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Toyota Prius points the way to design future

For a glimpse of Toyota's future design trends, check out the Prius. The third generation, debuting Monday in Japan, stays true to the line's role as a vanguard of futuristic styling and sports many new elements that will be popping up soon in other models. Chief among these are the sharply creased corners, the forward placement of the Toyota badge, a lowered grille and styling that Toyota's global design chief Wahei Hirai calls "free-form geometrics." The goal was to create an avant-garde, high-tech look that also screams green.

Autoweek in review: What you may have missed

At the start of the week, our own Dutch Mandel offered his take on the best and worst of the automotive Super Bowl XLVI commercials. Check out his column here, and see the Super Bowl commercials for yourself at shopautoweek.com. One of the more popular Super Bowl ads came courtesy of Chevrolet and the indie band OK Go.

Show Review: Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2013

Firmly among the top three classic car events in the world – arguably alongside UK's Goodwood Festival of Speed and USA's Pebble Beach – Italy's Villa d'Este is perhaps the most design-led of the three and took place again on the beautiful shores of Lake Como last weekend (24-26 May). Less is more at Villa d'Este, with only 49 classics up for the coveted ‘Best of show' prize and another seven modern concepts vying for a separate award. It's all about quality not quantity.