Spotted: A Lamborghini, one of many exotic cars on the UBC campus

My flying buddy Frank DeCastro spotted this camouflaged test car in Dryden, Ontario. You may be looking at the 2016 Toyota Prius. The best-selling hybrid is undergoing a redesign that includes a new battery, an even more-efficient powertrain, and improved aerodynamics. (Toyota has hinted that the next-generation car will be 15 per cent more efficient than the current model.)

Car manufacturers go to great lengths to conceal the identity of test cars. Taped-on body covers like this one are common. So is the use of distracting graphic wraps that make it difficult to discern body shapes. This camouflage technique was originally developed during World War One to disguise ships, and was known as “dazzle paint.”

Reader Charlotte Chase sent along this photo of a Lamborghini on the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver. As it turns out, UBC has a lot of student-owned exotic cars, many with green “N” stickers indicating that their driver is newly licensed. There's even a Tumblr page dedicated to UBC’s supercars

Reader Peter Longfield spotted this Subaru wagon in Peggy’s Cove a while back. Soon afterward, he spotted the luggage on the road. This little debacle reminded me of a column I wrote about my father-in-law, a fine man and a great musician who should never have been allowed to load a car.

Niall Wallace spotted this art-car VW Squareback in Brooklyn, N.Y. The birch log roof rack is a nice touch. Those window stickers look cool, but you may need a backup camera.

Here’s another angle on that Squareback. The Squareback, also known as a VW Type 3, was produced from 1961 until 1973. It used the same rear-mounted, horizontally opposed engine as the Beetle, but with a flat-pack design so it could fit beneath the luggage compartment.

As you probably know, Henry Ford refused to make the Model T in any color but black. Based on this scene, captured in Toronto by reader Stephane Demers, it appears that things have come full circle.

A few weeks ago, I ran a photo of this Suzuki GSXR that’s parked in my neighbourhood. And it’s still there, getting ridden in all weather. This guy is no fair-weather motorcyclist.

I spotted this chilled Kawasaki in downtown Toronto. It isn’t easy riding a motorcycle through the winter – you have to chip ice off the windshield AND the seat. Gloves recommended.

I was in northern Finland last week, testing winter tire’s on Nokian’s White Hell proving grounds. This is what your Audi A4 looks like after a few hours doing 150 km/h plus in the Arctic Circle. (The story will be out next week, but in the meantime here are more photos and videos from my trip.)

In my last Spotted blog, I noted that Finnish cab drivers have the nicest taxis I’ve ever seen, and asked readers if they knew why. The answer wasn’t long in coming. The tax rate on a new car in Finland is in the 40 per cent range, but cabs are exempt. This means that drivers buy a new Mercedes, drive it for a year or two, then sell it for at least as much as they paid.