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Five Suzuki concepts for 2013 Tokyo Motor Show

Suzuki has announced no less than five concept cars for the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, which takes place in Japan this November. Four of them are new: the Suzuki Crosshiker, the Suzuki X-Lander, the Suzuki Hustler and the Suzuki Hustler Coupe – the fifth being the Suzuki iV-4 already seen at Frankfurt this year. Suzuki Crosshiker concept We’ll start with the best one, which is by no small margin the Crosshiker concept.

Watch the sad, final moments of a crusher-bound heap

Automotive wrecking yards are good places to reflect on the real-world values of heavily depreciated vehicles versus global current scrap-metal prices, and to see which cars have suddenly had the fix-it-versus-total-it line moved by insurance companies (the early-21st-century Subaru Legacy Outback, for example, appeared in large numbers in high-turnover wrecking yards just during the last year, as fairly minor collision damage on these cars is no longer worth fixing). You'll see the things that a car's last owner does in a desperate attempt to sell (or at least live with) an increasingly decrepit heap (as we learned in "Repo Man," you really will find a Little Tree in every car). During a recent trip to a San Jose, Calif., yard, I encountered this sad yet strangely compelling scene.

Kia scoops three design awards

Kia has won three design awards in this year's Automotive Brand Contest, continuing its strong showing in last year's competition. The second-generation cee'd, launched in June, topped the exterior category table as well as receiving an honorary special mention for exceptional innovation in the interior category. The car's exterior features a chrome-framed glasshouse and muscular lines on the bonnet, while inside an ergonomic, driver-oriented control panel impressed the judges enough to receive the special mention.