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Nissan Leaf tops 100,000 sales

Nissan has delivered the 100,000th Leaf to a customer in the U.K., reaching a milestone for the pure electric car that seems to be leaving other EVs in its wake. Now, the pure electric Leaf is on sale in 35 countries on four continents, and it has captured 45 percent market share for pure electric vehicles. Amy Eichenberger of Charlottesville, Va., was the 99,999th Nissan Leaf buyer, picking out a Glacier White example at her local dealership for her 10-mile daily commute.

BMW and Local Motors announce contest winners

BMW and Local Motors have announced the winning ideas in the Urban Driving Experience Challenge after phase one of the contest closed on 16 October. Anthony Franze of Australia won first prize and a cash award of $7,500 with his design for a premium car sharing service called ‘BMW Reward Me.' He also earned himself a trip to Munich, Germany, to meet with the head of BMW's Group Research and Technology, Dr. Christoph Grote.

Future products: Mazda's new direct-injection engine family arrives in 2011

The big news at Mazda is a new family of direct-injection gasoline and diesel engines that will start to arrive in 2011. Mazda will make significant changes to vehicle platforms to accommodate the Sky engines, which will be more powerful and fuel-efficient at lower displacements than the company's current engines. The first Sky gasoline engine is expected to debut in the United States in 2011.