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Toyota ME.WE Concept: It’s an egalitarian EV

Based on the electric running gear of the Toyota i-Road we saw at Geneva (but with a full set of wheels) Toyota and Massaud have created an urban vehicle that takes transport back to the basics; a 2CV for the 21st century, perhaps, or a grown up home-made kart seems to be where the ME.WE is at. The construction of the ME.WE comprises a tubular aluminium chassis and a pile of interchangeable polypropylene panels that can change the function of the ME.We from city car to convertible to pickup to 4×4 (thanks to electric motors on both axles) and is, by any definition, transport and not a car you’d have to make a statement. Inside is just as basic with a single dial for the instruments, flat surfaces made from bamboo (designers love a bit of bamboo), batteries for the electric motors under the floor and you have to store any luggage on the roof under a weatherproof cover.

Changan opens new European Designing Center in Turin

Changan celebrated the opening of its European Designing Center in Turin, Italy, last week as part of its celebration of the historic company's 150th anniversary. An audience of VIP guests and press were given grand tour of the new facility located in Rivoli near Turin after an opening ceremony filled with the pomp and pageantry we've come to expect from the Chinese car industry. The new 11,000 square meter European Designing Center is Changan's latest move to grow its business globally, having already established research and development centers at five Chinese locations as well as in Detroit USA, Nottingham UK, and Yokohama Japan.

CES: New cars and communists

The first day of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show featured one new Ford, two new Kias and a plug for communism from the head of Mercedes-Benz. So, yeah, it was an eventful first day. After its new 2013 Fusion plug-in hybrid was named Car of the Show--following previous such distinctions for the Focus electric and the Taurus--Ford CEO Alan Mulally pulled the cover off the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid in Las Vegas on Tuesday.