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World Car Of The Year down to its final four

Judges for the World Car of the Year Award have narrowed down the finalists to just four vehicles. Out of a total of 42 entries, only the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86 and Volkswagen Golf remain standing. For Volkswagen, this marks the second consecutive year the company has had an entry among the finalists, and the fourth time since 2009. In order to qualify, a vehicle must be on sale on two continents during the span of time between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2013. A panel of 66 journalists from 23 countries then vote on the finalists.
Three vehicles have made the cut for the last round of voting on the 2013 World Performance Car as well, with the Cayman/Boxster and FR-S/BRZ/GT-86 running against the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Meanwhile, the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model S and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid are duking it out for the World Green Car Award. Finally, the World Car Design of the Year Award is up for grabs between the Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar F-Type, and the Mazda6. Check out the full press release below. Overall winners will be presented at the 2013 New York Auto Show.

Volkswagen Cross Up! headed for production after Geneva reveal

The last time we saw the Volkswagen Cross Up!, it was sitting out in the snow in prototype form, but the next time we'll see this slightly more rugged version of the diminutive Up! hatchback will be when it makes its production debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Looking like a micro-crossover with its raised ground clearance and black cladding, the Cross Up! will be the fourth "Cross" model for VW (after the CrossPolo, CrossGolf and CrossTouran) when it goes on sale this summer in mainland Europe (UK sales remain up in the air and US sales are highly unlikely).
Overall, the styling of the production Cross Up! has stayed fairly true to the 2011 concept car, including the front and rear fascias that offer a more rugged look, stocky 16-inch wheels and roof rack side rails. Inside, this model will get unique interior enhancements such as "Cross Up!" sill plates and an instrument panel available in red, black or silver. Like the regular Up!, the Cross Up! is powered by a 74-horsepower, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine paired to a five-speed manual transmission, and it doesn't look like all-wheel drive will be part of the picture. For more details on the upcoming Cross Up!, check out VW's press release posted below.

BMW, Ferrari, VW cars use tungsten mined by terrorists

Bloomberg Markets is reporting that BMW, Volkswagen and Ferrari have been using tungsten ore sourced from Columbia's FARC rebel terrorists. The extensive story focuses on Columbia's illegal mining trade and calls into question the provenance of the rare ore that is used not only in crankshaft parts production, but is also found in the world's computing and telecommunications industry for use in screens.
The ore is mined by the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army), and exported to Pennsylvania, where it is refined. The refined ore is then sent over to Austria, where a company called Plansee turns it into a finished product. Now, it's important to note that we aren't talking about the world's supply of tungsten here. In 2012, Plansee's American refinery purchased 93.2 metric tons of tungsten, valued at $1.8 million. That's peanuts, with the entire Colombian tungsten mining industry producing just one percent of the world's supplies.
That doesn't make indirectly supporting FARC any more acceptable, though. BMW, VW and Ferrari are all committed to not accepting mineral supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also in the grips of a guerrilla insurrection funded, in part, by illegal mining. The same commitment would figure to extend to Colombian mining, but as BMW points out, it's difficult for a multi-national manufacturer to know where every item in its supply chain comes from. A company spokesperson says as much, telling Bloomberg, "These few grams out of the billions of tons of raw materials passing through the BMW supply chain are of no practical relevance."