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'Concrete glimpse' of near-future Audi technology

THE “near future” of Audi design and powertrain engineering has been unveiled ahead of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The Allroad Shooting Brake show car will premiere an exciting new high-powered petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain and a development of the firm’s current design language. It is expected that the Allroad Shooting Brake will form the basis for future Q-badged models as well as a potentially expended Allroad range.

Kia Sportage and Soul recall – affects 7000 UK cars

5,787 UK Kia Sportage models (pictured) are being recalled. Recalls are a fact of life for car makers, but at least the industry now tries to respond to problems as they arise, and before they cause damage to people of vehicles. This latest recall comes from Kia in the UK, which is recalling a total of 5,785 Sportage models and 1.432 Soul models to address a problem that ha been identified with the seat belt pre-tensioner mechanism.

Who's Where: Jason Castriota opens own design consultancy

Former Bertone and Pininfarina designer, Jason Castriota, has opened his own design consultancy based in New York and Turin. CDN recently caught up with Castriota - who is currently in New York - and discovered he's already working on a series of projects, despite having not yet officially launched the company. Castriota told us that it had always been his "dream to have my own consultancy in New York", yet what's clearly pleasing him most is the volume of work he's already accrued, without officially launching the firm.