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Booming British car market hits nine-year high in 2014

By James Fallon Motor Industry 04 July 2014 11:44 British new-car sales continue to rise, new figures out today revealed. In the first six months of 2014, a total of 1,287,265 new vehicles were registered – a 10.6% increase on the same six-month period in 2013 and the highest total in almost a decade. And the boom is showing no signs of tailing off; during June 2014, new-car registrations rose 6.2% to 228,291 and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders expects the trend to continue throughout the year as the economy continues to bounce back.

2015 Prius said to have even better fuel economy

The next Toyota Prius will get “significantly better fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter weight and lower cost,” according to Satoshi Ogiso, the Prius program's chief engineer. Ogiso, who is also Toyota Motor Corp.'s managing officer, said the next-gen Prius' performance will reflect “significant advances” in battery, electric-motor and gas-engine technologies. He said Toyota is looking at improving miles per gallon to 55, compared with today's 50 mpg and that the next-generation Prius electric motors will be smaller and more powerful; in addition, its gasoline engine will be among the world's most efficient.

Q&A: David Townsend, GM global design director, user experience

GM's new design director of user experience, David Townsend, has only been in the job just over a month. But with a remit extending to the interface design of every vehicle in GM's global portfolio, his influence will soon be widespread. After graduating from Art Center with a degree in transportation design, Townsend interned for Toyota but soon moved to Motorola, where he developed wearable Bluetooth technology and designed the familiar headsets worn by coaches in the NFL.