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Collector electrifies a 1955 LaSalle Roadster

Just months after Joe Bortz's unveiling of the restored 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne, the auto archeologist and collector is moving into the second phase of restoration with another General Motors Motorama concept car: the 1955 LaSalle Roadster. But here's the key difference--the LaSalle is going electric. As the LaSalle's motor was never completed, the roadster is considered a “push mobile.” To prepare the car so that it can be driven--rather than pushed--on the road, Bortz has teamed up with Pioneer Conversions, an Illinois business focusing in the electric conversion of various vehicles.

Kia announces upcoming concept

Kia will unveil an, as yet, unnamed concept car at the Geneva motor show this March. The concept, which the carmaker calls ‘provocative and racy', features a new take on Kia's signature tiger nose aesthetic that integrates the headlamps into the grille design in a narrow, full-width strip. The lamps themselves seem to be contructed of a pixelted, mesh-like light source.

BMW designer Schaffer to lead U.S. studio

Laurenz Schaffer, an 11-year veteran of BMW AG's design staff, will take charge of the automaker's studio in California on Dec. 1. He will replace Verena Kloos, 48, as president of DesignworksUSA.