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Natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can stay in California carpool lane

Honda Civic GX drivers in California are smiling this week as they continue to have access to the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, even with just one person in the car. Even though one-occupant hybrid cars have lost access to the carpool lane, natural-gas-powered vehicles get to use it for another four years. Beginning on July 1, yellow-stickered partial hybrids were banned from HOV areas on the highways unless they carried the mandated number of people.

Toyota says quake-hit plants escape major structural damage

Toyota Motor Corp. has released the first damage report for its northern Japanese factories in the region hammered by Friday's massive earthquake, saying some equipment and fixtures will need repairs but that the plants sustained no major structural harm. For days after the quake, Toyota had trouble contacting it plants in the northern Japan quake zone, making it difficult to assess their status.

Lamborghini's sixth Paris 2010 teaser photo

It's a shot of an exhaust pipe, which exits the concept car just below the support for the rear wing. We've now seen all six images, and they've shown everything from vents in the bonnet to stylish flourishes atop the V10 engine, plus glimpses of the interior and what appears to be a carbonfibre wheel. The concept car is expected to be almost completely carbonfibre, very light and Gallardo-powered.  Why is Lamborghini showing such a car?