Second-gen Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery The unintended acceleration case of the second-generation Prius belonging to James Sikes now officially has an interesting backstory. Apparently, according to USAToday , Sikes’ “case against Toyota is starting to look shaky.” Why? Two reasons.

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Report: Unintended acceleration Prius case gets twist involving debt, technology

ABT Sportsline now has its own interpretation of the iconic Audi ur-Quattro which is based on the new Audi TT RS coupe and Roadster range. That car made not only history but headlines around the world when it took on opponents on the rally circuit and proved itself a more than capable competitor.

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Audi TT-RS - ABT tuning

Filed under: Spy Photos , Sedan , Performance , Europe , Audi , Luxury Check out what a very cold spy photographer snapped some pictures of. This car could very well be the upcoming Audi S8

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Spy Shots: Are you the next Audi S8?

Filed under: Wagon , Lexus , Rumormill , Luxury Some of you will remember that from 2001 to 2005, Lexus sold a wagon variant of the IS , dubbed SportCross. Unfortunately, relatively dismal sales numbers didn’t really make a business case for keeping that car alive, and Lexus canned it when the second-generation IS debuted in 2006

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Rumormill: Next Lexus IS to re-gain wagon variant?

Gets reviewed by a famous racing driver….

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Audi R8 Spyder test drive video

Filed under: Classics , Etc. Celebrating the art of the magazine cover - Click above for high-res image gallery In the high-stakes game of magazine publishing, there’s one critical component that can either make or break an entire issue. What are we talking about?

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In Pictures: Celebrating the art of the magazine cover

Filed under: Classics , Etc. Celebrating the art of the magazine cover - Click above for high-res image gallery In the high-stakes game of magazine publishing, there’s one critical component that can either make or break an entire issue. What are we talking about?

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In Pictures: Celebrating the art of the magazine cover

Filed under: Etc. , Technology Groan. Remember the $350,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom parked in front of a Walmart ?

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Study: Where do our nav systems take us most? Walmart

Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler , GM Without the government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler , the U.S.

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Ratner: Auto bailout saved Michigan from bankruptcy

Filed under: Motorsports , Videos , Audi , Racing Walter R

Filed under: Motorsports , Motorcycle , Racing If you’re into going too fast on two wheels, chances are the name Terry Vance has crossed your radar a time or two. The pilot of Need-for-Speed Duo Vance & Hines spread the word recently from Daytona International Speedway that a new spec series featuring the Harley Davidson XR-1200 will run this year along with select AMA road racing events.

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We Smell a Ringer: Vance & Hines XR1200 spec series set for 2010 debut

Filed under: Minivan/Van , Work , Nissan , Misc. Auto Shows 2011 Nissan NV2500 HD - Click above for high-res image gallery We’re here in St.

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NTEA 2010: Nissan pulls the covers off NV commercial van

FOLLOWING REPORTS LAST month that BMW is developing a new small car that will enter below the 1 Series, BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofe has confirmed this week that a rival to the Audi A1 is in the works. Speaking with British magazine Autocar, Mr Reithofe said that the German carmaker is planning to grow the small car offerings of both BMW and MINI, with front-wheel-drive being the likely layout.

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New Sub-1 Series BMW Going Front-Wheel-Drive: Report

Audi to launch a more extreme version of the R8 towards the end of the year….

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Audi R8 LMS road car

Audi to launch a more extreme version of the R8 towards the end of the year….

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Audi R8 LMS road car

Taken from a gang to fight in the local Gangs Task Force….

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ABT Audi Q7 police car

Taken from a gang to fight in the local Gangs Task Force….

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ABT Audi Q7 police car

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Audi Audi R8 V10 - Click above for high-res image gallery We already know that Audi plans to fit the standard R8’s 420-hp, 4.2-liter V8 into its all-new Spyder variant early next year, and now comes word that at least one more version of the R8 is in the pipeline and that the R tronic sequential automatic might not be long for this world.

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Report: Audi R8 to spawn sportier model, dual-clutch gearbox cometh

Filed under: Motorsports , New York Auto Show , Podcasts , Safety , Acura , Cadillac , Ford , Honda , Toyota , Rumormill Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now! Episode #169 of the Autoblog Podcast has arrived, and it’s Chris, Sam, Alex, and Dan again this week. As usual, the Autoblog Garage starts us off, this time with a couple Suzuki Kizashis , a Ford Transit Connect , and the Cadillac SRX . The first topic for discussion are the latest developments in the ongoing Toyota Recall issue

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Autoblog Podcast #169: Wagons and SuperDuty and NASCAR, Oh My!

Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupe , Hybrid , Geneva Motor Show , Technology , Videos , Lotus The manufactured sounds of the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid - Click above to watch video after the jump Two years ago, we wrote about Lotus ‘ Safe and Sound hybrid technology which added a V8 soundtrack over the quietude of a hybrid’s electric motor. That demonstrator was a Toyota Prius, but at the Geneva Motor Show Lotus had an Evora 414E Hybrid equipped with several versions of aural enjoyment: a V6, a V12 and a non-ICE audio stab at what an electric car could maybe possibly sound like.

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Video: C/D takes the Lotus Evora Hybrid for a virtual spin

Filed under: Hatchback , BMW , Luxury Rumors of a front-wheel drive model to slot in below the 1 Series have been circulating for some time, with the most recent report coming last October . Now, Autocar has confirmed with BMW ’s chairman, Norbert Reithofe, that an all-new model is coming from the automaker, designed to compete with the recently introduced Audi A1 and built atop the next generation Mini ’s platform.

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Report: BMW working on new FWD model below 1 Series

Filed under: Classics , Coupe , Performance , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Audi , Luxury 2011 Audi RS5 promo footage - Click above to watch video after the jump In what is currently raw footage but what will soon undoubtedly be slickly produced promotional material, the brutalicious 2011 Audi RS5 growls around a track and on various European roads.

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Video: Promolicious clips of the Audi RS5 meeting its Ur Quattro brother

Audi R8 LMS revealed today

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Audi R8 LMS

FILLING THE GAP between the A3 and the upcoming A1, speculation that the German carmaker is developing a next generation A2 hatch has begun to grow.

Filed under: Classics , Technology , Audi , Chrysler Unintended acceleration didn’t start with Toyota , nor did it start with the Audi 5000 - it’s probably been around since the first man put a leg over what he thought was a tamed horse. Automobile Magazine takes a look at the phenomenon of accidentally wide-open throttles circa 1957, when Chrysler began the process of putting Bendix Electrojet fuel injectors into four of its models.

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Automobile takes a look at the early history of ’sudden acceleration’

20 of them already sold.

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2010 Audi R8 LMS

Filed under: Convertible , Lexus , Design/Style , Luxury Lexus IS C F-Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery As much as we’d love to see a convertible version of the pulse-quickening Lexus IS F , it doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Instead, Lexus is offering up plenty of F-Sport accessories for the IS C , including the new IS350C F-Sport Special Edition which goes on sale later this month

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Lexus announces IS350C F-Sport Special Edition, priced from $58,375*

Filed under: Hatchback , Audi , Rumormill , Electric Audi A1 e-tron concept - Click above for high-res image gallery Seeing the Audi A1 and A1 e-tron concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show provides proof that the quad-ring automaker is putting a much larger focus on its small car offerings. With that in mind, new rumors are cropping up about a possible successor to the A2 - the quirky little hatch that never came to the U.S.

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Report: Audi working on successor to A2?

Sure it may be Photoshop, but who cares… What’s got 556 horsepower, goes 0-60 in around 4.2 seconds and has room for 4 adults and their luggage? Well the upcoming Cadillac CTS-V Wagon of course

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The Cadillac CTS-V Wagon is coming!

Filed under: Motorsports , Europe , Audi , Racing 2010 Audi R8 LMS evolution - Click above for high-res image gallery 2009 proved to be a very successful opening campaign for Audi’s new customer race car, the R8 LMS . Eight cars were sold to a variety of teams and between them, the cars won 23 races and three national and international GT championships. For 2010, Audi has produced a new evolution version of the R8 LMS, and by mid-April, the German automaker expects to have delivered a total of 20 cars

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Audi begins deliveries of R8 LMS evolution to Euro race teams

Filed under: Recalls , Safety , Toyota Late last month we wrote a lengthy post about problems with an ABC News report that purported to show a Toyota Avalon racing out of control without setting a diagnostic fault code. While we primarily focused on the technical side and analyzed whether the problem was realistic, the crew at Gawker took a hard look at the video in question and noticed something fishy

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Report: ABC News faked at least one part of runaway Toyota report

Filed under: Government/Legal , Safety , Videos , Toyota Click above to watch the video after the jump And here we thought all that Toyota bashing was happening just in Washington, D.C ., in Midwest bars and on late night talk shows. It appears Toyota can’t even escape the negative press that has come as a result of the company’s recent recall woes at the 82 annual Academy Awards, either.

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Toyota gets dishonorable mention in Oscars opening

Everybody is going green. Did you hear that? Everybody is going green at the Geneva auto show

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Audi’s Magical Wankel Engine at the Geneva Auto Show

Filed under: Recalls , Toyota During the first round of Congressional hearings last month, Toyota was blindsided by one Professor David Gilbert who was added to the witness list at the last minute to talk about an experiment in which he induced sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) in a late model Toyota Avalon. His test was reproduced in a shoddy ABC News report with Brian Ross behind the wheel and referenced often in the Congressional hearings by politicians trying to understand the complicated method by which Gilbert got the Avalon to take off running.

