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Mazda CX-5 named Japan's Car of The Year, Subaru BR-Z wins "Special Award"

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the Hiroshima company has won.
The award is decided by 60 local "automotive experts and journalists," and open to any passenger car released in Japan from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012 that has sold more than 500 units. Each judge gets 25 votes, his or her top vote getting 10 points, the rest of the points being spread among the judge's choice for the next best four cars.
The second-place getters were the Toyobaru twins with 318 votes, the surprise being they didn't beat or get any closer to the crossover. The Subaru BRZ did claw some mojo back, earning the Special Award given to cars that have made "an exceptional impact." The BMW 3 Series was third overall and won the Import Car of the Year award with plenty of room between it and the second place Range Rover Evoque.

Toyota may return to F1 under Lexus banner

A new report in from the website Club Lexus claims to have insider knowledge about a return to Formula One racing by Toyota, this time under the auspices of the Lexus brand. Toyota competed in F1 from 2002 through the 2009 season. That final year saw the team return competitive, if inconsistent results, but the larger economic woes in the automotive market made a decision to pull the plug relatively easy at the time.
Now, citing recent interviews with Toyota executives and insider sources, Club Lexus says that the move to re-enter F1 for the 2014 season is "all but finalized." The choice to go with the Lexus nameplate over Toyota makes some sense, too, considering the success that rival Infiniti has had in recent years through its partnership with Red Bull Racing. Further, the emerging Lexus identity as a performance car builder, with a strong background in hybrid vehicles, could help the F1 move resonate with buyers.
A few technological factors and formula changes within F1 offer some credence to the Lexus rumor, too. F1 will increase the available capacity of KERS from 60kW to 120kW, a change that theoretically benefits the hybrid-savvy Toyota. What's more, 2014 will see a switch from the current 2.4-liter V8 engines to 1.6-liter turbocharged V6s. A Lexus team that goes racing in 2014 will be on a level playing field with the rest of the grid then, with all teams adjusting to and continuing to develop the new engines.

Customers want wireless charging in next-gen Prius Plug-In; they might get it

Could 2016 be the year prospective Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid buyers are waiting for? Why, yes, says an unidentified Toyota spokesman. That's according to Plug-in Cars, which reports that a wireless plug-in vehicle charging system may be less than two years away for the Prius Plug-in. WiTricity has, for a few years, been developing its magnetic resonance wireless charging system for the model. This type of system allows for more distance leeway than other wireless setups when it comes to how close the car and its on-board receiver need to be to the floor-mounted system. That allows for smaller, lighter on-board receivers, which is key for any plug-in vehicle. Toyota spokeswoman Jana Hartline confirmed in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen that the company has conducted wireless charging tests in Japan "with hopes to bring that technology to market in the near future" but declined to provide more detail on the company's plans to offer wireless charging for plug-ins. Toyota's Satoshi Ogiso said last summer that the Prius Plug-in would eventually offer a wireless charging system in response to prospective customers' demand for it, though he wasn't specific on a time frame. Toyota started discussions with WiTricity regarding wireless charging system development more than three years ago and said late last year that it had reached a licensing agreement with the Boston-based company. WiTricity has also worked on developing wireless-charging systems that are compatible with Audi and Mitsubishi vehicles. WiTricity grew out of MIT back in 2007, back when we could barely imagine how it would work.