LEAD IN:

Toyota is returning to rally car racing with the debut of a Yaris WRC to compete in next year's World Rally Championship (WRC) series.

The car maker is also teaming up with Microsoft to open the Toyota Research Institute.

STORY-LINE:

Revving back on to the World Rally Championship (WRC) stage, this is the car Toyota is hoping will help race ahead of the competition.

The Yaris WRC will make its debut in the 2017 World Rally Championship as the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.

Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, made the announcement at the Paris Motor Show.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series race. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested," he says.

Toyota is collaborating with software giant Microsoft , which is supporting the racing project.

Information gathered from the racing car's performance will be used to enhance other vehicle projects.

The two companies have worked together previously collecting data through the Toyota Connected company.

They will now collaborate and form the Toyota Research Institute.

"We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals at the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before," says Toyoda.

Toyota also announced that it is working to develop driverless car technology and will be concentrating on two different modes of autonomy: chauffer mode and guardian mode.

Paris, France - 29 September 2016

1. Wide of Toyota presentation with WRC (World Rally Championship) Yaris driving on stage

2. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation walking on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested."

3. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"It's wonderful to be here in Europe, the centre of automotive racing with a heritage and brand I've long admired. A racing fan myself, nothing gives me greater pleasure than test driving one of the vehicles like this new Yaris built right here in France."

4. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Microsoft has been an investor in our data analytics company Toyota Connected, making them more than just a software supplier. We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals of the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before."

5. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Though not widely known, Toyota has been working on the development of autonomous cars for many years now. The team will be building on this foundation, developing two kinds of autonomy : chauffer mode and guardian mode.

6. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage with Yaris

LEAD IN:

Toyota is returning to rally car racing with the debut of a Yaris WRC to compete in next year's World Rally Championship (WRC) series.

The car maker is also teaming up with Microsoft to open the Toyota Research Institute.

STORY-LINE:

Revving back on to the World Rally Championship (WRC) stage, this is the car Toyota is hoping will help race ahead of the competition.

The Yaris WRC will make its debut in the 2017 World Rally Championship as the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.

Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, made the announcement at the Paris Motor Show.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series race. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested," he says.

Toyota is collaborating with software giant Microsoft , which is supporting the racing project.

Information gathered from the racing car's performance will be used to enhance other vehicle projects.

The two companies have worked together previously collecting data through the Toyota Connected company.

They will now collaborate and form the Toyota Research Institute.

"We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals at the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before," says Toyoda.

Toyota also announced that it is working to develop driverless car technology and will be concentrating on two different modes of autonomy: chauffer mode and guardian mode.

Paris, France - 29 September 2016

1. Wide of Toyota presentation with WRC (World Rally Championship) Yaris driving on stage

2. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation walking on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested."

3. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"It's wonderful to be here in Europe, the centre of automotive racing with a heritage and brand I've long admired. A racing fan myself, nothing gives me greater pleasure than test driving one of the vehicles like this new Yaris built right here in France."

4. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Microsoft has been an investor in our data analytics company Toyota Connected, making them more than just a software supplier. We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals of the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before."

5. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:

"Though not widely known, Toyota has been working on the development of autonomous cars for many years now. The team will be building on this foundation, developing two kinds of autonomy : chauffer mode and guardian mode.

6. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage with Yaris

LEADIN:

From aluminium-clad pickup trucks to hydrogen-powered Toyotas, motor vehicles in 2014 got smarter, quirkier and more luxurious.

STORYLINE:

Kicking off 2014, American automakers Ford unveiled their new aluminium-clad F-150 at the Detroit Motor Show in January.

The lighter material shaved as much as 700 pounds (315 kilograms) off the 5,000-pound truck, a big change for a vehicle known for its heft and an industry reliant on steel.

Such a radical departure from past pickup trucks dominated talk at the opening of the motor show - at the time no other vehicle on the market contained as much aluminium.

Ford said the 2015 F-150 will be made up of 97-percent aluminium.

"We know automakers can do it - aluminium is not a new thing - but it's always been relegated to high-end vehicles or sports cars," says Jake Fisher from Consumer Reports.

Detroit's North American International Auto Show ran 13-26 January 2014.

While in Detroit automakers were showing off their rugged four wheel drive vehicles, in Paris it was all about concept and sleek design.

At the 29th International Automobile Festival, this Kia Provo was one of a dozen high-end concept cars on show.

The South Korean-made two-door concept car has a 1.6-litre turbo GDI engine and a windshield which resembles a helmet visor, giving it the look of a sports coup�.

Also on show was this Opel Monza Concept which is powered by an electric engine and boasts an in-car entertainment system which includes a hub for tablets.

The annual International Automobile Festival started in 1986 in Chamonix in the French Alps and moved to Paris in 2001.

The 2014 event ran till 2 February 2014.

Elsewhere in Paris, the Retromobile vintage car exhibition showed off a unique display which boasted old military vehicles lined up next to majestic vintage Rolls-Royce cars.

It included a Rolls-Royce Phantom III from 1937, a model with one of the most complex Rolls-Royce engines under the bonnet.

Now in its 39th year, Retromobile marked the centenary year of the start of World War One with a display of vehicles which served on the front lines.

The First World War was the first armed conflict where vehicles had an important mission.

Vehicles showcased at the event were estimated to be worth around 2,900,000-3,500,000 euros ($3,927,472 - 4,740,052 USD).

Retromobile ran 5-9 February 2014.

It's full speed ahead on this stretch of highway in central Australia where all speed limits were cleared.

All speed limits were scrapped on the Stuart Highway, which spans 200 kilometres.

It was part of a 12-month trial and the deliverance on an election promise made by the Northern Territory government.

"The people in the bush have asked us to replace the open speed limits so they can get to their destination a little bit quicker," says Peter Styles, Northern Territories Transport Minister.

While some were for the change, critics feared it could encourage irresponsible driving and lead to road deaths.

Back in Europe and at the Geneva International Motor Show a whole host of strange, quirky and inventive models were going on show to motoring enthusiasts.

Japanese car manufacturers Toyota showed off their FV2 - a rather space-age-looking vehicle.

To operate it, drivers must lean forward to send the vehicle forward and lean back to reverse.

Steering is controlled by the operator moving the vehicle from side to side.

Elsewhere at the Geneva Motor Show, steering was the least of some passengers' worries.

Autonomous technology was a hot topic in the auto industry during 2014 with various companies developing and refining vehicles which could one day drive themselves.

Swiss car manufacturers Rinspeed presented their vision of the future with this autonomous "XchangE" project.

Resembling a mobile living room rather than an actual car, the concept vehicle boasted business-class style seats, a television screen and an Italian espresso machine, all to be enjoyed while the car itself did the driving.

The Geneva International Motor Show was open to the public from 6-16 March 2014.

From futuristic designs to second-hand models, in Egypt, one of Cairo's most popular markets was getting set to change locations.

In March, the used car market of Nasr City was readying to move to the southern outskirts of the Egyptian capital.

Almost every Friday and Sunday for the last 12 years, thousands flocked to this suburban neighbourhood.

There were approximately 15 thousand vehicles on display through 16 acres of market space.

Weekly traffic jams and inconvenience caused to local residents caused Cairo's governor to move the event to a new venue at a far south eastern suburb known as Qattameya Province by the end of 2014.

On the other side of the world in the US, vintage and classic cars from the past 100 years were going on show in California.

Rolls Royce, Porsche and Ferrari were among the big names at the Concours d'Elegance event celebrating the Beverly Hills' centenary.

Around 175 cars and motorcycles went on show in the grounds of Greystone Mansion.

Among them was a Centennial class display, showcasing rare vehicles built more than 100 years ago.

"The Concours is a day that we every year look forward to, especially this year because it's our 100th birthday," says Mayor of Beverly Hills, Lili Bosse.

The Concours d'Elegance event was staged on 4 May 2014.

From 100-year-old motors to the latest car tech, at Duesseldorf Airport in Germany, travellers were side-stepping the stressful task of finding an airport parking space by using a helpful robot valet named "Ray".

Those who wanted to use the service just left their car in a designated area, confirmed it was empty and ready to go and then the rest was taken care of by "Ray", an AGV (automated guided vehicle).

The robot could take the car to one of 249 parking spaces specially-reserved for the automated guided vehicles to deliver to.

A key feature was how the system carefully classified each vehicle by scanning its size therefore ensuring wasted parking space was kept to a minimum.

Developers and Duesseldorf Airport both claimed it was the first parking robot of its kind.

It was developed by a Bavarian start up - named "Serva" - and became operational at Duesseldorf Airport in late June.

In China, Italian luxury car brand Maserati were turning heads while launching a mass rally of sports cars in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The location - once a place of worship for the Ming and Qing dynasties - was the start of Maserati's "China-Italy Centennial Rally", which travelled across six countries, from China to Italy.

It marked ten years since the Italian car maker entered China.

The rally travelled some 12,000 kilometres (7,450 miles) to Maserati's home in Italy.

A fleet of Maserati cars, driven by their owners and journalists, set off from Beijing to cross continents from Asia to Europe, before arriving in Italy.

In the UK in September, 3D printing technology was taking to the race track.

While in the past 3D printers were used to shave industry production times, in 2014 the technology sped up times in the world of motor racing.

This car reaches 200 mph (321 km/h) and is being entered in the Le Mans 24-hour race.

It was the result of several prototypes built by Strakker Racing at Silverstone in the UK.

Like some other teams, Strakker used 3D prints of components to try out designs and cut down on waste in terms of production time and materials.

"It's not uncommon to use 3D printing for rapid prototyping, which helps a very short development cycle," says Dan Walmsley, engineer and team principal at Strakker Racing.

"But what we've moved into now is actual production parts on a racecar, which is quite a new direction for us to go."

The Strakker Racecar was on show at London's 3D Print Show which ran 3-6 September 2014.

While automakers in the UK were experimenting with the latest in car-making technology, the newest luxury models were going on show at the Paris Motor Show.

Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Porsche were just some of the well-known high end names unveiling cars at the biennial event.

Italian automakers Ferrari unveiled their new hyper-car, the Ferrari 458 Speciale A.

The car manufacturer said there would only be 499 units of the vehicle available, each costing around 260,000 euros ($328,858 USD).

The first cars were expected to be delivered to Europe and China in November.

The 458 Speciale A reaches 100 kilometres per hour in 3 seconds.

While Ferrari still sells all the cars it makes, according to Paul Einstein, editor of car news website 'The Detroit Bureau' the market is getting increasingly competitive.

"Ferrari is facing - surprisingly and increasingly - tough and competitive hyper car market," he says.

"It's not simply roll out a car and expect that everybody will run and buy it."

The Paris Motor Show ran from 4-19 October and featured over 260 brands from 18 different countries.

German art lovers got a taste of the fast lane in November through a new Andy Warhol exhibition.

At the "Andy Warhol. CARS" exhibition staged at the MAC Museum Art and Cars in Singen, 40 original works from the pop artist's picture series went on display flanked by seven classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

"CARS" was Warhol's last series and remained unfinished.

Originally, a total of eighty depictions were planned, based on 20 selected Mercedes-Benz models.

They were supposed to tell the history of the automobile starting from the 1886 Daimler Motor Carriage and the Benz Patent Motor Car.

Warhol - who never owned a driving licence - managed to complete 35 paintings and 13 large-format drawings showing eight different models before his death in February 1987.

The exhibit included a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL from 1954 - the fastest production car of its time with a top speed of up to 250 km/h.

The exhibition runs 26 October till 17 May 2015.

Sixteen-hundred classic cars converged on Birmingham in November for the UK's largest classic car show.

It was there British classic car enthusiasts celebrated the hundredth birthday of Italian sports car maker Maserati.

The Maserati Club displayed 21 classic models on its stands.

The Classic Motor Show ran 14-16 November 2014 in Birmingham, UK.

From the past to the future, and in November Japanese car maker Toyota took its first small step into the unproven market of emissions-free, hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The world's largest automaker announced it would begin selling a limited number of its fuel cell car - named 'Mirai' - from December in Japan and later in mid-2015 across the US and Europe.

It's set to retail for 6.7 million yen ($57,600 USD) before taxes.

But if drivers were hoping to buy one, they had to be quick, Toyota Motor Corp only expected to sell 400 in Japan and 300 in the rest of the world in its first year.

It represented a big shift for the Japanese automakers as it was their first ever emissions-free, hydrogen-powered vehicle.

But with the relatively high cost and small number of hydrogen filling stations currently on offer, experts said cars like the Mirai faced an uncertain future.

Success depends both on whether automakers could bring down the price and if a wide-enough network of filling stations is established.

"People want to buy the car only if there's an infrastructure, but there won't be the infrastructure unless people are buying the car," says Haans Griemel, Asia editor of Automotive News.