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Toyota rebuts Professor Gilbert, reports nothing found wrong with remedied vehicles

ABT Sportsline released a new line of styling kits this past week, the two we have here are for the Audi A8 and Audi R8 GTR cars.

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ABT Audi A8 and Audi R8 GTR

Filed under: Etc. The Autoblog Weekender - Click above to find out what you missed It’s a feast of moving pictures this week, an ensemble cast telling 18 tragi-comi-dramatic stories such as: Volvo doing some naughty things forward and backward in its new S60 , capitalist Communists in love with the Porsche Cayenne , Optimus Prime getting a Michael Bay makeover otherwise knowns as a Bay-kover, the Audi RS5 grumbling about everything, the 918 getting groped in two parts, don’t ever, ever rent a car in Miami without a Haz-Mat suit, and what kind of awesome can you hear when you mix Bruce Willis and The Gorillaz

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Autoblog Weekender: ‘Around the World in Video’ Edition

Filed under: Performance , Europe , Hatchback , Audi 2011 Audi A1 S Line - Click above for high-res image gallery The not-for-U.S. (at least not for now) Audi A1 just made its public debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show , and we’re eager to see how the new hatch stacks up to the likes of the much-loved Mini Cooper

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Pics Aplenty: 2011 Audi A1 S Line in the color of lust

Filed under: Hatchback , Saab , Design/Style Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars , has made it clear that Saab , which was just recently acquired by Muller’s exclusive automaker, will introduce a new small car to go up against the Mini and the newly shown-off Audi A1 . What’s more, the new small Saab will hearken back to such classically styled Swedish iron as the classic 1949 92. It’s been rumored that the next Saab will be known as the 9-1 and will be based atop the underpinnings of the Opel Astra hatchback

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Rendered Speculation: Saab 9-1 gets drawn up

Filed under: New York Auto Show , Hybrid , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Chevrolet , Kia , Mercedes-Benz , Porsche , Toyota , Volkswagen , Ferrari , Diesel The votes from 59 international journalists have been counted and the finalists for World Car of the Year have been named. The Detroit News is reporting that the Toyota Prius , Volkswagen Polo and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have made the final cut, and the three vehicles will go toe-to-toe on April 1st (no foolin’) at the start of the New York Auto Show , which is where the World COTY award is announced.

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Final three World Car of the Year finalists announced

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Videos , Aston Martin Aston Martin One-77 testing footage - Click above to watch the video after the jump To be blunt, the Aston Martin One-77 is all sorts of awesome.

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Video: Aston Martin releases new One-77 testing footage

Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Lexus , Reviews , Luxury 2010 Lexus LS460 Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery With Lexus having carefully cultivated a reputation for isolating drivers from all of the undignified sensations normally associated with driving, it might seem surprising to find a Sport model in the LS lineup. Sure, Lexus offers the M3 -chasing IS F , as well as the outrageous LFA supercar, but an LS460 Sport ? Come on…

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Review: 2010 Lexus LS460 Sport could’a been a contenda

CONFIRMED FOR production in May last year, Audi has at last revealed the 2011 Audi RS5, the range-topping model in the A5 line-up. The RS5's unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show this week follows a series of leaked images that surfaced online this week. Today, Audi has released a video of the RS5 out on the track.

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2011 Audi RS5 Revealed Further In New Official Video

I’d held back reporting on the Lexus 200h hybrid’s introduction at Geneva, since we were told that it wouldn’t be coming to the U.S. market. Lexus has apparently changed their minds and will introduce the four door hatch at the upcoming New York Auto Show

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Geneva Motor Show Update: Lexus CT 200h Now U.S. Bound

MITSUBISHI AUSTRALIA HAS today announced the limited edition 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer ACTiV, featuring a number of interior and exterior additions. Based on the Lancer ES, the Lancer ACTiV features 16-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, side airdams, rear spoiler, chrome exhaust tip and the ACTiV badge.

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2010 Mitsubishi Lancer ACTiV Limited Edition On Sale From March

AUDI HAS FOLLOWED the unveiling of the 2011 Audi A1 premium light car last month with images of the new model's S Line sport package.

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2011 Audi A1 S Line Sport Package Photos Revealed

We’ve all been caught in the act at one time or another, haven’t we? No matter how careful you are to check under the car seats, delete the call log on your phone or wipe out the cookies on your computer before the significant other asks, “Why were you at a website called tinytrannyhookers.com?”, sooner or later we all get busted. It’s like that for gear heads, too.

