Kia Motors Corp. will take the wraps off its all-new Sportage midsize crossover vehicle next month at the Geneva auto show. The next-generation model reflects the company’s significant change in design direction.

Kia's next-generation Sportage

Styled by design chief Peter Schreyer, the Sportage is the latest step in Kia’s design transformation that also includes the recent Soul, Forte, Borrego and Sorento. The new Sportage, which is longer, lower and wider than its predecessor, is the sleekest of the new models. It also has a longer wheelbase, which improves ride characteristics and helps provide more space for passengers and cargo, Kia says.

The next-generation Sportage is expected to bow in South Korea next quarter. It will arrive in U.S. dealerships this summer.

Japan’s transport ministry has ordered Toyota Motor Corp. to investigate the brakes of the latest-generation Prius hybrid, Japan’s best-selling model for eight months. The agency has received 14 complaints since last July regarding inconsistent brake feel when the vehicle is driven over potholes, bumps or slippery road surfaces.

There have been about 100 such complaints in the U.S., including some that relate to the car’s throttle. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, for one, claims that his 2010 Prius has accelerated to 97 mph when the car’s adaptive cruise control system was set at a much lower speed. Toyota plans to borrow Wozniak’s car to see if it can replicate the problem.

The brake investigation comes on the heels of two massive recalls involving the floor mat and/or accelerator mechanism in several Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Both defects can cause the throttle to remain open after the driver has released pressure from the accelerator pedal. Toyota is recalling 8.1 million vehicles worldwide to address those problems.

BMW AG and PSA Peugeot Citroen SA have signed a deal under which they will extend their partnership on four-cylinder engine development. The two companies jointly developed a family of 1.4- and 1.6-liter engines, which have been used in BMW’s Mini lineup and select Peugeot and Citroen models for about five years.

Under the new agreement, the companies plan to develop a new range of powerplants that comply with Euro-VI emission standards that take effect in 2014. Details about the new engines are scarce, but media reports suggest that they will be more powerful than the current four-bangers—possibly with the aid of a turbocharger.

The companies have produced more than 1.3 million four-cylinder engines thus far. Those engines are assembled at a joint facility in France.

Don’t expect Toyota Motor Corp.’s Scion youth brand to offer a hybrid-electric vehicle anytime soon.

Scion vice president Jack Hollis tells Wardsauto.com that the added cost of a hybrid drivetrain makes it difficult to fit into Scion’s sub-$20,000 pricing strategy.

The brand eventually expects to add a hybrid. But Hollis says such a model would be a Scion exclusive rather than a rebadged Toyota hybrid. His comment refutes media speculation that Toyota’s FT-Ch hybrid small car concept, which was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month, might become a Scion model.

Scion is planning an all-wheel-drive model, which Hollis notes will be much more affordable to execute than a hybrid. To help keep costs down, Scion will work with Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Inc., now one-eighth owned by Toyota. Hollis didn’t say when the awd Scion will be launched.

In celebration of Alfa Romeo’s 100th anniversary this year, Stile Bertone and Pininfarina SpA will show Alfa-based concept vehicles at next month’s Geneva auto show. A third Italian design house, Italdesign Giugiaro, also is said to be readying a concept Alfa for the show.

Bertone's Alfa Romeo concept

The Bertone and Pininfarina models are considered design studies with little chance of making it into production, although some of their styling may be used in upcoming vehicles. The Giugiaro concept is expected to be based on the new Alfa Giulietta that the automaker is unveiling separately in Geneva.

Fiat SpA, which has owned Alfa since 1986, purchased Bertone Group’s Carrozzeria manufacturing unit last year. Bertone Stile remains an independent design company.

The new Bertone concept is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. A futuristic coupe developed under new design director Mike Robinson, the show car maintains the classic Alfa design but is now complemented with LED headlights. Elements of the vehicle may find their way into the next-generation Alfa Romeo Brera.

Pininfarina will show a two-seat Spider concept. In addition to the Alfa anniversary, the concept also will mark Pininfarina’s 80th year in business.

A team of researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University, Peking University in Beijing and the Chinese Academy of Science in Shanghai are developing a new way to improve the hydrogen storage properties of polarizable substrates via an applied electric field. They outlined their work on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Web site (www.pnas.org).

The new approach aims to simplify the synthesis of hydrogen fuel storage materials and improve the thermodynamics of the system, according to the researchers. They say it essentially does the same thing as doped metal ions but avoids associated problems such as the clustering of metal atoms and poisoning of metal ions by other gases. In addition, the stored hydrogen molecules can be released quickly after the electric field is dissipated.

The group demonstrated the concept by adsorbing a layer of hydrogen molecules on a number of nanomaterials. They say the strength of the electric field can be reduced if the substrate is more polarizable, such as with select nonmetal anions. The next step is to find suitable materials.

The development program is funded in part by grants from China’s National Natural Science Foundation, the Foundation of National Laboratory for Infrared Physics and the National Grand Fundamental Research 973 Program. U.S. contributors include the National Science Foundation and the Dept. of Energy