AP Television

Detroit, US - 13 January 2014

1. Wide of new Ford F150 trucks bursting through paper wall onto stage at Detroit Motor Show

2. Mid of 2015 Ford F150 vehicle rotating on stage

3. Mid of group looking at red Ford F150

4. Tilt up of front of new Ford F150

5. Mid of woman knocking on aluminium door of vehicle

6. Close of headlight

7. Wide of back of black F150 vehicle

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports:

"We know automakers can do it - aluminium is not a new thing - but it's always been relegated to high-end vehicles or sports cars."

AP Television

Paris, France - 29 January 2014

9. Wide of Kia Provo

10. Pull focus from rear lights of Kia Provo to rear view mirror

11. Close of wheel of Kia Provo

12. Mid of Kia Provo with right door open

13. Wide of Opel Monza Concept in foreground and Porsche 918 Spyder in background

14. Pan left of Opel Monza Concept

15. Mid of Opel Monza Concept with doors open

16. Wide of Opel Monza Concept

AP Television

Paris, France - 5 February 2014

17. Wide low shot of Rolls-Royce Phantom III, 1937

18. Pan of Rolls-Royce Phantom III

19. Tilt down of Rolls-Royce decoration

20. Pan from Packard 443 Roadstar Golf car (1927), estimated value 80,000 - 120,000 euros to other exhibited cars

21. Pan of Ferrari 330 P4, racing car, 1967

22. Wide of American WWI military hospital vehicle, Ford T (1908)

23. Mid of sign reading (English):"American Field Service"

AuBC **No Access Australia**

Alice Springs, Australia - 1 February 2014

24. Various aerial shots of highway

25. SOUNDBITE: (English) Peter Styles, Northern Territories Transport Minister:

"The people in the bush have asked us to replace the open speed limits so they can get to their destination a little bit quicker."

26. Mid of 'Open Speed' road sign and car driving past

27. Various aerial shots of blue Ferrari driving on highway

AP Television

Geneva, Switzerland - 6 March 2014

28. Various of woman demonstrating the Toyota FV2 prototype at the Geneva International Motor Show

AP Television

Geneva, Switzerland - 5 March 2014

29. Various of Rinspeed "XchangE" concept car on show at the Geneva International Motor Show

AP Television

Cairo, Egypt - 28 March 2014

30. Pull out of used car market

31. Mid of people looking at cars

32. Mid of broker talking to customer

33. Mid of customers opening (Hyundai Verna- Model 2011) car trunk

34. Close of car engine

35. Close of customer trying car

AP Television

Beverly Hills, California, US - 4 May 2014

36. Low shot of 1904 Schacht Model K at Concours d'Elegance event

37. Wide of Centennial class cars, 1904 Schacht Model K (left)

38. Wide of 1912 De Dion-Bouton DE-2

39. Mid of 1912 De Dion-Bouton DE-2 from rear

40. Wide of 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

41. Zoom out of 1912 Rolls Royce

42. Wide of 1912 Rolls Royce driving away

43. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lili Bosse, Mayor of Beverly Hills:

"The Concours is a day that we every year look forward to, especially this year because it's our 100th birthday."

AP Television

Duesseldorf, Germany - 18 July 2014

44. Wide of parking robot "Ray" approaching car from the side at Duesseldorf Airport

45. Low pull in of "Ray" approaching car from the side

46. Wide of "Ray" leaving vehicle transfer station with the car

47. Pull out of "Ray" driving away with car to empty vehicle transfer station

VNR: Animation copyright by "Serva transport systems GmbH"

Date and location not given

++MUTE++

48. Animation footage of automated guided vehicles parking cars

AP Television

Beijing, China - 11 August 2014

49. Wide pan of exterior of Imperial temple with cars in courtyard

50. Various of performers striking drums

51. Various of Maserati fleet driving around courtyard

AP Television

London, UK - 4 September 2014

52. Various of the Strakker racecar on show at the 3D Printshow

53. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dan Walmsley, Engineer and Team Principal Strakker Racing:

"It's not uncommon to use 3D printing for rapid prototyping, which helps a very short development cycle, but what we've moved into now is actual production parts on a racecar, which is quite a new direction for us to go."

VNR: Strakker Racing

Silverstone, UK - 2014

54. Track footage from inside Strakker racecar

AP Television

Paris, France - 2 October 2014

55. Wide of unveiling of Ferrari 458 Speciale A

56. Close tilt up of Ferrari 458 Speciale A

57. Mid of Ferrari 458 Speciale A rotating on platform

58. Wide of Ferrari 458 Speciale A

59. Mid of Ferrari 458 Speciale A steering wheel

60. Close low shot of Ferrari 458 Speciale A wheel arch

61. SOUNDBITE: (English) Paul Einstein, Editor of 'The Detroit Bureau' car news website:

"Ferrari is facing - surprisingly and increasingly - tough and competitive hyper car market. It's not simply roll out a car and expect that everybody will run and buy it."

AP Television

Singen, Germany - 10 November 2014

62. Wide of original Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe (1954) on display with Andy Warhol's "Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe (1954), 1986" in background

63. Close of steering wheel with Mercedes logo and Warhol's �Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe (1954), 1986" in background

64. Tilt up from front wheel of Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe to Warhol's "Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe (1954), 1986"

65. Wide of original Mercedes-Benz C 111 Experimental Vehicle (1970) on display with Andy Warhol's artworks in background

66. Tilt down of Andy Warhol's "Mercedes-Benz C 111 Experimental Vehicle (1970), 1986"

67. Mid of Mercedes-Benz C 111 Experimental Vehicle (1970) on display with Andy Warhol's artworks in background

AP Television

Birmingham, UK - 15 November 2014

68. Mid of 1961 Maserati 3500GT Vignale Spyder

69. Mid of red 1962 Maserati 5000GTi

70. Tilt up from Maserati badge on car to Mazeratti trident emblem above stand

AP Television

Tokyo, Japan - 17 November 2014

71. Pan left of hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai driving by

72. Various of Mirai interior as it drives

73. Wide of Mirai arriving at hydrogen station pump

74. Various of re-fuelling process

75. SOUNDBITE: (English) Haans Griemel, Asia Editor of Automotive News:

"People want to buy the car only if there's an infrastructure, but there won't be the infrastructure unless people are buying the car."

76. Wide of Toyota Mirai during re-fueling process

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot of hybrid car rally outside the Los Angeles Convention Centre

2. Mid shot of hybrid cars lined up outside convention centre

3. Close shot of hybrid car logo

4. Close shot of woman putting sign on hybrid car

5. Close shot of woman in hybrid car, tilt down to close shot of sign

6. Close shot of another sign on hybrid car

7. Tilt down from convention centre to hybrid car.

8. Mid shot of hybrid cars

9. Close shot of sign on windshield.

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Richard Wegner, hybrid car owner:

"Well....economy. I mean absolutely, I mean if you need an incentive that's the best incentive. I mean, the amount that I'm saving in gas on this car, compared to like an SUV (sport utility vehicle), is making the payments. So it's like a car for free."

11. Tilt down from convention centre to Union of Concerned Scientists banner.

12. Close shot of license plate.

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jason Mark, Clean Vehicles Programme director, Union of Concerned Scientists:

"The hybrids are without a doubt here and now and ready to go. Folks are spending a lot of money investing in fuel-cell vehicles, which are sort of what most people agree are the technology to replace the internal combustion engine of today. But the hybrid vehicles are an excellent bridge. They're the technology that for the next couple of decades is really going to get us to that big scale fuel cell future."

14. Wide shot of Honda hybrid car display at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

15. Close shot of Honda hybrid car display sign.

16. Wide shot of Honda fuel cell vehicle.

17. Close shot of Honda fuel cell vehicle.

18. Close shot of Honda fuel cell car display.

19. Mid shot of Toyota Prius hybrid car.

20. Close shot of Toyota Prius engine.

21. Wide shot of Ford display showing PZEV low-emissions vehicle.

22. Close shot of PZEV exhaust pipe.

23. Close shot of PZEV.

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jason Mark, Clean Vehicles Programme director, Union of Concerned Scientists:

"The bottom line is that foreign automakers are making the case that not only can you capture market share and be very profitable, you can also bring green technologies to market. Detroit has got to get on board if they're going to be selling cars in this century, later in this century."

25. Mid shot of hybrid car rally.

STORYLINE:

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) says its time for major car makers to build more cars that pollute less and use less fuel.

A new study by the environmental group says US automakers could boost fuel efficiency and cut pollution by using hybrid technologies.

Members of the Union were in Los Angeles Friday, joined by local owners of hybrid cars urging automakers to offer more hybrid models.

They met outside the city's convention center where major auto makers are gathering for the annual Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.

Hybrid cars combine a fuel-efficient gas burning engine and an electric motor to power vehicles.

The UCS study says cars and trucks could reach an average fuel efficiency of 60 miles per gallon by the end of the next decade if automakers use the best available hybrid technologies.

Many of the local hybrid car owners on hand for the rally drive some of the first available models of their kind, from Toyota and Honda.

The Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Honda Civic models at the rally use versions of hybrid engine technology.

The Prius, for example, has an electric motor that takes over for the gas-powered engine at lower speeds. The battery for the electric motor is recharged by the the gas engine.

The cars produce fewer polluting gases and also average between 40 and 50 miles per gallon of gas.

Both Toyota and Honda have been the only car companies selling hybrid cars for several years.

Toyota alone has sold more than 120,000 since it introduced the Prius in 2000.

Honda sells its two-seat Insight and a hybrid version of its four-door Civic, with plans to roll out other hybrid models over the next few years.

Beyond the hybrid concept, Honda is developing a fuel cell car powered by hydrogen.

The Japanese automaker says their FCX model is the first fuel cell car to receive a government certification for commercial use.

And US automakers are starting to pay attention to this small but growing segment of the auto market.

Ford Motor Company has announced plans to launch a hybrid version of its Escape sport utility vehicle next year.

At the LA auto show, Ford also introduced the PZEV concept: a car designed to produce extremely low emissions.

General Motors is also gearing up to produce hybrid powered versions of its sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks.

Chrysler also plans to produce its first hybrid pick-up truck later this year.

But company officials are down playing hybrids, saying they're not a viable long-term commercial alternative.

Jason Mark at the Union of Concerned Scientists says hybrid technology is a viable bridge to fuel-cell powered cars that could some day replace the gas-burning engine.

SHOTLIST:

1. A driver getting on a Toyota motor triathlon race car

2. Close up of the screen showing the virtual circuit the driver is driving

3. Cutaway of people watching

4. Close up of the screen showing the virtual race

5. Wide shot of the driver finishing the race

6. People clapping hands

7. Ground shot of the wheel which install motor

8. Close up of the emblem

9. Wide shot of the car

10. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) of Shinji Iwasa, R & D Management Div., Toyota Motor Corp

11. Wide of Hitachi booth with the showcase of hologram

12. Tracking shot of hologram image of mobile phone

13. Mirror projecting the hologram image

14. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) of Takeshi Hoshino, Interaction Design Group, Hitachi Ltd.

15. A girl going around the image

16. Close up of Seiko Epson's flying micro robot flying up

17. Close up of kids watching

18. Flying micro robot flying down

19. Close up of a woman wearing Fuji Film eyewear

20. Women making wiping movement with the Fuji Film conceptual camera

21. Back shot of woman's arm making a wiping movement to the filming subject

22. Screen showing the ideas of the photos filmable with the device

23. Mid shot of a woman wearing Fuji Film conceptual glove shaped camera and taking a photo

24. Back shot of a woman zooming in and zooming out as she moves away and closer her glove camera

25. Close up of lens worn as if a finger ring

26. Mid shot of a woman taking photos with the glove camera

SUGGESTED LEAD-IN:

Tokyo hosted the Future Creation Fair last weekend (August 28-30), showcasing the best of what's to come from around the world.

According to the organisers, the aim of the fair is not just to show the latest, but also to stimulate designers of technology to go one step further with their vision of the future.

VOICE-OVER:

This is a prototype of Toyota's car of the future - the motor triathlon race car, or MTRC.

The car manufacturer is gambling that we'll all be wanting one in the future.

It's a combination of two-seater off road vehicle, road speedster and race car.

It has not one, but four engines - electric motors, in fact - one in each wheel powered by a stack of fuel cells.

The manufacturer has come up with a way for visitors to test drive the concept car, even though it never moves from its display stand.

Toyota have hooked up the controls to Gran Turismo 4, a video game featuring the concept car.

Instead of a conventional screen, visitors are provided with a race helmet with a built-in display for the ultimate virtual reality driving experience.

But the car isn't just for fun.

According to a company spokesman, the car has been designed to sense when the driver takes it off-road, automatically adjusting the ride.

SOUNDBITE: (Japanese)

"When the car goes off road, the condition is no longer smooth nor flat. This car reacts to the road condition and automatically adjusts the car height in accordance to the road condition. The car controls itself into the best position so as to be able to drive fastest."

