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Japan hopes to make EV recharging technology the global standard

Japan's automakers aim to cement their lead in electric vehicles by making Japanese recharging technology the global standard and bringing it to the United States. A coalition of manufacturers, including Nissan and Toyota, is teaming with Japan's biggest electric company and the government to make it happen. They aim to corner the market on one of the technologies that will be key to the eventual acceptance of electric-powered cars: the high-speed charging points that will act like gasoline stations of the future and enable drivers to recharge and keep driving after their batteries run low.

New Lexus RX 450h Facelift costs from £44,495

The Lexus RX 450h F Sport joins the 2012 range The 2012 facelift for the hybrid SUV Lexus RX 450h will cost from £44,495, with the new RX 450h F Sport costing £51,995. The Geneva Motor Show in March was the debut for the facelift of the 2012 Lexus SUV offering – the RX 450h – with a new, sharper, sportier option added to the range in the guise of the RX 450h F Sport. Actually, to call the changes to the 2012 RX 450h is probably to exaggerate; they’re more a bit of botox than actual surgery.

Opel hires 2011 CDN-Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design Competition winner

Opel has taken on the winner of last year's Car Design News – Opel/Vauxhall Interactive Design Competition, Victor Uribe, to work as the latest addition to its creative design team. Uribe, a Transportation Design graduate from Istituto Europeo Di Design in Turin, Italy, emerged as the winner in the exterior design category for his submission, ‘Lounge in Motion', and won himself a six-month internship at the Opel/Vauxhall's European Design Studio in Rüsselsheim, Germany. "I met fantastic people who taught me a lot and helped me to refine my design skills.