As a brand ambassador in the US, the car's role will be to attract customers to Volkswagen's showrooms and thus drive sales of its other models, such as the Passat, which is built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Jetta, which is built alongside the Beetle in Puebla, Mexico.

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That trust in turn is built on familiarity with work behaviors in models they understand.

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Then it has built up very detailed models that show how each category is likely to spend its income.

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Next is the publication of a "look book" for the final design and models built from foamcore, a strong, lightweight material.

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It will be at least two years before the new system bears fruit: The Ford Futura is the first of as many as 10 new Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models to be built off the same underpinning used for the Mazda 6 midsize sedan. (Ford has a controlling stake in Mazda.) In all, Ford's domestic brands plan to introduce 65 new or redesigned vehicles in the next five years.

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According to the report, fridges and freezers built in recent years contain more plastic than older models, but the highly flammable insulation is not separated from the parts of the appliance where a fire can start.

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New for 2013 is iPhone Siri digital assistant control and automatic iPhone Bluetooth pairing on all built-in Bluetooth models.

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