SUPER CAPTION: Shinji Iwasa, R & D Management Div., Toyota Motor Corp

Remember the hologram telephone display in "Star Wars"?

It may no longer the dream far far away galaxy.

This is Hitachi's conceptual projector which displays the telephone caller in 3 dimensions.

The viewer can walk around the image seeing the speaker as if he or she were actually there.

SOUNDBITE (Japanese)

"Ordinary flat displays are limited. With this device, the subject or a human appears as if they are floating and three dimensional. You can go right around the picture."

SUPER CAPTION: Takeshi Hoshino, Interaction Design Group, Hitachi Ltd.

The projector uses mirrors to project an image of the speaker shot from 26 angles.

The different images are combined and projected to make the speaker appear as if he was floating on air.

Hitachi say this concept could one day make flat speaker screens obsolete.

Seiko Epson displayed the world's smallest flying robot.

The helicopter, a 12.3-gram (0.4-ounce), 85-millimeter (3.35-inch) machine, follows a pre-set flight programme sent from a computer using Bluetooth wireless technology.

The little buzzer also takes pictures and the manufacturer says it could be used in future search and rescue operations.

The cool shades are part of the completely new conceptual camera from Fuji Film.

They're the viewfinder for this new camera.

As the demonstrator pans quickly across the subject, in this case the people standing in front of the stand, the camera films the whole area.

And forget blurred and chopped off images.

This camera has high speed resolution making those common faults a thing of the past.

Also from Fuji is the camera glove.

The sensor reacts to finger movements and films the image and then replays it.

Finger movements make the lens zoom in and out.

Closing the hand and obscuring the lens causes the camera to stop filing and replay the image.

In spite of the enthusiastic reaction of visitors to the show, manufacturers say everything on display is just an idea and they have no commercial plans.

SHOTLIST

No re-use/re-sale of film/video clips without clearance

AP Entertainment

Los Angeles, 26 July 2006

1. Wide establishing of the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, Ca.

2. Wide of arrivals backdrop

3. Wide pan left of screaming fans

4. Zoom in to theatre's marquee announcing premiere

5. Pan down from theatre to movie poster

6. Wide pan left of actor John C. Reilly driving down arrivals line in a race car

7. Wide pan left of actor Will Ferrell driving down arrivals line in a race car

8. Wide of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly posing in front of race car

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Will Ferrell, Actor, on what the film is about:

"Well Ricky Bobby is the best NASCAR driver there is. He's not afraid to let anyone know. It's really a documentary based on his life."

Columbia Pictures

10. Film Clip: "Talladega Nights"

AP Entertainment

Los Angeles, 26 July 2006

11. Wide of arrivals line

12. Wide of John C. Reilly posing for photographers

13. SOUNDBITE (English) John C. Reilly, Actor, on finally making a film with Will Ferrell:

"I've known Will for a long time. About six or seven years. I met him through Molly Shannon who I did a movie with. We hit it off right away. For years we've been trying to work together. For years he was stuck at 'Saturday Night Live' for such a long time. Then they asked me to do 'Anchorman' and I was busy at that time so I couldn't do it. Then finally this came up and I was really thrilled to work with Will and Adam."

14. Camera cutaway

15. Actor Michael Clarke Duncan speaks to reporter

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Clarke Duncan, Actor, on how hard Ferrell and Reilly trained in pit school for the film:

"I told them the day before, I said 'You guys need to be ready tomorrow', because I went to the school a day early, and I said these guys are really good, and they work you hard; and once Will got done and tried to lift that 85 pound tyre from a squat position, totally changed his whole outlook on crew life and everything else. But they did a really good job and they did change a car in 18 seconds which is really good, for guys from Hollywood."

Columbia Pictures

17. Film Clip: "Talladega Nights"

AP Entertainment

Los Angeles, 26 July 2006

18. Wide of actor Brittany Murphy posing for photographers

19. Camera cutaway

20. Actor Leslie Bibb speaks to reporter

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Leslie Bibb, Actor, on the excitement of working on the film:

"it was just like being at comedy boot camp; and I felt like the really slow kid who got the ap class, and I was like, if nobody notices I'll keep the job, like somehow it worked out. But it was like a dream, I mean it feels like when I was back at New York City and I went to acting school, like exactly what you're supposed to do and it was just the best job, I get all mushy and gushy over it, so it's amazing."

22. Wide of actor Will Ferrell speaking to reporter

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Will Ferrell, Actor, on how slow he drives in real life:

"No, I'm a fearful driver. I'm not very much like Ricky himself. I'm pretty much a little old granny out there in my little Toyota Prius. But I'm saving the environment. So there."

24. Wide of arrivals line

Columbia Pictures

25. Full Trailer: "Talladega Nights"

"TALLADEGA NIGHTS" PREMIERE

Stars Will Ferrell ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy") and John C. Reilly ("Magnolia") cruised up the arrivals line in race cars at the L.A. premiere of "Talladega Nights."

Both said the best part was not crushing any fans and being able to get out of the car.

The comedy film is about NASCAR racing sensation Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell), whose "win at all costs" approach has made him a national hero.

Ferrell joked, "Well Ricky Bobby is the best NASCAR driver there is. He's not afraid to let anyone know. It's really a documentary based on his life."

Bobby and his loyal racing partner and childhood friend, Carl Naughton (John C. Reilly) are a fearless duo with Bobby always leading the pack. John C. Reilly said he had been trying to make a film with Ferrell for years but their schedules never allowed.

"I've known Will for a long time. About six or seven years. I met him through Molly Shannon who I did a movie with. We hit it off right away," noted Reilly.

"For years we've been trying to work together. For years he was stuck at 'Saturday Night Live' for such a long time. Then they asked me to do 'Anchorman' and I was busy at that time so I couldn't do it. Then finally this came up and I was really thrilled to work with Will and Adam."

Part of the actor's preparation for this film was attending pit school. Actor Michael Clarke Duncan said that after Ferrell and Reilly got the routine down they were pretty good for a couple of Hollywood boys.

Although Ferrell spent great times racing on the tracks at top speeds for the film, he admits his driving skills are nothing like Ricky Bobby's on the streets he's used to.

"No, I'm a fearful driver. I'm not very much like Ricky himself," admitted Ferrell.

"I'm pretty much a little old granny out there in my little Toyota Prius. But I'm saving the environment. So there."

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" opens in North American theatres 4 August 2006.

CLEARANCE DETAILS:

'Talladega Nights'

Columbia Pictures

+ 310 244 7554

SHOTLIST:

Tokyo, Japan - 16th May 2013

1. Wide of Honda President Takanobu Ito walking towards podium

2. Mid of reporters

3. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Takanobu Ito, Honda President (on the benefits of Honda returning to Formula 1)

"For Honda to remain competitive, we must continue further development of our own advanced technologies. In order for this, young engineers need to test their technologies in the global arena and improve. I believe the F1 gives us the optimal opportunity to accomplish this."

4. Wide of Ito shaking hands with Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren CEO

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren CEO (on renewing McLaren's partnership with Honda)

"Like McLaren, Honda is a company with motor-racing in its blood, and it's the mark of ambition we both share, that we want to recreate our past glories and take MacLaren Honda, back to the top."

5. Wide of Whitmarsh

6. Wide pan from photographers to Ito and Whitmarsh photo op

7. Close pan from Whitmarsh to Ito, zoom out to wide of photo op

8. Wide pan of racing cars on display

9. Close of Honda logo

10. Mid pan of a racing car

11. Wide of racing cars on display

SOURCE: SNTV

STORYLINE:

Honda announces return to Formula 1 as McLaren engine supplier

Japanese automaker Honda is returning to Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to McLaren, recreating a partnership that was dominant in the 1980s and 1990s.

Honda president Takanobu Ito made the announcement at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday, reversing their 2008 decision to pull out of the sport due to the effects of the global financial crisis.

Ito says with F1 changing to six-cylinder turbo engines next year, the decision to return was easy because Honda will be able transfer the technology to its commercial vehicles.

"For Honda to remain competitive, we must continue further development of our own advanced technologies," Ito said. "In order for this, young engineers need to test their technologies in the global arena and improve. I believe the F1 gives us the optimal opportunity to accomplish this."

The tie-up renews an association that became one of the most successful and powerful in F1 history during the 1980s and '90s with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at the wheel.

Between 1988 and '92 McLaren and Honda won eight world championships and 44 grands prix, took 53 pole positions and set 30 fastest laps - all in just 80 grands prix.

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh welcomed the renewal of its ties with Honda, "Like McLaren, Honda is a company with motor-racing in its blood, and it's the mark of ambition we both share, that we want to recreate our past glories and take MacLaren Honda, back to the top."

Honda was an entrant, constructor and engine supplier between 1964 and 2008 but the expense of F1 forced it out of the sport along with rival Japanese manufacturer Toyota, which pulled out in 2009.

English/Nat

A gasoline-electric hybrid car has taken centre stage at a rally organised by sustainable energy groups in the U-S.

The Honda Insight has an electric engine and has the world's best fuel economy for a mass-produced gasoline-powered vehicle.

The Tour de Sol rally takes place every year during Clean Air Week.

The U-S's first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle- the Honda Insight- is the official pace car for this year's Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Tour de Sol road rally.

The rally pits the country's cleanest-running, most fuel-efficient cars, trucks and buses in a 250-mile event from New York City to Washington D-C during Clean Air Week, May 12-18.

The Tour de Sol rally is organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, the N-E-S-E-A.

The N-E-S-E-A is the U-S's leading regional association involved in promoting awareness, understanding and development of non-polluting, renewable technologies.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

" The most important environmental decision that a consumer can make today is to look towards their transportation - look towards an earth friendly vehicle. Transportation has a larger environmental impact and is a larger user of oil than any other particular sector- whether its electrical utility companies or buildings. So this introduction of the gasoline - electric hybrid vehicle by Honda- and Toyota will too be soon bringing a similar vehicle to market- is really historic, and its extremely important for consumers to think about these vehicles when they are considering buying a new car."

SUPER CAPTION: Dorothy Stims, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

In addition to the Insight pace car, a dozen owner-driven Insights also participated in the event.

They competed against a field of 50 alternative-fuel vehicles, including manufacturer-built prototypes and futuristic student-designed concepts.

Launched in December 1999, the Insight is certified as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle and includes 300 patent-pending features.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"The Insight is really the first 'Super Car'. It's lightweight, very aerodynamic and it has a hybrid power train. What that means is that we use a small gasoline engine and an electric motor for a system, so the performance is great. You get 70 miles per gallon and the beauty of it is that it never needs to be charged - it never needs to be plugged in."

SUPER CAPTION: Robert Bienenfeld, manager of Advanced Environmental Vehicles for Honda, U-S

The Insight has the world's best fuel economy for a mass-produced gasoline-powered automobile.

Each Insight used less than four gallons of fuel for the entire 250-mile event.

Its electric motor is powered by a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery pack, which is charged by the gasoline engine and by recapturing the vehicle's momentum during braking.

As a result, the Insight does not require an outside source of electric power and never needs to be plugged in.

FEATURES Washington DC- USA

APTN

1. Wide shot Honda Insight race

2. Mid shot car race

3. Wide shot car race

4. Wide shot school bus

5. Mid shot engine

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dorothy Stims, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

7. Wide shot solar car

8. Mid shot solar car

9. Mid shot solar car

10. Mid shot Honda Insight

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Bienenfeld, manager of Advanced Environmental Vehicles for Honda, U-S

VNR

12. Wide shot Honda Insight

13. Mid shot Honda Insight

14. Various of Insight

LEAD-IN:

Eco-friendly autos and smart, self-driving vehicles have been the top, engine-revving car trends of 2015.

STORY-LINE:

Rev your motors and kick start your engines, the automotive year began with a bang.

In January at Detroit's North American International Auto Show, over 40 new vehicles were unveiled.

They included this new Chevrolet Bolt by General Motors, an attempt to upstage Tesla in the electric vehicles market.

Acura - the luxury division of Japanese automaker Honda - unveiled its new NSX super-car.

Infiniti - the luxury division of Nissan - previewed the design of its upcoming Q60 coupe with a concept car.

Ford stunned crowds with their new GT, a high-performance super-car. It was their first GT in over a decade and one of 12 new Ford performance vehicles coming to market by 2020.

"There's no one theme except that the industry is back," says auto analyst, Aaron Bragman.

It may not have been as glamorous or powerful as other cars on display, but this 3D printed Strati car was turning heads.

Engineered by Phoenix-based, Local Motors, the car's frame and panels were printed using carbon fibre-infused plastic.

It took about 44 hours to print, made up of 212 layers. It was then fitted with an electric car battery, motor and suspension from French automaker Renault.

Car manufacturers were aiming to dazzle with their vision of the future at the International Automobile Festival in Paris late January.

Top trends were connectivity, sleek design and fuel-efficiency.

French car-maker Renault presented their Eolab concept car, an eco-friendly ride that consumed only one litre (approx. 0.2 gallons) of petrol per 100 kilometres (62 miles).

