2011 Lexus IS with Minor Facelift Unveiled in Europe, comes with new 150HP Diesel

Carmakers continue to roll out product announcements ahead of next month's Paris Motor show. The latest is Lexus that revealed details on its revised for the 2011 model year, IS series for Europe, which benefits from some modest cosmetic tweaks, additional standard features and the introduction of a new diesel model.

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2011 Ford Mondeo Facelift Premieres in Moscow, 50 High-Res Photos

In another sign of the growing importance of the Russian market, Ford chose the 2010 Moscow International Auto Show for the world premiere of its facelifted Mondeo series that rivals the likes of the Opel Insignia [Buick Regal in the States], Mazda6 and Citroen C5. Ford provided initial details and photos of the updated Mondeo back in June, but now we have the 'Full Monty' including a comprehensive image gallery with the first shots of the revised interior.

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What the Pruck? Toyota Prius and Subaru Baja form kinky bond

This is what happens when you have a Toyota Prius with rear end damage, a Subaru Baja (pickup truck version of the Outback) with front end damage, a lot of free time, and a very weird sense of aesthetics - or a sick sense of humor. This freak-o-mobile is the creation of a salvage Prius cars and parts company called "Auto Be Yours" located in Scottsburg, Indiana. And yes, the name given to the Baja-tized Prius is Pruck. If by any sheer ridiculous chance you're interested, the Pruck is up for sale for somewhere around "mid $20k". Skip the jump for more photos.

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Ford and Mazda buddy up and invest US$350 Million in Thailand plant for new pickup trucks

Longtime partners Ford Motor Co. and Mazda plan to invest US$350 million in their AutoAlliance (AAT) plant in Thailand to support the production of the next generation of the Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series compact pickup trucks, which are scheduled to be launched in the middle of 2011. The investment will go to plant upgrades and supplier tooling.

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Worldwide demand spurs Audi to expand A1's sales market everywhere except the US and China [for now]

Come 2011, Audi will offer the A1 outside of Europe due to a significant amount of worldwide demand. To be precise, the A1's dedicated website attracted more than 150,000 interested customers from all four corners of the world. The German company had previously expected average production volumes of 100,000 A1 units per year, primarily for the European market at first.

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SCOOP: New BMW 6-Series Sheds More Camo and Reveals Interior

These are some of the best spy shots yet of the new BMW 6-Series. Our man with the long lens not only snagged a couple of convertible prototypes with different color tops and much less camouflage than before, but he also scooped the car's interior revealing details of the cockpit.

Being based on the latest generation of the 5-Series, it comes to no surprise that the styling of the instrument panel, center console and even the steering wheel on the 6-Series are shared with BMW's premium sedan model. Elegant as it may be, we can't say we agree with BMW's "one style fits all" mentality, especially when it concerns a premium sports coupe/cabrio like the 6-Series.

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Refreshed 2011 Toyota Highlander debuts in Moscow

Toyota's spruced-up 2011 Highlander crossover made its world premiere today at this year's edition of the Moscow International Motor Show. Though Toyota is keeping its cards closed, buyers in the States should see a US launch of the facelifted crossover later this year.

The 2011 Highlander's exterior benefits significantly from a much more crisp, defined nose and headlights, along with restyled tail lamps and new bumper trim at the back. The rest of the car appears to go on mostly unchanged for the new model year.

Russian and Ukrainian buyers get a single engine option, the 3.5-liter V6 gasoline unit pumping out 273HP, matched to a five-speed automatic transmission.

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