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Nissan wins bid to create taxi for New York

Fighting off stiff competition from Ford and Karsan, Nissan's NV200 minibus has been crowned the 'Taxi of Tomorrow' for New York City. The contest aimed to build on the city's century-long taxi heritage and find a purpose-built vehicle that could answer the needs of busy commuters. Back in 2007, New York City officials created a set of goals for the next generation taxi cab as part of a project called the 'Taxi of Tomorrow'.

Skoda MissionL

Skoda is the latest manufacturer to join the queue of those releasing teaser shots ahead of the 64th Frankfurt motor show next week. Following on from the somewhat understated VisionD shown in Geneva ealier this year, is the MissionL. Unlike the VisionD, the MissionL concept is said to be close to a final production-ready design that will be launched through Europe, Russia and China.

Kia Soul EV revealed at the Chicago Motor Show

The new Kia Soul EV (pictured) has been revealed in Chicago The Kia Soul EV is Kia’s first effort at a proper mass production EV, and if you’re looking for an electric car it does look promising. Due to go on sale later in 2014 in the US – initially in California, New York and Oregan because of their charging infrastructure – and, Kia promised, the UK and Europe later in 2014 or early 2015, the Soul EV offers a real world driving range of 80-100 miles from a recharge taking half an hour for 80 per cent on a rapid 50kW charger or up to 5 hours for a full recharge from a UK 240 volt supply. The range is helped by Kia’s third-generation regenerative braking system which manages to capture 12 per cent of the car’s kinetic energy, feeding it back in to the battery as electricity during braking and coasting, with four different regeneration modes.