Elsewhere, German car makers BMW showcased a two-seater roadster concept car full of technological innovations.

At the Geneva Motor Show in March, auto makers embraced full-throttle speed with a host of new vehicles.

Aston Martin and Ferrari showed off track-ready motors, while Rolls-Royce pushed the limits of luxury with this silk-lined 'Serenity' vehicle.

Swiss automotive consultants Rinspeed revealed this fully autonomous electric car, called 'Budii'.

It featured an "autopilot" mode that learnt its owner's habits and preferences so it could drive tiresome daily trips.

Battery operated vehicles were the highlight of April's Taiwan International Electric Vehicle Show in Taipei.

Cars, buggies, bikes and scooters - all powered by the latest lithium batteries – were on display as Taiwan bid to become a major player in the emerging transport sector.

One of the highlights were these Taiwan-made EVs by Pihsiang Electric Vehicle Company under its brand "Achensa".

There was tyre-squealing, high-octane action at the Manila Auto Show in April.

The largest car show in the Philippines was back with all the latest models on display for auto fanatics.

For many petrol heads, it was a chance to get up close and see powerful cars in the metal.

Vintage cars were becoming increasingly popular in Pakistan with lovingly restored motors - some over 100-years-old - driving the streets of Karachi and Islamabad.

This Rolls Royce Silver Ghost belonged to Karachi based businessman Karim Chapra, but was once owned by a prince in India's Bahawlpur state.

It remained in a royal garage for 46 years, but eventually managed to enjoy the fresh air and open road.

At London's 3D Print Show, automakers, food creators and furniture designers were demonstrating how they're pushing the boundaries with additive manufacturing.

British sports car makers Morgan had begun using 3D printing technology to build and produce complex geometries, otherwise not possible to make by hand.

"They can print that out, test it, put it on a car, drive around with it, go; 'I know, I need that a little bit wider, a little bit narrower', whatever it is. And really get the design right," says Simon Brandon, a marketing manager from Stratasys.

In June, dozens of the world's most glamorous and desirable vintage cars went on show in Turkey.

More than 80 vintage, classic and modern cars were competing in the third Istanbul Concours d'Elegance. Organisers said some of the rarer models were worth up to a million US dollars.

In September, a rocket-powered car aiming to smash the World Land Speed record at 1,000mph was unveiled in London.

The 'Bloodhound' car's motor produced 135,000 horsepower - over six times the power of all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together.

The current World Land Speed Record was set by the British Thrust SSC team in 1997 achieving 763.035 mph, or Mach 1.02 - 2 percent faster than the speed of sound.

Bloodhound's project manager, Richard Noble who had personally achieved a speed of 633mph in Thrust2 car in 1997. He said it's less like driving and more like flying.

"It's a bit like flying an aeroplane," he says.

"One of the difficulties of flying an aeroplane is you must never let the aeroplane get ahead of your thinking - right?"

In September, major luxury and sports car manufacturers showed off their latest offerings at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

That included this Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder.

The supercar is powered by a 5.2 litre V10 engine, producing up to 602 horsepower.

It was expected to go on sale spring 2016 at a price of around $316,500 USD.

"It's a car which is giving you the feeling that you are much better then you really are," says Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann.

In October, Japanese carmakers Toyota were busy testing their automated self-driving car in real Tokyo highway traffic.

Called the "Highway Teammate", it safely entered the motorway and changed lanes without human intervention.

The Japanese carmaker had been testing its prototype for several years, but this was the first time the car had entered a motorway from a slip road and exited again without human involvement.

The prototype car was a modified Lexus GS and featured cameras, sensors and accurate road map data.

Eco-friendly rides and self-driving vehicles stole the headlines at the annual Tokyo Motor Show in Japan this October.

Japanese auto makers Toyota, Honda and Lexus all debuted new concept vehicles which embraced lower carbon technologies in comparison to traditional petrol engines.

The key concept car Toyota unveiled was this new generation fuel cell vehicle, called the 'Toyota FCV Plus'.

Nissan showed this 'Teatro for Dayz' concept car which boasted seats and surfaces that can be used to display videos and images.

In November, one of the world's first commercially available fuel cell cars, the Hyundai ix35, was being given the ultimate road test, driving every street in central London.

'A Streetcar Name Hyundai' challenged the ix35 to drive on every single street of central London, as defined by the Knowledge, the test all London's black cab drivers must pass to earn their taxi licence.

The challenge took 50 days to complete, over 580,000 images were taken.

US car makers screeched into the Dubai International Motor Show in October, hoping to capitalise on growing auto sales in the Emirate and wider Gulf region.

Chevrolet became the first luxury car maker to have an international launch of a vehicle at the biennial event.

The new Cadillac 2017 XT5 was expected to be the first in a series of four luxury crossovers.

But it wasn't just Cadillac, the motor show acted as a platform for over 15 global car launches and 120 regional debuts.

"Gas is practically free here so there's no limit to the horsepower and no limit to the fun you can have," said auto expert, Wes Raynal.

LEAD-IN:

Eco-friendly autos and smart, self-driving vehicles have been the top, engine-revving car trends of 2015.

STORY-LINE:

Rev your motors and kick start your engines, the automotive year began with a bang.

In January at Detroit's North American International Auto Show, over 40 new vehicles were unveiled.

They included this new Chevrolet Bolt by General Motors, an attempt to upstage Tesla in the electric vehicles market.

Acura - the luxury division of Japanese automaker Honda - unveiled its new NSX super-car.

Infiniti - the luxury division of Nissan - previewed the design of its upcoming Q60 coupe with a concept car.

Ford stunned crowds with their new GT, a high-performance super-car. It was their first GT in over a decade and one of 12 new Ford performance vehicles coming to market by 2020.

"There's no one theme except that the industry is back," says auto analyst, Aaron Bragman.

It may not have been as glamorous or powerful as other cars on display, but this 3D printed Strati car was turning heads.

Engineered by Phoenix-based, Local Motors, the car's frame and panels were printed using carbon fibre-infused plastic.

It took about 44 hours to print, made up of 212 layers. It was then fitted with an electric car battery, motor and suspension from French automaker Renault.

Car manufacturers were aiming to dazzle with their vision of the future at the International Automobile Festival in Paris late January.

Top trends were connectivity, sleek design and fuel-efficiency.

French car-maker Renault presented their Eolab concept car, an eco-friendly ride that consumed only one litre (approx. 0.2 gallons) of petrol per 100 kilometres (62 miles).

Elsewhere, German car makers BMW showcased a two-seater roadster concept car full of technological innovations.

At the Geneva Motor Show in March, auto makers embraced full-throttle speed with a host of new vehicles.

Aston Martin and Ferrari showed off track-ready motors, while Rolls-Royce pushed the limits of luxury with this silk-lined 'Serenity' vehicle.

Swiss automotive consultants Rinspeed revealed this fully autonomous electric car, called 'Budii'.

It featured an "autopilot" mode that learnt its owner's habits and preferences so it could drive tiresome daily trips.

Battery operated vehicles were the highlight of April's Taiwan International Electric Vehicle Show in Taipei.

Cars, buggies, bikes and scooters - all powered by the latest lithium batteries – were on display as Taiwan bid to become a major player in the emerging transport sector.

One of the highlights were these Taiwan-made EVs by Pihsiang Electric Vehicle Company under its brand "Achensa".

There was tyre-squealing, high-octane action at the Manila Auto Show in April.

The largest car show in the Philippines was back with all the latest models on display for auto fanatics.

For many petrol heads, it was a chance to get up close and see powerful cars in the metal.

Vintage cars were becoming increasingly popular in Pakistan with lovingly restored motors - some over 100-years-old - driving the streets of Karachi and Islamabad.

This Rolls Royce Silver Ghost belonged to Karachi based businessman Karim Chapra, but was once owned by a prince in India's Bahawlpur state.

It remained in a royal garage for 46 years, but eventually managed to enjoy the fresh air and open road.

At London's 3D Print Show, automakers, food creators and furniture designers were demonstrating how they're pushing the boundaries with additive manufacturing.

British sports car makers Morgan had begun using 3D printing technology to build and produce complex geometries, otherwise not possible to make by hand.

"They can print that out, test it, put it on a car, drive around with it, go; 'I know, I need that a little bit wider, a little bit narrower', whatever it is. And really get the design right," says Simon Brandon, a marketing manager from Stratasys.

In June, dozens of the world's most glamorous and desirable vintage cars went on show in Turkey.

More than 80 vintage, classic and modern cars were competing in the third Istanbul Concours d'Elegance. Organisers said some of the rarer models were worth up to a million US dollars.

In September, a rocket-powered car aiming to smash the World Land Speed record at 1,000mph was unveiled in London.

The 'Bloodhound' car's motor produced 135,000 horsepower - over six times the power of all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together.

The current World Land Speed Record was set by the British Thrust SSC team in 1997 achieving 763.035 mph, or Mach 1.02 - 2 percent faster than the speed of sound.

Bloodhound's project manager, Richard Noble who had personally achieved a speed of 633mph in Thrust2 car in 1997. He said it's less like driving and more like flying.

"It's a bit like flying an aeroplane," he says.

"One of the difficulties of flying an aeroplane is you must never let the aeroplane get ahead of your thinking - right?"

In September, major luxury and sports car manufacturers showed off their latest offerings at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

That included this Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder.

The supercar is powered by a 5.2 litre V10 engine, producing up to 602 horsepower.

It was expected to go on sale spring 2016 at a price of around $316,500 USD.

"It's a car which is giving you the feeling that you are much better then you really are," says Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann.

In October, Japanese carmakers Toyota were busy testing their automated self-driving car in real Tokyo highway traffic.

Called the "Highway Teammate", it safely entered the motorway and changed lanes without human intervention.

The Japanese carmaker had been testing its prototype for several years, but this was the first time the car had entered a motorway from a slip road and exited again without human involvement.

The prototype car was a modified Lexus GS and featured cameras, sensors and accurate road map data.

Eco-friendly rides and self-driving vehicles stole the headlines at the annual Tokyo Motor Show in Japan this October.

Japanese auto makers Toyota, Honda and Lexus all debuted new concept vehicles which embraced lower carbon technologies in comparison to traditional petrol engines.

The key concept car Toyota unveiled was this new generation fuel cell vehicle, called the 'Toyota FCV Plus'.

Nissan showed this 'Teatro for Dayz' concept car which boasted seats and surfaces that can be used to display videos and images.

In November, one of the world's first commercially available fuel cell cars, the Hyundai ix35, was being given the ultimate road test, driving every street in central London.

'A Streetcar Name Hyundai' challenged the ix35 to drive on every single street of central London, as defined by the Knowledge, the test all London's black cab drivers must pass to earn their taxi licence.

The challenge took 50 days to complete, over 580,000 images were taken.

US car makers screeched into the Dubai International Motor Show in October, hoping to capitalise on growing auto sales in the Emirate and wider Gulf region.

Chevrolet became the first luxury car maker to have an international launch of a vehicle at the biennial event.

The new Cadillac 2017 XT5 was expected to be the first in a series of four luxury crossovers.

But it wasn't just Cadillac, the motor show acted as a platform for over 15 global car launches and 120 regional debuts.

"Gas is practically free here so there's no limit to the horsepower and no limit to the fun you can have," said auto expert, Wes Raynal.

AP Television

Detroit, US - 12 January 2015

1. Various of new Chevy Bolt concept car being unveiled at North American International Auto Show

2. Various of Acura NSX being unveiled at North American International Auto Show

AP Television

Detroit, US - 11 January 2015

3. Various of Infiniti Q60 concept car being unveiled at North American International Auto Show

AP Television

Detroit, US - 12 January 2015

4. Various of Ford introducing new GT high-performance sports car at North American International Auto Show

AP Television

Detroit, US - 11 January 2015

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Aaron Bragman, Auto Analyst, Cars.com:

"There's no one theme except that the industry is back."