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10 Cars You’re Embarrassed To Lust For

Filed under: Convertible , Budget , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Renault Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet - Click above for high-res image gallery In addition to the smaller Wind roadster , Renault is showing off another droptop at this year’s Geneva Motor Show - the Megane Coupe-Cabriolet . Much larger than the Wind, the Megane CC is poised to compete with the likes of the Volkswagen Eos or Audi A5 convertibles

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Geneva 2010: Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet lets the light shine in

Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Electric Lumeneo Smera Concept - click above for high-res image gallery if there’s one overriding theme at this year’s Geneva Motor Show , it’s the electrification of the automobile. Long story short, even scorched earth king Ferrari showed a hybrid . The show floor was littered with dozens of electric contraptions of all shapes and sizes , but we’re taking a moment or so to tell you about the Lumeneo Smera because it made us smile.

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Geneva 2010: Lumeneo Smera Concept is a lean(ing), possibly hyper-mean, electric machine

Getting zero mpg (i.e., idling) could cost drivers

Full, complete and exhaustive information released….

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Audi R8 Spyder detailed

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show 66 vehicles covered… and counting. Tell us your favorite so far in the comments.

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We obsessively covered the…

Filed under: Concept Cars , SUV , Geneva Motor Show , Europe , Specialty Fornasari Racing Buggy concept - click above for high-res image gallery Here’s the brass tacks: When we like a show car, we like it. Case in point, we’re still semi-drunk on car show pleasure from the fleeting moments we were lucky enough to spend looking at the Bertone Alfa Romeo Pandion Concept . Flip side of that coin, if we dislike something, we tell the world

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Geneva 2010: Fornasari Racing Buggy and RR66 represent opposite end of Geneva spectrum

Filed under: Aftermarket , Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Audi Abt R8 GTR - Click above for high-res image gallery We got our first peek at Abt’s R8 GTR late last year , but like with many cars, it was a whole different experience to see it in person. To say carbon fiber has been used liberally is an understatement, as the entire car is clothed in the lightweight material.

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Geneva 2010: Abt R8 GTR is full of V10, carbon fiber goodness

Filed under: Aftermarket , Coupe , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Audi Abt R8 GTR - Click above for high-res image gallery We got our first peek at Abt’s R8 GTR late last year , but like with many cars, it was a whole different experience to see it in person. To say carbon fiber has been used liberally is an understatement, as the entire car is clothed in the lightweight material

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Geneva 2010: Abt R8 GTR is full of V10, carbon fiber goodness

Filed under: Concept Cars , SUV , Geneva Motor Show , Middle East , Design/Style , Off-Road We went to the wrong school — Click above for a high-res image gallery Imagine this: you’re sitting there in your engineering class and the professor walks in and says, “You’re getting a little project this semester. I’d like you to design an SUV. But not just any SUV, one that takes into account the environment and population of the Arabian Gulf

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Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1 is one whopper of a student project

Filed under: Concept Cars , SUV , Geneva Motor Show , Middle East , Design/Style , Off-Road We went to the wrong school — Click above for a high-res image gallery Imagine this: you’re sitting there in your engineering class and the professor walks in and says, “You’re getting a little project this semester. I’d like you to design an SUV. But not just any SUV, one that takes into account the environment and population of the Arabian Gulf

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Geneva 2010: King Saud University Gazal-1 is one whopper of a student project

Photo: Autoblog Audi is showing an all electric version of its A1 minicar at Geneva, but this one has a novel twist. Like the Chevy Volt, it’s battery powered and uses a gasoline motor to recharge the batteries; unlike the Volt, or any other electric car to date, the A1 e-tron concept uses a Wankel motor to produce the charge. More after the jump

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Audi A1 e-tron Concept Makes Geneva Debut

Photo: Autoblog Audi is showing an all electric version of its A1 minicar at Geneva, but this one has a novel twist. Like the Chevy Volt, it’s battery powered and uses a gasoline motor to recharge the batteries; unlike the Volt, or any other electric car to date, the A1 e-tron concept uses a Wankel motor to produce the charge.

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Audi A1 e-tron Concept Makes Geneva Debut

Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrid , Sedan , Geneva Motor Show , Audi Audi A8 Hybrid Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery In the Them’s Big Words department, Audi is calling its A8 Hybrid “the efficiency standard.” And it’s not exactly untrue since the top-of-the-peak, 211-horsepower V6 sedan boosted by a 45-hp electric motor has more power than an A3 TDI and a faster 0-to-60 sprint, yet the gas mileage comparison isn’t unfavorable: the A3 gets 34 miles per gallon combined, the A8 Hybrid does 38 mpg. And you get all that A8 size and panache

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Geneva 2010: Audi A8 Hybrid a concept in name only

Aston Martin is showing the production version of its Cygnet minicar at the Geneva Motor Show. Based on Toyota’s iQ, the Aston Martin isn’t available to just anyone; in fact, you need to already own an Aston Martin to qualify for purchase.

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Aston Martin Cygnet Concept: Highbrow Minicar