The 308 SW stretches 180 inches long, making it 13 inches longer than its four-door hatchback counterpart. The two cars are roughly identical from the tip of the front bumper to the B-pillar, but the wagon gains a longer rear overhang and a sloping roof line accentuated by set of brushed aluminum rails.

Like the hatchback model, the 308 wagon adopts a futuristic interior with a simple dashboard design. The instrument cluster is made up of a TFT screen surrounded by two analog gauges, and a 9.7-inch touch screen mounted in the center stack allows passengers to control the infotainment system. Overall, the 308 is the most technologically-advanced 300-series model Peugeot has ever produced.

The longer overhang enabled designers to clear up 21.5 cubic feet of trunk space with the second row of seats folded flat, an increase of nearly five cubic feet over the hatchback.

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An amateur photographer snapped MINI’s four-door Cooper without camouflage as it was being loaded on a cargo jet at an airport in Holland.

Riding on the new UKL1 platform that will also underpin the 2015 BMW 1-Series GT, the four-door MINI will be longer and slighter taller than its two-door counterpart in order to offer occupants more space. The two-door Cooper’s basic retro-inspired design will be carried over to its larger sibling, and the spy pictures reveal the two cars share the same rear end.

Similarly, the four-door MINI will be powered by the same engines offered on the two-door variant. Entry-level models will use a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine that will find its way under the hood numerous BMW- and MINI-badged products over the next few years. For use in the family-friendly MINI, the mill will churn out 134 horsepower and 162 lb-ft. of torque from just 1,250 rpms, though an overboost function will bump torque up to 170 lb-ft. for short bursts of time.

More potent versions of the four-door MINI will use a new four-cylinder mill rated at 189 ponies and 207 lb-ft. of twist, and buyers will be able to opt for a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbodiesel that generates 116 horsepower and 199 lb-ft. of torque if MINI decides to sell oil-burners on this side of the Atlantic.

A performance-focused John Cooper Works model will round out the lineup later in the production run.

Official details about the four-door MINI will start trickling out over the next few weeks. The car will likely replace the Clubman, but MINI has not announced whether it will retain the historic nameplate or adopt a new moniker entirely.

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An automotive trends research firm is predicting a rapid rise in self-driving vehicles in the coming years, culminating in the near complete takeover of autonomous cars worldwide by 2050.

The shift will be exponential, according to the firm, IHS Automotive and an article in the Detroit News. Its study, titled “”Emerging Technologies: Autonomous Cars — Not If, But When,” the predicted timeline is as follows:

• By 2025 global sales of self-driving cars will be around 230,000, accounting for 0.2 percent of sales. The technology will add $7,000 to $10,000 to a car’s sticker price.

• By 2030, the first completely autonomous cars with no driver controls will go on sale. The price premium for the technology will drop to around $5,000.

• By 2035, 9.2 percent of new cars sold will be semi or completely autonomous, a figure of 54 million globally, and the price for the technology will be down to $3,000 per car. The North American market will have about 29 percent of those sales, or approximately 3.5 million vehicles, while China will account for 24 percent or 2.8 million vehicles and Western Europe 20 percent or 2.4 million vehicles.

• Sometime around 2050, nearly all private and commercial vehicles on the roads will be self-driving.

Nissan has already promised that it will begin selling autonomous cars in 2020 and has already shown the press a self-driving Leaf electric vehicle. Google has also tested self-driving cars extensively, logging 500,000 miles. GM, on the other hand, says that the technology will not be available in the foreseeable future.

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The US Army is currently testing a prototype all-purpose vehicle powered by a Subaru turbodiesel-electric hybrid drivetrain. Called the ULV (Ultra Light Vehicle), it is being considered as a HUMVEE replacement.

Commissioned by the Secretary of Defense and developed by the US Army’s TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center), the ULV aims to address some of the HUMVEE’s shortcomings and serve as the next generation of go-anywhere military truck.

Unlike the HUMVEE with its V8s, the ULV’s petrol motor is a Subaru turbodiesel boxer making 175 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. However, even the military is changing with the times with a hybrid drivetrain. According to Jalopnik, the hybrid system is comprised of two Remy electric drive motors and a 14.2 kWh Navitas Li-Iron Phosphate Battery, which at peak power can generate 180 kW (241 hp).

TARDEC says the ULV has a range of 337 miles at 35 mph on level ground. On pure electric power, it can cruise up to 21 miles with the advantage of doing so in sheer silence. The electric motors mean that a driveshaft is no longer necessary, and when combined with an improved undercarriage it’s a significant improvement over the HUMVEE’s ability to shield occupants from roadside mines, whose blasts originate beneath the vehicle.

Though the Ultra Light Vehicle is so in name only, and at 13,916 pounds actually weighs about 3,500 pounds more than the HUMVEE, it has a better power-to-weight ratio thanks to its hybrid drivetrain. In accordance with specs put forth by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the vehicle will have a payload capacity of 4,500 pounds and cost of $250,000 per unit over a 5,000 unit production run. Testing is scheduled to finish sometime in 2014, whereupon a determination for production will be decided.

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The most notable modification is found by popping the Ghost’s long hood. The sedan’s direct-injected, twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V12 engine has been massaged to churn out 601 horsepower, an increase of about 30 ponies compared to the regular-production model. Linked to an eight-speed automatic transmission, the twelve-cylinder engine propels the Ghost V-Spec from zero to 60 mph in less than 4.7 seconds while returning 17 mpg in a mixed European cycle.

The bulk of the aesthetic upgrades are found inside the car, where the smallest member of the Rolls family gains a panoramic sunroof, massaging seats upholstered in silver leather with contrasting black stitching, a bespoke clock and V-Spec running boards. Piano black trim on the dashboard and the door panels, a 360-degree camera and a V-Spec logo proudly embroidered into the rear armrest round out the major upgrades in the cabin.

Outside, the Ghost V-Spec retains a low-key appearance and the only major upgrades are two chromed exhaust tips and 21-inch five-spoke alloy wheels lifted straight from the Wraith parts bin. The discreet look is taken a step further by a Sapphire Black paint job.

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