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Ford at CES: Charge your car with science and wash your dishes while you sleep

Ford's C-Max Solar Energy Concept is a "plugless plugin," said Donna Bell, which initially sounds silly -- as if the carefully structured chaos and noise of CES may have finally gotten to her. But as someone who has been managing Ford's electric vehicle infrastructure for the past 20 years, she isn't being facetious. Solar panels on the roof of a car aren't anything new -- the Fisker Karma used them to power the radio and other in-car accessories, to cite a soon-obscure example.

Toyota FT-86 Open Concept (2013) drop-top GT86 revealed

Toyota will show a drop-top 'FT86 Open' concept at the 2013 Geneva motor show. It's supposedly a concept version created only to gauge customer reaction to a GT86 convertible, but with test mules already hard at work elsewhere, this is one concept car you can be sure will make it to showrooms almost unchanged. After all, that 'FT86' moniker stands for 'Future Toyota'...

Who's Where: Peter Arcadipane appointed BAIC's design director

Peter Arcadipane has joined BAIC as its new design director. Based at its new hi-tech design facility in Beijing, China, he oversees a team of around 130 designers. The Australian designer, formerly of Mercedes-Benz, has been challenged to steer state-owned BAIC towards a more coherent and strategic position within China, with its chairman wanting to take the carmaker more upmarket.