This is one of Mercedes’s best ads and one of the best commercials made for promoting a vehicle so far. It’s about the union between man and car, about the brotherhood between man and road. The pleasure of driving an amazing car can make you experience the entire journey, it can make you see life from a different perspective.

The new Mercedes Bezn SLK is an amazing machine and there’s not much to say to add to the feeling that this beautiful ad gives us. Just press play and enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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The new Mercedes Benz SLK – your closest relationship with the road

According to our colleges from Autocar, Volkswagen plans on introduction a production version of their Bulli Microbus Concept that we saw this year in Geneva. Sources say that the company's research and development chief Ulrich Hackenberg has confirmed that the Bulli is based on the Modular Design System – MDS platform and it will probably be built at the automaker's factory in Mexico.

This MDS platform might be a part of VW's new MQB modular transverse architecture that they have developed which will underpin a lot of future models, like the next-gen Golf and A3 models. This architecture will be flexible enough in order to allow for models of varying wheelbase and track dimensions to be manufactured on the same platform, cutting down the costs.

As a reminder, The Volkswagen Bulli Microbus has a 3+3 seating configuration (two rows of three-seat benches) and it measures 3.99 m in length, 1.75 m in width and 1.70 m in height. The wheelbase measures 2.62 m and it has a wide track for those 3-seater benches at 1.50 m.

The model we saw in Geneva was an EV but VW said that it can be easily adapted to accept various small gasoline and diesel engines, which will make it more suitable for a production model.

Source: Autocar

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VW Bulli, Heading For Production?

This talk about Volkswagen taking over / merger with Porsche is been going on for ages, but it's still not over yet. The giant VW Group is having tax and legal issues in its planned merger with Porsche, because of the Porsche Holding SE, which is Porsche's parent company and has a very significant debt to pay. The latter will need a major cash infusion before they can be financially stable enough for a proper merger.

As a reminder, Volkswagen AG currently has 49.9% of Porsche cars while the Porsche SE owns the rest of the 51.1%. VW really wants this merger to take place as soon as possible as its plans are to become the world's largest automaker by 2018 and sell more than 10 million cars annually. Needless to say, Porsche is a very successful brand (although the designing team is almost inexistent) and both the companies have already established many projects as a part of a $971.1 million investment per year in shared synergies.

Source: Reuters via WCF

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VW-Porsche Merger, Not Over Yet

It seems that the German automaker Mercedes will add another four-door coupe to its lineup in the following years. After the facelift of the CLS, company insiders have now confirmed that a junior version of this model is in the works. The design of the new model will be inspired from the CLS and the gorgeous F800 Concept that we saw last year in Geneva, and will be the company's smallest coupe.

This baby CLS will be underpinned by the company's new front-wheel drive MFA platform, which will also be used for the next-generation A-Class and B-Class. Mercedes is hoping that with this new model they will attract a younger audience, and it will slot it below the facelift C-Class Coupe as a more practical replacement for the outgoing CLC.

We can't tell you for sure what engines will this new model get, but we wouldn't be surprised if there are going to be some turbocharged 1.4- and 1.8-liter power units borrowed from Renault, which will most likely supply a 1.6-liter diesel. Two more powerful engines, this time made by Mercedes, will be the 2.0-litre gasoline and the 2.2-liter diesel, producing about 200 hp and 170 hp respectively.

This power will be sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual / 7-speed double-clutch automatic transmission. The aforementioned MFA platform has been developed by Mercedes with alternative propulsion methods in mind, which means that a hybrid version might be launched, probably after the conventional-powered model.

The new baby CLS should hit the showrooms sometime in 2014, and it will be one of the company's four new models based on the MFA architecture, along with the new A-Class and B-Class, plus a small SUV.

Source: AutoExpress

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Baby CLS In The Works

This Lamborghini Murcielago NG (Next Generation) Concept has been created by IAAD Transportation design student Salvatore Simonetti and he took his inspiration from the automaker's past models, especially from the Diablo. His project proposes an alternative successor to the Murcielago, mixing the extreme aggressiveness of the Diablo with extensive use of Kevlar and carbon fiber

The exterior look of the Murcielago NG Concept can be characterized by the nervy lines, very familiar among Lamborghini's tradition. You can find out more about his designs by visiting his website, located at www.wix.com/ssimonetti.

If you haven't seen the official replacement of the Murcielago, you can find more about it here – Lamborghini Aventador.

