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EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

Toyota NS4 Hybrid Concept tease for Detroit

Toyota NS4 Hybrid Concept teased Toyota are teasing a new hybrid concept car – the NS4 – ahead of the Detroit Auto Show in January. Today it’s Toyota’s turn to roll out the photographer they used last week to take photos of the Lexus concept for Detroit. This time it’s the Toyota NS4 being teased, and it looks like the photographer left his camera where it was after the Lexus shot and just rolled the NS4 in to view.

Huntsman U-Box concept explores use of carbon materials

If you attended our Car Design Night at this year's Geneva motor show, you may well have seen the U-Box concept vehicle parked outside the entrance. Developed by Huntsman Advanced Materials, this 'last mile' delivery vehicle is a showcase of the company's composite materials expertise. "The D3 Group [based in Paris] designed the car and also came up with the idea of 'last-mile delivery'," explains Harald Wiedemann, Vice President of Huntsman Advanced Materials (EMEAI).