AP Television

Detroit, US - 12 January 2015

6. Wide of 3D printed car making its way around track at North American International Auto Show

7. Various of 3D printer pinting car on auto show floor

8. Various of Strati 3D printed car parts on display

AP Television

Paris, France - 28 January 2015

9. Mid of Renault Eolab concept car

10. Wide tilt down from Les Invalides monument to exhibition hall

11. Wide of man opening rear door of Renault Eolab

12. Mid of Renault Eolab's steering wheel and Internet connected tablet

13. Wide of BMW Vision ConnectedDrive concept car

14. Close of front of BMW Vision ConnectedDrive concept car

AP Television

Geneva, Switzerland - 3 March 2015

15. Wide of Aston Martin Vulcan

16. Pan right of Aston Martin Vulcan rear

17. Wide low shot of Ferrari 488 GTB

18. Close of Ferrari 488 GTB rear and logo

19. Wide pan left of Rolls-Royce Serenity on platform

20. Pan right of Rolls-Royce Serenity interior

21. Tilt up from rear seats to ceiling

AP Television

Geneva, Switzerland - 4 March 2015

22. Wide of interior of Budii, Rinspeed autonomous concept car at Geneva International Motor Show

23. Mid right pan of Budii interior, steering wheel moves away

24. Wide pan right from motor show visitors to Budii

AP Television

Taipei, Taiwan - 9 April 2015

25. Wide of Achensa electric cars

26. Tilt up of two-seater Achensa car with woman getting in

27. Wide of black Achensa car rear

AP Television

Manila, Philippines - 10 April 2015

28. Pull out from 'Manila Auto Show' sign to Subaru BRZ performing burnouts around cone

29. Wide of BRZ performing burnout

30. High pan right of Manila Auto Show floor

31. Pull out from woman to new 2015 Ford Everest

AP Television

Karachi, Pakistan - 10 May 2015

32. Mid of Karim Chapra driving away in 1924 Rolls Royce

33. Tilt up from gear stick to Chapra

34. Low shot of Rolls Royce pulling away

35. Tracking shot of Chapra driving vintage Rolls Royce on road

AP Television

London, UK - 21 May 2015

36. Various of WASP Delta 3D printer printing plastic object at 3D Print Show

37. Various of half-constructed Morgan sports car on display

38. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Brandon, Marketing Manager UK, Stratasys:

"They can print that out, test it, put it on a car, drive around with it, go; 'I know, I need that a little bit wider, a little bit narrower', whatever it is. And really get the design right."

AP Television

Istanbul, Turkey - 14 June 2015

39. Wide of cars in "Antiques" category at Concours d'Elegance event

40. Close of hood decoration on Cadillac 341A Convertible (1928)

41. Mid of of Cadillac 341A Convertible (1928)

42. Mid of white Porsche 356 (1961)

43. Close of Porsche 356 (1961) rear mirror reflecting Golden Horn waters

44. Close of white Porsche 356 (1961) mirror, Golden Horn in background

AP Television

London, UK - 24 September 2015

45. Wide pan left of Bloodhound rocket car

46. Pull in of rocket engine

47. Close pan right of cockpit

48. Pull in of levers inside cockpit

49. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Noble, Bloodhound Project Manager:

"It's a bit like flying an aeroplane. One of the difficulties of flying an aeroplane is you must never let the aeroplane get ahead of your thinking - right?"

AP Television

Frankfurt, Germany- 14 September 2015

50. Wide of auditorium as lights switch on and Lamborghini Huracan Spyders are driven onstage

AP Television

Frankfurt, Germany - 15 September 2015

51. Various of Lamborghini Huracan Spyder on Frankfurt Motor Show floor

52. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini CEO:

"It's a car which is giving you the feeling that you are much better then you really are."

AP Television

Tokyo, Japan - 6 October 2015

53. Tracking shot of self-driving car changing lanes

54. Close of car monitor showing "ready" for self-driving

55. Mid of driver letting go of steering wheel

56. Close low shot of steering wheel and driver's hands away from wheel

57. Close of indicator flickering without human assistance

58. Close of monitor showing car changing lanes

AP Television

Tokyo, Japan - 28 October 2015

59. Close of wheel of Toyota Motor Corp.'s concept car "FCV plus" on show at Tokyo Motor Show

60. Wide of FCV plus

61. Wide of Nissan Teatro

62. Close of Nissan Teatro dashboard

63. Wide of Nissan Teatro interior with doors wide open showing LED panels changing designs of interior

AP Television

London, UK – 19 November 2015

64. Wide of Hyundai IX35 Fuel Cell car at Westminster as Robin Hayles, Hyundai Special Vehicles Manager, climbs in

65. Close of door closing and car driving away

66. Mid of Hayles driving

67. Wide of IX35 driving on The Mall with Buckingham Palace in background

Hyundai

68. Mid of screen showing images captured of London streets

AP Television

Dubai, UAE - 10 November 2015

69. Wide of Cadillac XT5 global unveil at Dubai International Motor Show

70. Various of new Cadillac luxury crossover on display

71. SOUNDBITE (English) Wes Raynal, Editor of Autoweek magazine:

"Gas is practically free here so there's no limit to the horsepower and no limit to the fun you can have."

72. Wide high shot of Dubai International Motor Show floor

WORLD CAR REVIEW

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS/ROBORACE/GATEWAY PROJECT/DOREL UK/UBER TECHNOLOGIES/

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 8:42

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Las Vegas, US - 4 January 2017

1. Wide of unveiling of Toyota's Concept-i by 'Yui' - artificial intelligence system

2. Mid of Toyota's Concept-i

3. Wide of unveiling of BMW i Inside Future concept car

4. Tilt up of BMW i Inside Future concept car

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Las Vegas, US - 3 January 2017

5. Pan left of Faraday Future FF91 driving onstage

6. Pan left of FF91 on display following unveil event

7. Wide of Nick Sampson, SVP of Research and Development and Engineering, Faraday Future, attempting to show Jia Yueting, Founder and CEO of LeEco, FF 91's automated valet parking feature, car fails to respond

UPSOUND (English): "Okay, it seems like it's a little bit lazy tonight."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 15 February 2017

8. Pull out of Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of directors, Toyota Motor Corporation, onstage

9. Wide of Toyota Prius PHV

10. Close of person checking plug points on Prius

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Barcelona, Spain - 28 February 2017

11. Various of Roborace driverless electric race car, unveiled at Mobile World Congress

COURTESY ROBORACE

Date and location not given

12. Various of development Roborace cars racing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Geneva, Switzerland - 7 March 2017

13. Various of Ferrari 812 Superfast on display at Geneva Motor Show

14. Wide of unveiling of Aston Martin Valkyrie

15. Various of Bentley EXP 12

16. Various of Rolls-Royce Ghost with diamond encrusted paint

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Holder, Editorial Director, 'Autocar' Magazine:

"They don't just want to have the right car, they want to have the right car that stands out from all of their friends and, of course, rivals."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saranac Lake, New York, US - 6 April 2017

18. Mid of Sunita Halasz, Electric Car Owner, pulling plug from car

19. Close of Halasz returning plug to station

20. Wide of car driving down country road

21. Close of Halasz's hands on steering wheel

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Sunita Halasz, Electric Car Owner:

"I actually think that we are some of the most extreme EV drivers in the entire United States."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Monaco - 8 April 2017

23. Various of trainee Formula One racing car marshals moving car, jumping over safety rail

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, US - 12 April 2017

24. Wide of Lincoln Navigator unveil at New York International Auto Show

25. Various of Lincoln Navigator

26. Wide of Honda Clarity series unveil

27. Wide of Honda Fuel Cell cars

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Los Angeles, US - 27 April 2017

28. Pull out from front grille to wide of Ferrari exhibit

29. Wide of exhibit floor with Ferrari cars

30. Wide of 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 (driven by Niki Lauda)

31. Wide of people looking at 2014 LaFerrari

32. SOUNDBITE (English) Brett Anderson, Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Robb Report:

"It combines this incredibly beautiful design with state-of-the-art engineering and performance, and there's something that's just very seductive about that."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 27 June 2017

33. Mid of Oxbotica CargoPod self-driving delivery vehicle driving

COURTESY GATEWAY PROJECT

London, UK - 26 June 2017

34. GoPro footage of Oxbotica CargoPod self-driving delivery vehicle driving ++MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 27 June 2017

35. Tracking shot of worker giving shopping bag to man and placing box back into compartment

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beijing, China - 14 July 2017

36. Low shot of Ford Mustang's front with body rising

37. Tilt down to Richard Guo, Founder of Mustang Club of China, driving his 2006 Mustang

38. Pan right of Mustang driving by

39. Pull out of plastic cover being taken off red 1966 Mustang

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 26 July 2017

40. Wide of Rolls-Royce Phantom unveil

41. Pan left of headlights

42. Mid of Phantom

43. Pan left of interior glass fascia panel

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Moscow, Russia - 17 August 2017

44. Various of driverless taxi driving down the road

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hickory Corners, Michigan, US - 31 August 2017

45. Close of driving school instructor using hand-crank to start antique Model T vehicles

46. Close of belt spinning in Model T engine

47. Pan right of Model T driving by, driver honking horn

48. SOUNDBITE (English) Keith Maes, Model T Student Driver:

"Absolutely terrified. Thought I was going to break something, that somebody would break something, but then, you know, you realise that these things were built bulletproof."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 7 September 2017

49. Various of Jaguar E-PACE SUV

50. SOUNDBITE (English) Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover:

"From 2020, all of our new vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers more choice."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Berlin, Germany - 7 September 2017

51. Wide of man standing in front of scooter

52. Close of man using 'Emmy' app to open scooter

53. Various of man driving electric scooter

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frankfurt, Germany - 11 September 2017

54. Wide of Mercedes AMG Project One unveil

55. Various of Mercedes AMG Project One

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frankfurt, Germany - 12 September 2017

56. Various of Smart Vision EQ Fortwo concept car

57. Various of Renault Symbioz concept car

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Eindhoven, Netherlands - 25 September 2017

58. Low shot of Lina, electric car made using bio-based materials, driving by

59. Various exterior and interior shots of Lina driving

60. Wide of student team standing by car

61. Mid of students opening car hood

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ann Arbor, Michigan, US - 28 September 2017

62. Various of Rahul Kumar, University of Michigan student and Domino's Pizza Customer, taking pizza from self-driving Domino's Pizza delivery vehicle

63. Various of Teresa Hatcher, Domino's Pizza Customer, and her daughters removing pizza order from self-driving car

64. Wide of self-driving delivery car returning to store

COURTESY DOREL UK

Wokingham, UK - Date not given

65. Slow-motion footage of crash test vehicle being moved at test site, dummy testing Maxi-Cosi airbag for babies

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 20 October 2017

66. Various of Maxi-Cosi Managing Director Andrew Ratcliffe checking airbag car seat for babies

67. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Ratcliffe, Managing Director, Maxi-Cosi:

"It keeps the child in a vertical position and absorbs some of the energy in an accident."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 25 October 2017

68. Various of Nissan unveiling IMx zero-emission concept at Tokyo Motor Show

69. Wide of Nissan IMx zero-emission concept

70. Various of Honda Sports EV concept

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 23 October 2017

71. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Greimel, Asia Editor, Automotive News:

"What they're finding is that they, like all global makers, are being pressured by new comers."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 4 November 2017

72. Mid of woman in period costume sat in Locomobile from 1901 at Regent Street Motor Show

73. Close of woman sat in car

74. Mid of Panhard Et Levassor car from 1903

75. Close tilt down of horn

76. Wide of woman in period dress by Napier from 1902

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lisbon, Portugal - 8 November 2017

77. Wide of Jeff Holden, Chief Product Officer, Uber, speaking onstage at Web Summit

COURTESY UBER TECHNOLOGIES

78. Uber Elevate promo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dubai, UAE - 14 November 2017

79. Various of Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at Dubai Motor Show

80. Various of Vulcano Titanium

81. Various of customized Nissan GT-R with gold engraved metallic paint by Kuhl Racing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 29 November 2017

82. Various of London Electric Vehicle Company's (LEVC) new 'TX' hybrid black taxi parked in Regent's Park

83. Wide of traffic driving by at Piccadilly Circus

84. Pan left of 'TX' hybrid black taxi driving by

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

Sant'Agata, Italy – 4 December 2017

85. Various of new Lamborghini Urus SUV driving onstage at Lamborghini press event

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

Date and location not given

86. Lamborghini Urus SUV promo

LEADIN:

Self-driving cars and battery-powered motors were the top, engine-revving auto trends in 2017.

While Ford and Domino's trialled driverless pizza deliveries in the US, London's iconic black taxi cabs turned green.

STORYLINE:

Autonomous cars dominated the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Japanese auto maker Toyota showcased its Concept-i vehicle and German car manufacturer BMW showed off its i Inside Future concept car.

BMW is promising fully autonomous driving by 2021.

There was an awkward moment for Faraday Future's new luxury electric car, the FF 91, when its auto-park feature failed to work onstage.

In February, Toyota revamped its Prius plug-in hybrid with a longer cruising range and quicker charging.

The new Prius PHV also came with solar panels on the roof and could be charged by plugging into a regular home electricity socket.

Forget Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, software engineers were getting set to do battle on the racetrack.

An automotive company unveiled what's claimed to be the world's first driverless electric racing car at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Fast and luxurious were the buzz words at this year's Geneva International Motor Show - and if it was also hybrid, then all the better.

Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce showed off a car from its Ghost line. Nothing new there, but this one had 1,000 crushed diamonds encrusted in the paint job.

"They don't just want to have the right car, they want to have the right car that stands out from all of their friends and, of course, rivals," says Jim Holder from 'Autocar' magazine.

Car charging stations were becoming almost as common as coffee shops in some cities.

But electric stations can be more than an hour away in remote areas like New York state's Adirondack Mountains.

