shortlist is announced today – and it looks like being a close-run battle this year. Take a look at the contenders below and have your say who should win by clicking 'Add your comment' at the foot of the story: Alfa Romeo MitoCitroen C5Ford FiestaOpel/Vauxhall InsigniaRenault MeganeSkoda SuperbVW GolfThat means that numerous contenders have fallen by the wayside; BMW's new 7-series, the Ford Kuga, Jaguar XF and VW Scirocco were deemed unworthy by the jury of top-flight journos from around Europe.And this year, CAR has its jury place back – editor Phil McNamara is now one of the UK's handful of judges for Car of the Year.

Chris Harris finds the McLaren P1 “a whole new thing” (video)

Chris Harris and McLaren’s Chris Goodwin in the McLaren P1 We know the McLaren P1 is exceptional, and we’ve heard almost the same ‘game changer’ dialogue from anyone who’s driven it. We’ve also seen the McLarenj P1 on the move in the recent Top Gear with Jeremy scaring himself witless in Belgium as his brain came to terms with the awesome 903bhp at the P1′s disposal on a less than forgiving Spa circuit in damp conditions. But what we have here – in case you’ve not seen it elsewhere – is a video review of the McLaren P1 from Drive’s Chris Harris, and it does the best job we’ve seen of explaining just why the P1 is so special and why it’s “…a whole new thing”.

Miko's high performance material with an ecological edge

Italian company Miko specializes in the development and production of Dinamica, a high quality ecological microfiber that can be used for anything from car door panels or upholstery to fashion accessories. The faux suede material is produced from a combination of recycled polyester and polyurethane fibers, and is also 100 percent recyclable at the end of its lifecycle. Lorenzo Terraneo, CEO of Miko, says: "Our priority has always been to invest in the research and development of recycled and eco-compatible materials with special characteristics that go far beyond existing qualitative standards." It is a testament to Terraneo's commitment that his company achieved its early aspirations and eco credentials long before concern for the environment and the reduction of carbon emissions was high on the political agenda or prevalent in the public conscience.