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Volkswagen plans 4 million cars from one platform

Volkswagen is pushing the global-platform concept to a level unprecedented in the auto industry, introducing a modular platform this summer that eventually will be the basis of microcars, sedans, crossovers and SUVs for its four largest brands. While automakers now share platforms across brands and sometimes even segments, the VW initiative that starts this summer is far more ambitious than anything seen so far. By 2017, some analysts estimate, the MQB platform that debuts with the Audi A3 eventually will be used in 4 million units a year--close to half of VW's annual production.

BAC Mono wins Supercar Class at Cholmondeley

The BAC Mono has won the Supercar Class at the 2012 Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, just a year from the Mono’s launch and in its first competitive event. The cynical might have imagined that the debut of the BAC Mono as yet another racer for the road from a  company most have never heard of would be another two minute wonder – loads of promise and little reality. But as we said when the BAC Mono burst on the scene in March 2011, ‘This is the real deal; a superbly engineered and beautifully built single-seat racer that just happens to be road-legal’.

2013 Toyota Auris leaks

The next generation Toyota Auris (Toyota Corolla) is due to debut this year as a 2013 model, and we get the first leaked photo. We know that a replacement for the Toyota Auris is on the horizon and we’re expecting it to make a public debut (at least in Europe) at the Paris Motor Show in September before going on sale by the end of 2012. But now, thanks to a Japanese Magazine scan, we have a pretty good idea what Toyota’s new Auris/Corolla is going to look like, and it seems to be the current Auris with a dose of Lexus thrown in for good measure.