Electric car pioneers in these parts planned ahead for where to plug in.

"I actually think that we are some of the most extreme EV drivers in the entire United States," says electric car owner Sunita Halasz.

In April, Monaco's Formula One racing car marshals were undergoing their latest round of intensive training.

The mandatory weekend course has run every year since 1979 ahead of the Grand Prix, ePrix and Monaco rally.

The 2017 New York International Auto Show featured a diverse line up of new vehicles from high-performance muscle cars to hot-selling SUVs.

Ford unveiled an all-new Lincoln Navigator, a cushy seven or eight seat utility vehicle, with an aluminium body as it attempted to win back buyers of big SUVs.

Honda introduced electric and plug-in hybrid versions of its Clarity sedan.

Italy's signature sportscar brand, Ferrari, took centre stage in Los Angeles, at one of the most significant gatherings of Ferraris in the world.

The 'Seeing Red: 70 years of Ferrari' exhibit offered a comprehensive look at the car maker's sports cars and racing program.

On display was a collection of cars worth around $200 million USD.

"It combines this incredibly beautiful design with state-of-the-art engineering and performance," says Brett Anderson from the Robb Report.

"And there's something that's just very seductive about that."

Apples and oranges autonomously delivered directly to your door.

Online-only supermarket Ocado helped launch the UK's first trial of autonomous grocery deliveries in June.

This CargoPod used autonomous software that performed real-time navigation, planning and perception.

An American muscle car was fast becoming a global favourite in 2017.

According to IHS Markit, more than 150,000 Ford Mustangs sold in 2016, making it the best-selling sports car in the world.

Iconic British car maker Rolls-Royce lifted the lid on its latest Phantom car.

The opulent sedan has driven the rich and powerful worldwide - from the Aga Khan to the Queen - but the latest model promised even more luxury.

In August, this driverless bus, designed to be used as a taxi, was unveiled in Moscow.

'Matreshka' - meaning 'Russian doll' - is a Russian-made driverless electric bus. It uses cameras to recognise objects and follow a route.

Over in the US, hundreds signed up for the chance to learn to drive an authentic Model T Ford at Michigan's Gilmore Car Museum.

The Model T hasn't been produced for nearly a century, but it was the automobile star of its day.

"Absolutely terrified," says student driver Keith Maes.

"Thought I was going to break something, that somebody would break something, but then, you know, you realise that these things were built bulletproof."

Jaguar Land Rover moved towards a greener future in September, announcing all its vehicles will be available in electric or hybrid models from 2020.

"From 2020, all of our new vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers more choice," says Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover.

Electric scooters that can be booked via a smartphone app were the latest way to get around in Berlin.

Around 1,800 scooters were available in the German capital, and could be booked by anyone with a driver's license.

At Frankfurt's IAA motor show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new multimillion-dollar Formula One-level Project One hyper car, boasting over 1,000 horse power.

Daimler's urban brand Smart debuted its new concept car - the Smart Vision EQFortwo.

The bubble-shaped so-called 'Robo-Taxi' concept was fully automated, without a steering wheel or pedals, and boasted an interactive touchscreen on the dashboard.

Renault's new concept car, named 'Symbioz', was parked in a 'living room' at its IAA booth.

But it hadn't taken a wrong turn, Symbioz connected to the owner's home wirelessly and was intended to function as an extra room when parked.

In September, a team of students from the Netherlands designed and built a car entirely out of recycled material.

The tiny four-seater electric concept - called Lina - weighed just 310 kilograms and could reach a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

No tip for the driver? No problem.

Over in the United States, Domino's and Ford teamed up to see if customers would warm to the idea of pizza delivered by driverless cars.

The makers of a child's car seat said they'd used small aircraft technology to create the first safe airbag for babies.

Airbags explode too violently to be considered safe for infants, and they're usually removed from cars when baby seats are installed.

"It keeps the child in a vertical position and absorbs some of the energy in an accident," explains Andrew Ratcliffe, managing director of Maxi-Cosi.

Concept cars and the latest eco-friendly vehicles were unveiled by Japanese automakers at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Analysts said Japanese car makers were facing new challengers from outside the traditional auto market, especially from Silicon Valley and China.

"What they're finding is that they, like all global makers, are being pressured by new comers," says Hans Greimel from Automotive News.

In November, veteran cars and elegant vintage clothes from the early 1900s graced one of London's prime streets for the annual Regent Street Motor Show.

Despite rain, enthusiasts from around the world revelled in an era when motoring was an art and road vehicles could be powered by steam.

Commuters of the future could get some relief from congested roads if Uber's plans for flying taxis work out.

At Lisbon's Web Summit tech event, the ride-hailing service unveiled an artist's impression of the sleek, futuristic machine it hopes to start using for demonstration flights in 2020.

The fastest ever Corvette and the world's first handmade titanium car - high-speed and luxury cars took centre stage at the Dubai Motor Show in November.

Nicknamed 'Gold', this Nissan GT-R by Japan-based Kuhl Racing, had been decorated in metallic gold paint and then painstakingly engraved.

Of course, all that hard work came with a price tag to match - 3.8 million UAE dirhams (approx. $1,030,000 USD).

London's iconic black taxi cabs turned green in December. In a bid to help lessen air pollution, a new version with a battery-powered, hybrid engine went into service.

But in a high-tech era of ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Lyft, can the black cab keep pace?

Keeping pace is Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini - they've unveiled what is claimed to be the world's "fastest SUV".

The Urus can go from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.6 seconds and boasts a top speed of 305 kilometres an hour (189.5 mph).

====

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com.

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

WORLD CAR REVIEW

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS/ROBORACE/GATEWAY PROJECT/DOREL UK/UBER TECHNOLOGIES/

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 8:42

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Las Vegas, US - 4 January 2017

1. Wide of unveiling of Toyota's Concept-i by 'Yui' - artificial intelligence system

2. Mid of Toyota's Concept-i

3. Wide of unveiling of BMW i Inside Future concept car

4. Tilt up of BMW i Inside Future concept car

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Las Vegas, US - 3 January 2017

5. Pan left of Faraday Future FF91 driving onstage

6. Pan left of FF91 on display following unveil event

7. Wide of Nick Sampson, SVP of Research and Development and Engineering, Faraday Future, attempting to show Jia Yueting, Founder and CEO of LeEco, FF 91's automated valet parking feature, car fails to respond

UPSOUND (English): "Okay, it seems like it's a little bit lazy tonight."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 15 February 2017

8. Pull out of Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of directors, Toyota Motor Corporation, onstage

9. Wide of Toyota Prius PHV

10. Close of person checking plug points on Prius

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Barcelona, Spain - 28 February 2017

11. Various of Roborace driverless electric race car, unveiled at Mobile World Congress

COURTESY ROBORACE

Date and location not given

12. Various of development Roborace cars racing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Geneva, Switzerland - 7 March 2017

13. Various of Ferrari 812 Superfast on display at Geneva Motor Show

14. Wide of unveiling of Aston Martin Valkyrie

15. Various of Bentley EXP 12

16. Various of Rolls-Royce Ghost with diamond encrusted paint

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Holder, Editorial Director, 'Autocar' Magazine:

"They don't just want to have the right car, they want to have the right car that stands out from all of their friends and, of course, rivals."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saranac Lake, New York, US - 6 April 2017

18. Mid of Sunita Halasz, Electric Car Owner, pulling plug from car

19. Close of Halasz returning plug to station

20. Wide of car driving down country road

21. Close of Halasz's hands on steering wheel

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Sunita Halasz, Electric Car Owner:

"I actually think that we are some of the most extreme EV drivers in the entire United States."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Monaco - 8 April 2017

23. Various of trainee Formula One racing car marshals moving car, jumping over safety rail

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, US - 12 April 2017

24. Wide of Lincoln Navigator unveil at New York International Auto Show

25. Various of Lincoln Navigator

26. Wide of Honda Clarity series unveil

27. Wide of Honda Fuel Cell cars

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Los Angeles, US - 27 April 2017

28. Pull out from front grille to wide of Ferrari exhibit

29. Wide of exhibit floor with Ferrari cars

30. Wide of 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 (driven by Niki Lauda)

31. Wide of people looking at 2014 LaFerrari

32. SOUNDBITE (English) Brett Anderson, Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Robb Report:

"It combines this incredibly beautiful design with state-of-the-art engineering and performance, and there's something that's just very seductive about that."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 27 June 2017

33. Mid of Oxbotica CargoPod self-driving delivery vehicle driving

COURTESY GATEWAY PROJECT

London, UK - 26 June 2017

34. GoPro footage of Oxbotica CargoPod self-driving delivery vehicle driving ++MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 27 June 2017

35. Tracking shot of worker giving shopping bag to man and placing box back into compartment

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beijing, China - 14 July 2017

36. Low shot of Ford Mustang's front with body rising

37. Tilt down to Richard Guo, Founder of Mustang Club of China, driving his 2006 Mustang

38. Pan right of Mustang driving by

39. Pull out of plastic cover being taken off red 1966 Mustang

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 26 July 2017

40. Wide of Rolls-Royce Phantom unveil

41. Pan left of headlights

42. Mid of Phantom

43. Pan left of interior glass fascia panel

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Moscow, Russia - 17 August 2017

44. Various of driverless taxi driving down the road

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hickory Corners, Michigan, US - 31 August 2017

45. Close of driving school instructor using hand-crank to start antique Model T vehicles

46. Close of belt spinning in Model T engine

47. Pan right of Model T driving by, driver honking horn

48. SOUNDBITE (English) Keith Maes, Model T Student Driver:

"Absolutely terrified. Thought I was going to break something, that somebody would break something, but then, you know, you realise that these things were built bulletproof."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 7 September 2017

49. Various of Jaguar E-PACE SUV

50. SOUNDBITE (English) Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover:

"From 2020, all of our new vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers more choice."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Berlin, Germany - 7 September 2017

51. Wide of man standing in front of scooter

52. Close of man using 'Emmy' app to open scooter

53. Various of man driving electric scooter

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frankfurt, Germany - 11 September 2017

54. Wide of Mercedes AMG Project One unveil

55. Various of Mercedes AMG Project One

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Frankfurt, Germany - 12 September 2017

56. Various of Smart Vision EQ Fortwo concept car

57. Various of Renault Symbioz concept car

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Eindhoven, Netherlands - 25 September 2017

58. Low shot of Lina, electric car made using bio-based materials, driving by

59. Various exterior and interior shots of Lina driving

60. Wide of student team standing by car

61. Mid of students opening car hood

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ann Arbor, Michigan, US - 28 September 2017

62. Various of Rahul Kumar, University of Michigan student and Domino's Pizza Customer, taking pizza from self-driving Domino's Pizza delivery vehicle

63. Various of Teresa Hatcher, Domino's Pizza Customer, and her daughters removing pizza order from self-driving car

64. Wide of self-driving delivery car returning to store

COURTESY DOREL UK

Wokingham, UK - Date not given

65. Slow-motion footage of crash test vehicle being moved at test site, dummy testing Maxi-Cosi airbag for babies

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 20 October 2017

66. Various of Maxi-Cosi Managing Director Andrew Ratcliffe checking airbag car seat for babies

67. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Ratcliffe, Managing Director, Maxi-Cosi:

"It keeps the child in a vertical position and absorbs some of the energy in an accident."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 25 October 2017

68. Various of Nissan unveiling IMx zero-emission concept at Tokyo Motor Show

69. Wide of Nissan IMx zero-emission concept

70. Various of Honda Sports EV concept

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo, Japan - 23 October 2017

71. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Greimel, Asia Editor, Automotive News:

"What they're finding is that they, like all global makers, are being pressured by new comers."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 4 November 2017

72. Mid of woman in period costume sat in Locomobile from 1901 at Regent Street Motor Show

73. Close of woman sat in car

74. Mid of Panhard Et Levassor car from 1903

75. Close tilt down of horn

76. Wide of woman in period dress by Napier from 1902

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lisbon, Portugal - 8 November 2017

77. Wide of Jeff Holden, Chief Product Officer, Uber, speaking onstage at Web Summit

COURTESY UBER TECHNOLOGIES

78. Uber Elevate promo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dubai, UAE - 14 November 2017

79. Various of Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at Dubai Motor Show

80. Various of Vulcano Titanium

81. Various of customized Nissan GT-R with gold engraved metallic paint by Kuhl Racing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London, UK - 29 November 2017

82. Various of London Electric Vehicle Company's (LEVC) new 'TX' hybrid black taxi parked in Regent's Park

83. Wide of traffic driving by at Piccadilly Circus

84. Pan left of 'TX' hybrid black taxi driving by

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

Sant'Agata, Italy – 4 December 2017

85. Various of new Lamborghini Urus SUV driving onstage at Lamborghini press event

COURTESY LAMBORGHINI

Date and location not given

86. Lamborghini Urus SUV promo

LEADIN:

Self-driving cars and battery-powered motors were the top, engine-revving auto trends in 2017.

