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Mini Paceman breaks cover before Paris debut

The Mini Paceman will become the seventh vehicle in Mini's lineup when it debuts at the Paris auto show later this month. It rides on the same platform as the Mini Countryman, but has a roof that slopes to the rear like the Range Rover Evoque. As is the case with the rest of the Mini lineup, a standard model and an up-powered S version will be offered.

Art Center BMW/Exa project

There's a new sponsored project that is just getting under way at Art Center College of Design, the likes of which hasn't been seen in a very long time - if at all. The school's Transportation Design department has helped bring together BMW with Exa Corporation, a Boston-based virtual aerodynamic simulation company, and has tasked the students to re-design the current BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle with the hope of dramatically increasing its aerodynamic efficiency while still retaining the BMW flagship SAV design language. This brief is quite timely in the context of the industry's ongoing focus with sustainability and strikes at the core of the BMW Group's long term energy strategy known as the concept of Efficient Dynamics.

Video: A Caterham Supersport and a snow-covered road

Anyone born before the automakers started trying to push front-drivers on us knows that rear-wheel drive and a set of decent tires will get you just about anywhere you want to go, even in deep snow. Skeptical? Take it from EVO magazine, which posted this video of editor Henry Catchpole enjoying a Caterham Supersport in all its sideways glory.