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Sandy's toll: 15,000 cars and counting

The damage tally from Superstorm Sandy continues to roll in. The latest estimate is that Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda plan to scrap 15,000 new cars damaged. The National Automotive Dealers Association says that number could grow to 200,000 cars.

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron price and specs – costs £34,950

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (pictured) costs £34,950 If governments are going to base car taxation on Co2 emissions, then car makers are going to build cars that ‘game’ the official tests. A perfect example of which is the new Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid. It’s expensive at £34,950 (although the government bribe for plug-ins does drop the price you pay to £29,950), but thanks to its ‘up to 31 miles’ range on battery power only it comes complete with official economy of 176.6 mpg and emissions of 37g/km.

BMW poaches designer from Mercedes-Benz

Karim Habib is returning to BMW to take over as head of exterior design, the automaker announced on Tuesday. Habib spent the first 10 years of his career at BMW. During that time he was responsible for designing the exterior of the current BMW 7-series and the Concept CS.