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Leno lines up electric Ford Focus for celebs to turn fast laps

Car collector Jay Leno's new prime-time TV show launches a new segment on Friday night, challenging visiting celebrities to set a fast lap time on a track outside the entertainer's studio. The car that Leno hands to his guests is an electric-powered Ford Focus--a harbinger of a battery-powered Focus that Ford plans to put on sale in 2011. Leno's electric Focus uses the more-modern European Focus as its base, not the well-aged U.S.

Porsche Panamera designer focused on rear-seat passengers

There's no mistaking it for anything but a Porsche, but with four doors and four full seats, the Panamera is like no previous Porsche. Styled by a team of in-house designers under the direction of Michael Mauer, the Panamera is 195.7 inches long, 76.0 inches wide and 55.8 inches tall--making it slightly shorter but wider and lower than the Maserati Quattroporte, with which it shares a coupelike profile. As with all such silhouettes, "the real challenge is giving the rear-seat passengers enough headroom," says Mauer.

BMW i3 EV only scores 4 stars in Euro NCAP test

BMW i3 EV only scores 4 stars in Euro NCAP test The new BMW i3 is selling well and looks to be a good buy if you do lots of driving in congested urban environments. It offers a decent amount of proper BMW goodness and probably has enough range – even without the optional range-extender engine – to cover most urban drivers’ daily needs. But it seems there is one area the i3 doesn’t come up trumps and that’s for safety – in particular pedestrian safety – scoring a disappointing four stars in the latest round of Euro NCAP testing.