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Concept Car of the Week: Italdesign Machimoto (1986)

The Machimoto might look and sound like a Japanese concept, but it was developed in Europe in the Turin-based Italdesign studio, and was based on a Volkswagen Golf GTI platform. The name actually derives from MACHIna (car in Italian) and MOTOciclo (motorcycle) as the perfect hybrid between the worlds of two- and four-wheelers. Unveiled on its home turf at the Turin motor show in 1986, it landed like a UFO, shocking both the public and the press.

Peugeot 208

Peugeot today unveiled the all-new 208, which will replace the 207 in spring 2012. Entirely new from the ground up, the French firm's latest B segment model is said to ‘represent a true generation leap' over its predecessor and embody ‘the principles of agility and efficiency'. "The strength of the 208 lies in its style: it is a real ball of energy," says Peugeot's design director, Gilles Vidal.

Smart car inventor Nicolas Hayek dies

Nicolas Hayek, the engineer and industrialist who founded the Swiss watch company Swatch and brought the world the Smart car, died on June 28 of heart failure at his office in Switzerland. He was 82. Hayek saved the Swiss watch industry from lower-priced Asian competition in the early 1980s by offering colorful, inexpensive Swatch timepieces that he backed with equally colorful marketing.