While Ford and Domino's trialled driverless pizza deliveries in the US, London's iconic black taxi cabs turned green.

STORYLINE:

Autonomous cars dominated the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Japanese auto maker Toyota showcased its Concept-i vehicle and German car manufacturer BMW showed off its i Inside Future concept car.

BMW is promising fully autonomous driving by 2021.

There was an awkward moment for Faraday Future's new luxury electric car, the FF 91, when its auto-park feature failed to work onstage.

In February, Toyota revamped its Prius plug-in hybrid with a longer cruising range and quicker charging.

The new Prius PHV also came with solar panels on the roof and could be charged by plugging into a regular home electricity socket.

Forget Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, software engineers were getting set to do battle on the racetrack.

An automotive company unveiled what's claimed to be the world's first driverless electric racing car at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Fast and luxurious were the buzz words at this year's Geneva International Motor Show - and if it was also hybrid, then all the better.

Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce showed off a car from its Ghost line. Nothing new there, but this one had 1,000 crushed diamonds encrusted in the paint job.

"They don't just want to have the right car, they want to have the right car that stands out from all of their friends and, of course, rivals," says Jim Holder from 'Autocar' magazine.

Car charging stations were becoming almost as common as coffee shops in some cities.

But electric stations can be more than an hour away in remote areas like New York state's Adirondack Mountains.

Electric car pioneers in these parts planned ahead for where to plug in.

"I actually think that we are some of the most extreme EV drivers in the entire United States," says electric car owner Sunita Halasz.

In April, Monaco's Formula One racing car marshals were undergoing their latest round of intensive training.

The mandatory weekend course has run every year since 1979 ahead of the Grand Prix, ePrix and Monaco rally.

The 2017 New York International Auto Show featured a diverse line up of new vehicles from high-performance muscle cars to hot-selling SUVs.

Ford unveiled an all-new Lincoln Navigator, a cushy seven or eight seat utility vehicle, with an aluminium body as it attempted to win back buyers of big SUVs.

Honda introduced electric and plug-in hybrid versions of its Clarity sedan.

Italy's signature sportscar brand, Ferrari, took centre stage in Los Angeles, at one of the most significant gatherings of Ferraris in the world.

The 'Seeing Red: 70 years of Ferrari' exhibit offered a comprehensive look at the car maker's sports cars and racing program.

On display was a collection of cars worth around $200 million USD.

"It combines this incredibly beautiful design with state-of-the-art engineering and performance," says Brett Anderson from the Robb Report.

"And there's something that's just very seductive about that."

Apples and oranges autonomously delivered directly to your door.

Online-only supermarket Ocado helped launch the UK's first trial of autonomous grocery deliveries in June.

This CargoPod used autonomous software that performed real-time navigation, planning and perception.

An American muscle car was fast becoming a global favourite in 2017.

According to IHS Markit, more than 150,000 Ford Mustangs sold in 2016, making it the best-selling sports car in the world.

Iconic British car maker Rolls-Royce lifted the lid on its latest Phantom car.

The opulent sedan has driven the rich and powerful worldwide - from the Aga Khan to the Queen - but the latest model promised even more luxury.

In August, this driverless bus, designed to be used as a taxi, was unveiled in Moscow.

'Matreshka' - meaning 'Russian doll' - is a Russian-made driverless electric bus. It uses cameras to recognise objects and follow a route.

Over in the US, hundreds signed up for the chance to learn to drive an authentic Model T Ford at Michigan's Gilmore Car Museum.

The Model T hasn't been produced for nearly a century, but it was the automobile star of its day.

"Absolutely terrified," says student driver Keith Maes.

"Thought I was going to break something, that somebody would break something, but then, you know, you realise that these things were built bulletproof."

Jaguar Land Rover moved towards a greener future in September, announcing all its vehicles will be available in electric or hybrid models from 2020.

"From 2020, all of our new vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers more choice," says Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover.

Electric scooters that can be booked via a smartphone app were the latest way to get around in Berlin.

Around 1,800 scooters were available in the German capital, and could be booked by anyone with a driver's license.

At Frankfurt's IAA motor show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new multimillion-dollar Formula One-level Project One hyper car, boasting over 1,000 horse power.

Daimler's urban brand Smart debuted its new concept car - the Smart Vision EQFortwo.

The bubble-shaped so-called 'Robo-Taxi' concept was fully automated, without a steering wheel or pedals, and boasted an interactive touchscreen on the dashboard.

Renault's new concept car, named 'Symbioz', was parked in a 'living room' at its IAA booth.

But it hadn't taken a wrong turn, Symbioz connected to the owner's home wirelessly and was intended to function as an extra room when parked.

In September, a team of students from the Netherlands designed and built a car entirely out of recycled material.

The tiny four-seater electric concept - called Lina - weighed just 310 kilograms and could reach a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

No tip for the driver? No problem.

Over in the United States, Domino's and Ford teamed up to see if customers would warm to the idea of pizza delivered by driverless cars.

The makers of a child's car seat said they'd used small aircraft technology to create the first safe airbag for babies.

Airbags explode too violently to be considered safe for infants, and they're usually removed from cars when baby seats are installed.

"It keeps the child in a vertical position and absorbs some of the energy in an accident," explains Andrew Ratcliffe, managing director of Maxi-Cosi.

Concept cars and the latest eco-friendly vehicles were unveiled by Japanese automakers at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Analysts said Japanese car makers were facing new challengers from outside the traditional auto market, especially from Silicon Valley and China.

"What they're finding is that they, like all global makers, are being pressured by new comers," says Hans Greimel from Automotive News.

In November, veteran cars and elegant vintage clothes from the early 1900s graced one of London's prime streets for the annual Regent Street Motor Show.

Despite rain, enthusiasts from around the world revelled in an era when motoring was an art and road vehicles could be powered by steam.

Commuters of the future could get some relief from congested roads if Uber's plans for flying taxis work out.

At Lisbon's Web Summit tech event, the ride-hailing service unveiled an artist's impression of the sleek, futuristic machine it hopes to start using for demonstration flights in 2020.

The fastest ever Corvette and the world's first handmade titanium car - high-speed and luxury cars took centre stage at the Dubai Motor Show in November.

Nicknamed 'Gold', this Nissan GT-R by Japan-based Kuhl Racing, had been decorated in metallic gold paint and then painstakingly engraved.

Of course, all that hard work came with a price tag to match - 3.8 million UAE dirhams (approx. $1,030,000 USD).

London's iconic black taxi cabs turned green in December. In a bid to help lessen air pollution, a new version with a battery-powered, hybrid engine went into service.

But in a high-tech era of ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Lyft, can the black cab keep pace?

Keeping pace is Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini - they've unveiled what is claimed to be the world's "fastest SUV".

The Urus can go from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.6 seconds and boasts a top speed of 305 kilometres an hour (189.5 mph).

====

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com.

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

SHOTLIST:

AP Television

Los Angeles Convention Center, US - November 18, 2010

1. Wide of Volvo C30 DRIVe electric car

AP Television

Paris, France - September 30, 2010

2. Mid of Renault Fluence electric car on turntable

3. Mid of Renault electric charging points

4. Mid of man plugging in electric charger

AP Television

Los Angeles Convention Center, US - November 18, 2010

5. Wide of Nissan Leaf electric car

6. Mid of man plugging in Nissan Leaf electric charger

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mark Perry, Director of Product Planning, Nissan:

"This is the world's first affordable pure zero emission car, battery electric, no gas, no oil. Never have to go to a gas station, never have to do an oil change. Zero emission - there's not even a tailpipe."

VNR - Nissan

No date given

8. Various shots of Nissan Leaf electric car

UPSOUND: "The first mass produced electric vehicle, this is a key point. The Nissan Leaf has been designed from the bottom up as an electric vehicle which means it has absolutely no compromise. As a dedicated EV the Leaf and the battery have been designed in tandem to give an ideal configuration for a mid-sized family car. This gives you ideal five seat configuration and good interior luggage space."

AP Television

Los Angeles Convention Center, US - November 18, 2010

9 Mid of man plugging in Chevrolet Volt car

10. Wide of Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric vehicle

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Richard James, Manager, Product Communications, General Motors West Coast

"It's an electric vehicle that allows you to drive - if you have a full battery - on pure electricity or your battery reserve for up to 50 miles (80.46 kms). What happens after that, to overcome this issue known as "range anxiety" is there's a generator that is built into the car, an internal combustion engine - a gasoline engine essentially - that kicks in automatically, seamless to the consumer, that will charge the battery and so the vehicle will continue to run on its electric architecture for up to 350 miles (563.3 kms)."

AP Television

Paris, France - September 30, 2010

12. Close of electric car charging point

13. Wide of silver Peugeot Ion electric car

14. Close of Peugeot Ion's electric charging point

15. Wide of blue Peugeot Ion electric car

AP Television

Los Angeles Convention Center, US - November 18, 2010

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Richard Horman, Motoring Journalist, Road and Track Magazine:

"Electricity, green cars as well as the tendency for cars to get smaller. When I started this business cars and trucks were getting bigger and bigger and bigger and trucks were the big thing. Now cars are tending to get smaller. There's even a little Fiat over at the Chrysler stand. Cars getting smaller, becoming more efficient packages."

17. Pull out of Honda Fit electric vehicle concept car

18. Close of Honda Fit charging point pulls out to mid of Honda Fit car

19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Brendan Flynn, Director of Communications, Los Angeles Auto Show:

"We have this Jaguar that's in the booth right next to us that's a $300,000 electric Supercar that goes from zero to 60 (mph) in 3.2 seconds. You can go to Vegas and back on one tank of gas."

20. Wide of Jaguar C-X75 hybrid concept car

AP Television

Paris, France - September 30, 2010

21. Wide of Renault Twizy on stand

22. Mid of Renault Twizy front facing

23. SOUNDBITE: (French) Mathieu Tenebaum, Deputy Director of Electric Vehicles, Renault:

"It is not at all a concept car. It is really a car that will be commercialised within the year, and we are working on the design of the series."

24. Video animation featuring the Twizy

25. SOUNDBITE: (French) Mathieu Tenebaum, Deputy Director of Electric Vehicles, Renault:

"This vehicle has a range of about 100 kilometres (62 miles) so it's perfect for an urban use and it recharges fully within three and a half hours."

VNR Nissan - no date given

26. Various shots of Nissan Micra parallel parking with electronic assistance

VNR McLaren Automotive

Surrey, UK - March 18, 2010

27. Mid pan left to right of silver and orange McLaren MP4 12C

UPSOUND: (English) Anthony Sheriff, Managing Director, McLaren Automotive

"Everything about the car is pure McLaren. It's authentic. It is the real deal."

28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Anthony Sheriff, Managing Director, McLaren Automotive:

"The basic concept comes from Formula One principles. It starts with the driver and the driver sits in a rigid carbon fibre safety cell or monocell. And lightness is what this car is all about, everything in it is light and compact."

29. Crash test impact footage of McLaren car

UPSOUND: (English) Anthony Sheriff, Managing Director, McLaren Automotive:

"But this lightness has not come at the expense of safety. Note how not just the monocell but even the windscreen remains undeformed, undamaged and not even cracked."

30. Various shots of Formula1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button driving McLaren MP4 12Cs on track

UPSOUND: (English) Lewis Hamilton, former Formula 1 world champion

"The car actually handles like a real car should handle."

UPSOUND: (English) Jenson Button, former Formula 1 world champion

"You get to a corner and you're picking up very good grip and it's got the racing car pedigree and as it should do. It's built under the same roof as our racing car."

+++MUTE+++

VNR Toyota FT 86 - no date given

31. Various shots of Toyota FT 86

VNR Triumph motorcycles - no date given

32. Various shots showing the Daytona 675 supersports bike

33. Various shots showing the Tiger 800 adventure sports bike

VNR Kawasaki - no date given

34. Various shots showing the Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja Superbike

LEAD IN:

Electric cars and hybrid green machines are the major trends for 2011 in the automotive world.

However, British sports car maker McLaren is releasing its MP4 12C to an expectant public.

And on two wheels things are getting lighter, faster and more powerful with the launch of the new Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbike.

STORYLINE:

Electric vehicles arrive in 2011 and all of the manufacturers want a slice of this potentially lucrative new market.

Volvo has said its future lies in electric vehicles with its C30 DRIVe EV to enter production in 2011 and plans for a hybrid-diesel for 2012.

Even existing models - like Renault's Fluence saloon - are being transformed into greener variants.

The lithium-ion powered Fluence ZE goes into production in 2011

One of the most significant electric cars to hit the market is Japanese manufacturer, Nissan's Leaf.

Nissan has been billing the Leaf as the affordable electric family car - already available for pre-order, it will cost just over $30,000 when it goes on sale around the world in early 2011.

