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Driven: Range Rover Evoque

As Sam Livingstone opines in his review of the latest Porsche 911, we are in a period of car design consolidation, with the new 911 the ultimate expression of a slightly suffocating trend. Yet every so often, a vehicle appears that breaks these rules and – through a combination of factors that can be difficult to quantify – captures the imagination, becoming a symbol of the times and an overnight market success. Such vehicles tend to emerge once a decade or so, yet the late 90s and early noughties were extraordinary for giving birth to three – the Ford Ka of '96, Audi TT of '98 and Mini of '01.

GM, Ford roll out protection plans for car buyers

General Motors is following Hyundai and Ford in offering protection for car buyers who lose their jobs. A plan announced Tuesday morning called Total Confidence offers up to nine payments of up to $500 each if a car buyer loses his or her job in the first 24 months after the purchase. The plan covers loans and leases.

Tesla Motors open-sources patents

Since Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors a decade ago, his electric car venture has been a thorn in the traditional auto manufacturers' side. Now, Musk has made another disruptive move by announcing he is scrapping the firm's patents. In a blog post on the Tesla website, he wrote "[the patents] have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.