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World Car of the Year 2014 – the contenders

The provisional list of entries for the 2014 World Car of the Year awards has been revealed – this is like the European Car of the Year awards, only judged on a global scale. Each candidate for the main awards must be available for sale on at least two continents. In addition to the main category, the World Car – or WCOTY – awards also includes separate prizes for the World Car Design of the Year, World Green Car and World Luxury Car, the last a change from the World Performance Car of previous years.

AC Cars and Zagato launch 378 GT Zagato

AC Cars, working in collaboration with Italian design house Zagato, has announced its new sports car, the AC 378 GT Zagato. The launch was revealed at last week's Geneva motor show, where the production version of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato – which was, in fact designed in-house by Aston Martin in the UK – was being displayed on the British carmaker's stand. The car is instantly recognizable as a Zagato-designed car, with minimalist, organic surfacing and key features such as the C-pillar/rear window crossover.

Toyota hands over small-car development to its European unit

Toyota Motor Corp.'s European division next month will take charge of global product planning for small cars as the Japanese automaker expands model research and development in the region. The change, announced Dec. 17, means that Toyota will count on Europe to develop future products in the minicar, subcompact and compact segments, something that Ford Motor Co.