Mark Perry, director of product planning, Nissan says:

"This is the world's first affordable pure zero emission car, battery electric, no gas, no oil. Never have to go to a gas station, never have to do an oil change. Zero emission - there's not even a tailpipe."

However, the limited range of electric vehicles is still proving a barrier for some consumers - a phenomenon known in the industry as "range anxiety".

American car maker Chevrolet thinks it has the answer with its new hybrid Volt.

"It's an electric vehicle that allows you to drive - if you have a full battery - on pure electricity or your battery reserve for up to 50 miles (80.46 kms). What happens after that, to overcome this issue known as "range anxiety" is there's a generator that is built into the car, an internal combustion engine - a gasoline engine essentially - that kicks in automatically, seamless to the consumer, that will charge the battery and so the vehicle will continue to run on its electric architecture for up to 350 miles (563.3 kms)," says Richard James, Manager of product communications for General Motors West Coast.

The first Volt models have been arriving in showrooms this month (December 2010) costing around $40,000.

The Peugeot iOn and its sister-model the Citroen C-Zero are two city Evs designed for short hops around town.

They charge fully in six hours but an 80 per cent charge takes just half an hour. The car has a range of 81 miles (130 kms).

And for 2011 small is the new big according to journalists.

Richard Horman, a motoring journalist for Road and Track Magazine says:

"When I started this business cars and trucks were getting bigger and bigger and bigger and trucks were the big thing. Now cars are tending to get smaller. There's even a little Fiat over at the Chrysler stand. Cars getting smaller becoming more efficient packages."

But not all electric vehicles have to be sensible. Take this Jaguar C-X75 hybrid concept car.

"We have this Jaguar that's in the booth right next to us that's a $300,000 electric Supercar that goes from zero to 60 (mph) in 3.2 seconds," says Brendan Flynn, director of communications for Los Angeles Auto Show. "You can go to Vegas and back on one tank of gas."

The Jaguar C-X75 is powered by four 145 kW (194 hp) electric motors - one on each wheel - which produce 780 hp.

The Renault Twizy might look like a concept car but the French manufacturer is deadly serious about this leaning electric vehicle.

Mathieu Tenebaum, deputy director of electric vehicles, Renault says:

"It is not at all a concept car. It is really a car that will be commercialised within the year, and we are working on the design of the series."

Like a motorcycle the Twizy leans around corners and its slender dimensions make it ideal for city use.

It has a range of around 65 miles (104 kms) and can be fully charged in three and a half hours.

But cars aren't just getting greener, they're getting smarter too.

Technology that used to be found in only the most exclusive luxury vehicles is now making its way to cheaper superminis like the Nissan Micra.

Nissan has packed the Micra with lots of technology, like its keyless entry and start.

Also it features a parking guidance system which checks the space between parked cars and tells the driver if the car will fit or not.

All models come with parking ESP as standard, an option that used to cost several hundred dollars on rival models.

The new 1.2 litre petrol Micra is economical too with a claimed combined fuel economy of over 55mpg.

The Nissan Micra 1.2 Tekna costs �12,095 ($18,800 USD).

McLaren might be best known for its Formula 1 team but in 2011 its making road cars.

So the MP4-12C Supercar might not be your average family runaround with a starting from �168,500 ($262,089 USD).

This mid-mounted 3.8 litre V8 twin-turbo puts out 592bhp, but it's the lightness McLaren is boasting about.

Anthony Sheriff, managing director for McLaren Automotive says:

"The basic concept comes from Formula One principles. It starts with the driver and the driver sits in a rigid carbon fibre safety cell or monocell. And lightness is what this car is all about, everything in it is light and compact."

Its strength is demonstrated in this crash test impact footage.

And the MP4-12C was given the ultimate road test earlier this year in the hands of McLaren's two Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button,

Life on two wheels is getting faster for the new year.

2011 is a big year for British bike manufacturer Triumph.

An updated version of its Daytona 675 Supersports machine hits the dealers in March.

The Daytona R costs �9,799 ($15,244 USD) but comes with top-of-the-range Ohlins forks from the Swedish suspension specialists and Brembo brakes.

It comes covered in carbon-fibre parts - including hugger, bodywork, silencer heat shield and front mudguard - and gets a quickshifter gearbox as standard.

However, Triumph's biggest new bike for 2011 is the Tiger 800. A bike the British firm hopes can grab a slice of the best-selling BMW R1200GS's sales.

The 95bhp adventure-sports machine is for tarmac or dirt and comes in an adventure touring variant with panniers and engine bars.

But one of the most anticipated new bikes is Kawasaki's new ZX-10R Superbike.

The second generation ZX-10R is completely redesigned with one mission in mind - to reclaim the World Superbike Championship crown - something Kawasaki has failed to achieve since 1993.

The new bike is lighter, lower and more powerful and comes with sophisticated electronics - including ABS and three selectable power modes for engine performance to suit the riding conditions.

The Ninja arrives in showrooms from January 2011and no price has yet been announced.

SHOTLIST:

AP Television

London, UK, 27 May 2010

1. Various of Racing Green Endurance super car

2. Close up zoom out from computer display on dashboard to rear of super car

3. Close up pull into focus of rear car lights

4. Close up of dashboard computer showing stored energy

5. Close up of computer showing revving although engine is silent

6. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"We really wanted to help change the public perception. If people are going to want to build electric cars and buy electric cars they have to think that electric cars are worth buying, that they're cool, that they're sexy and they're fun to drive, just like, you know, petrol cars have had that reputation for the past one hundred years."

7. Wide of super car driving fast towards camera

8. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"Now if we'd have just modified a normal car, who would of taken notice? it's not very exciting. But this car it's a one of a kind, nobody sees it on the road, this car does not exist except this one sitting here. So you drive it around and people will be "Wow I've never seen this car before" and they'll be like "Oh it's electric as well and it looks like this and it drives like this!" it's obviously very good and we've already seen it just driving around London."

9. Various of Racing Green Endurance super car in traffic on roads

10. Various of people walking on pavement staring at Endurance super car

11. Mid shot of Endurance being driven around corner

12. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"One of the special things about this software is that it has to control two motors rather than one, and they're independently controlled, so normally in a car you have one motor, engine being split through a differential to two rear wheels, and we have a very different system,each wheel is independently controlled and that gives rise to traction control problems which we've had to solve as well developing new traction control algorithms which, to the best of my knowledge, have not been done elsewhere so that's pretty cutting edge. I'd say the next most cutting edge thing is the motors we have they are just on the cusp of entering the market, very high technology axialflux motors which really haven't been developed to a huge extent yet."

VNR: MUST CREDIT "VON PLANTA PRODUCTIONS" - NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Brontingthorpe proving ground, UK, May 2010

13. Close up of Endurance wheel being tested on traction rollers

14. Wide of car being examined by team with front end off

15. Close up of low slung seats inside car

16. Mid shot tilt down from team member to engine

AP Television

London, UK, 27 May 2010

17. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"The components, there's nothing particularly complicated about manufacturing them in large quantities, besides the batteries which have their own issues, but in mass manufacturing they are all capable of being mass manufactured. The cost could come down significantly. Obviously people are not going to be driving around in a car that looks like this, but essentially the power train would not

be very different."

VNR: MUST CREDIT "VON PLANTA PRODUCTIONS" - NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Brontingthorpe proving ground, UK, May 2010

18. Mid shot of car driving past on racing track into the distance at speed

19. Mid shot from dashboard camera of team members driving car

20. Close up of wheel being tested on racing track

AP Television

London, UK, 27 May 2010

21. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"Perhaps we've overpowered it, we've got 400 horse power here, most cars wish they had 400 horse power, but the point is that we could probably get the price down a lot if we were to see the tens, or hundreds of thousands of cars being made."

22. Pull into focus on wide of rear car lights

23. Close zoom in along body of car to dashboard

24. SOUNDBITE: (English), Professor Nigel Brandon, director, Energy Futures Laboratory, Imperial College London

"The electricity we use today has a carbon content, of course it does, if we were to put the standard mix of UK electricity into this car the emissions from it are around 55 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometre which is still very good, that would make it a very low carbon vehicle. The (Toyota) Prius, for example, is 89 grams of CO2 per kilometre. But as we move to reducing the carbon content of our electricity in the future, which is something that we want to do, then the carbon content will come down further."

25. Wide of car

26. SOUNDBITE: (English), Alexander Schey, project manager & founder of Racing Green Endurance

"It's also an infrastructure question as well. If the country invests in an electric charging infrastructure, so on the street in normal public parking, when you drive to a friend's house, you go to a meeting, you're there for two hours and you just plug in your car casually for a couple of hours. That will give you more than enough juice to get home, or to carry on to do your shopping. It really is for 99% of the driving, which is in and around the city, short distances, the electric car is perfect and the existing infrastructure can probably sustain, you know, people charging up at home."

27. Mid tracking shot of Endurance driving away

LEAD IN:

An electric super car is being road tested in the UK ahead of a world record attempt across the Americas.

The team behind the vehicle aims to be the first in the world to drive an electric vehicle the length of the Pan American Highway - the longest road on Earth.

STORYLINE:

It has the look of a racing super car, but the team that built this sleek, road hugging model say it's every bit as efficient, if not more efficient and environmentally friendly than your top of the range family saloon.

The car called the "Racing Green Endurance" is the brainchild of undergraduates, postgraduates and alumni from Imperial College London's Faculty of Engineering.

They're hoping it'll get them into the record books.

It's a sight they weren't always convinced they'd see.

Funding in the form of �300,000 ($434,458.26 USD) worth of high tech software and the most sophisticated parts came through just recently and so the team gave up their careers to pursue their dream of putting this car on the roads of three continents.

The Endurance should take the 26,000 kilometres (16,000 miles) of the Pan American Highway well within its stride.

It can accelerate from zero to 100 km per hour in seven seconds, reaching a top speed of 200 km per hour.

The journey will take them from the northern tip of Alaska, to the finishing line at the most southerly point of South America.

Part of the project will see them assessing the performance and endurance capabilities of electric vehicles over long distances.

Project manager and founder of the Endurance team is Alexander Schey.

According to Schey they deliberately chose to build a state of the art racing car because they wanted to help change the public perception of electric cars being slow and ugly.

He says "if people are going to want to build electric cars and buy electric cars they have to think that electric cars are worth buying, that they're cool, that they're sexy and they're fun to drive, just like petrol cars have had that reputation for the past one hundred years."

They also hope that driving their car across two continents will raise awareness along the way about the benefits of electric vehicles and dispel the public perception of electric cars as slow and unattractive, with a limited range.

The car has an average running cost of one penny (sterling) per mile and a range of approximately 400 kilometres before the battery needs recharging.

The Racing Green Endurance project runs alongside the wider Imperial Racing Green initiative (IRG), which is training students to become the engineers who will develop the next generation of zero emission vehicles in the future.

Schey says the car has also enabled them to make engineering breakthroughs in traction design which means better road holding and smaller, lighter car parts and batteries, vital for an electric motor.

At this special testing site outside London the crew were able to discover how their car performed.

There are no doors as yet, but low slung seats sit on top of a computer.

When the top is removed from the back it reveals a surprisingly small engine. Yet under the blue box are two motors which steer the wheels individually.

Behind it is a discreet battery charger, this is what plugs into an external power source.

The actual battery in front of it is even smaller.

Producing about fifty to a hundred of these cars would bring the cost down to about �65,000 ($94.4 thousand USD).

But the team says crucially that while the parts are modified, they could all be easily manufactured on a mass scale would slash the price dramatically.

Schey points that the high cost is partly due to its high specification.

He says "perhaps we've overpowered it, we've got 400 horse power here, most cars wish they had 400 horse power, but the point is that we could probably get the price down a lot if we were to see the tens, or hundreds of thousands of cars being made."

The director of Energy Futures Laboratory, Imperial College's Energy Futures Laboratory Nigel Brandon says the car is immensely efficient and could reduce it's carbon emissions even more.

The IRG project is an initiative of the Energy Futures Lab, which is the College's hub for interdisciplinary energy research.

Branden says "the electricity we use today has a carbon content, of course it does, if we were to put the standard mix of UK electricity into this car the emissions from it are around 55 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometre which is still very good, that would make it a very low carbon vehicle. The (Toyota) Prius, for example, is 89 grams of CO2 per kilometre".

Schey is hoping the sort of battery charging technology you find in a car like this will encourage people to adapt and think of them as being like a mobile phone which you charge every time you find a convenient spot.

He believes that in an ideal world the infrastructure of our cities needs to change to make the most of electric vehicles.

So there could be battery charging facilities in every car park.

"So on the street in normal public parking, when you drive to a friend's house, you go to a meeting, you're there for two hours and you just plug in your car casually for a couple of hours. That will give you more than enough juice to get home, or to carry on to do your shopping".

But the team believes this isn't essential because 99% of the driving we do is short distances in city centres and "the electric car is perfect and the existing infrastructure can probably sustain, you know, people charging up at home."