MERCEDES-BENZ BUILDING X6 KILLER CALLED MLC IN THE US?

A story published by Automotive News Europe says that Mercedes-Benz really is developing a BMW X6 competitor. If true this piece of news would confirm an earlier rumour concerning the same issue. The vehicle would be built at Daimler’s US plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and feature a coupe-like rear profile.

FORD FIESTA POPS BUBBLY CORK ON 35TH ANNIVERSARY

The Ford Fiesta reached two important milestones in July, celebrating its 35th birthday with a total of 15 million cars produced worldwide.

The Ford Fiesta reached the 15 million production landmark this month, a figure boosted by the popularity of the latest generation model. Ford has built a million of the current model since it debuted 28 months ago.

NEW 2012 MERCEDES-BENZ B-CLASS INTERIOR SHOWN

Mercedes-Benz is quickly learning the tease game from rival BMW. First they teased us with outlines of the new upcoming B-Class unit, and now they are showing us full colour pictures of the interior. All this before we even see what the exterior looks like. It appears the B has moved upmarket quite significantly in terms of quality and build.

SA-BOUND BMW I3 CONCEPT DETAILED

BMW unveiled the i3 Concept car today, a small city transporter that runs entirely on electricity or electric power. The i3 is one of two futuristic cars being introduced by the Bavarians in the next couple of years. Good news is that South Africans will be able to buy the i3 at local dealerships within the next 3 years.

CHEVROLET SUCKS SOLAR POWER AT US DEALERSHIPS

Chevrolet is harnessing the power of the sun to install solar-powered electric charging stations for its Volts at dealerships in North America. The Green Zone initiative will generate electricity equivalent to 12 full vehicle charges per day and excess electricity created will help supplement the dealership’s power needs.

LAND ROVER COULD DUMP DEFENDER

Land Rover could ditch the hard-core, long-serving Defender model, 64 years after it came to market. Company bosses who spoke to the UK’s AutoExpress hinted to the publication about several challenges facing the icon, including one relating to fading sales and market share.

BMW INVADES COCKPITS WITH HEADPHONE DESIGN

A pilot’s headset needs to combine high functionality with a well-thought-out design, as it is a key contributor to the safety of the pilot and passengers. Audio specialist Sennheiser therefore collaborated with DesignworksUSA, a design consultancy and subsidiary of the BMW Group to develop their new S1 Digital general aviation headset which will launch at AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh on July 25th.

MEET HENNESSEY’S LATEST SLEDGE HAMMER

Hennessey is not messing around. Not like they ever do, but this time they have gone the extra mile. Taking the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe as a basis for their madness, the tuner then went off to extract more power than is necessary. Necessary and desirable are two different things of course, and we like the latter. How does a 7-litre twin turbo V8 grab you?

BENTLEY WORKING ON AN SUV TO ATTACK RANGE ROVER

Bentley is apparently mulling over going into the SUV space and taking aim against such expensive high-riders as the Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. Reports coming out Germany and England say it is so. Very interesting, since IN4RIDE had a conversation with a high-ranking Bentley executive a few weeks ago and he was quite coy on the issue.

HINO AIMING FOR HIGHER SALES

Hino Motors Ltd, the leading Japanese medium-heavy and heavy truck manufacturer, is targeting to increase its annual global sales to 230 000 units by 2015, while also improving the company’s profitability. This objective is double the worldwide sales for the past financial year.

SA DESIGNERS GIVE VOLVO AFRICAN FLAIR

The Volvo Cars campaign around fashion and design, nicknamed Volvo Possible, which kicked off on 1 June and runs until mid-October, has succeeded in capturing the imagination of South Africa’s public with its appealing combination of fashion, style, design and motoring functionality.

KICK ASS MERCEDES-BENZ C 63 AMG BLACK SERIES REVEALED

The most powerful Mercedes-Benz C-Class ever created has been revealed over the weekend. The C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series follows on a recent AMG tradition of not only creating bad ass sports cars, but to create even badder assed sports cars out of those. The last Black Series car presented in Mzansi was the 493kW SL 65 Black Series which cost R4 million to buy and only a few, including Patrice Motsepe, are claimed to own one.

BAFANA STAR, COMRADES KING, TO RACE AUDI Q7 TO CAPE TOWN

Audi South Africa and Audi Driving Experience will be partnering with Continental Tyres for the 2011 Run2Stop Challenge. The challenge pits man against machine where athletes will race against the Audi Q7 from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The race commences on the 23rd July and concludes on the 3rd August 2011.

CHEVROLET SONIC COMING TO SOUTH AFRICA (UPDATE)

The Chevrolet Sonic sub hatch is definitely headed for Mzansi this year, according to official documents received from General Motors. Sonic will sell alongside the Aveo, and will compete in features and prices with names like Mazda2, Volkswagen Polo, Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris. Sonic was first shown at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

BMW REFRESHES 1 SERIES COUPE, UNLEASHES 1 M COUPE

A new face, interior and rear side now appears on the BMW 1 Series range, both Coupe and Convertible. This car is still the only one of its kind in a segment defined by hatchbacks and the like. At the same time BMW South Africa chose to launch the incredible 1 M Coupe, a car so different from the rest, so impressive that it may very well end up redefining what we currently know about sports cars.