Source: Car Body Design

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Lamborghini Murcielago NG Concept

The people over at MWDesign Technik decided to roll out another special BMW Z4, after the "Slingshot" version that got a positive feedback. A client requested the tuning firm to do a little bit of work on his brand new Z4 and this is with what they've come up – the "White Flame".

Similar to the aforementioned "Slingshot" Z4, the new version draws inspiration from another golf club, the Taylormade R-11 driver. Taking into consideration that the R-11 has a white, red, and gray theme, this Z4 has been fitted with the same color scheme, but in a subtle way in order to keep the car's clean and sleek appearance.

MWDesign also equipped the car with a new polyurethane front lip spoiler, courtesy of 3D Design, along with a brand new set of 20-inch Forgestar F10 rims that were painted in silver and come with a carbon fiber center cap and a polished outer lip. These wheels are wrapped around in Toyo TI-R rubber that measure 245/30/20 in the front and 285/25/20 out in the back.

Performance-wise, the MWDesign has been fitted with a Milltek 2×100 mm Catback exhaust system, and power-coated in a matte silver, ceramic-like finish. With the inclusion of a Dinan Stage II ECU upgrade, this one-off Z4 produces 400 hp, up from the standard 300 figure.

Source: TopSpeed

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MWDesign BMW Z4 White Flame

The biggest car manufacturer in the world, Toyota, has managed to sell more than three million hybrid cars around the world since it introduced its first model, the Coaster Hybrid EV bus in 1997, followed that same year by the first generation of the very popular Prius model. More than one million of these sales were achieved since August 2009.

At the moment, the Japanese automaker offer 16 different hybrid models and pretty soon they will launch a couple of variations of the aforementioned Prius. The company's luxury division, Lexus, is offering a gas-electric option for the LS, GS and RX models, along with two dedicated hybrids, the HS and the CT.

By the end of next year, Toyota said that they will add 10 more hybrid models to the global market.

Kudos to Toyota!

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Toyota Has Reached The Three Million Hybrid Mark

A new iPhone application for EV owners was released those days: they can find out where they can plug in, of course, by a stranger's kindness.

For the moment, only a small and scattered charging infrastructure is available, but the founders of Palo Alto startup Xatori dream about something bigger. The PlugShare app is free of charge, creates profiles (with phone numbers, addresses and open "comments" field) and provides a map of the locations where a person could offer you plugging-in possibility, with the outlet's characteristics available – a 120-volt or a 240.

Beside that, the application allows you to browse a list of public charging stations; it can search for stations and even call or send a text message to the networked members that could help you. For specific addresses, you have to create an account.

In other words, it is a community-oriented technology that can really help the newcomers to the EV technology to easier adapt to changing the vehicle's type.

The PlugShare application still needs a lot of improvement in functions, infrastructure, time slots, but is definitely a great idea for the new generation of vehicles.

[Source: Wired]

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Crowdsources EV Charging Infrastructure by PlugShare App

First of all, a brief history lesson regarding Lagonda. The company was founded back in 1906 by a former Scottish-American opera singer. They used to build their own cars in United Kingdom before the World War II. After that, Aston Martin bought the company.

Aston used the Lagonda name a couple of times in its history: rolling out the Lagonda Rapide in the early 1960s, the cool-looking Lagonda sedan in the 70s and 80s, along with a couple of concepts from time to time. In 1993 at the Geneva Motor Show, Aston Martin brought the Lagonda Vignale concept and in 2009, they've presented this crossover you see in this picture, and it got some negative feedback.

The current plans are to resurrect Lagonda as a brand of high-end SUVs. According to Autocar, the brand will target emerging markets like China and Russia with a range of luxury crossovers. These cars will have a $160-480k price range, putting them above even fully-loaded Porsche Cayennes and Range Rovers. The underpinnings for these models could be borrowed from Mercedes.

Source: Autocar

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Aston Martin Confirms Lagonda Revival

Sure we all walk in the park, but only some of us go on expeditions. Sure we like to climb a little hill, but only some of us reach the mountaintops. Sure we all drive, but only some of us are race car drivers. And of course we can get in a car like a normal person does, but what’s the fun in that?

So if you’re tired of doing it like everyone else is, we have two styles for you:

Exhibit nr. 1

Click here to view the embedded video.

and exhibit nr. 2

So which is your favorite?

*Do not try this at home.

Via Failblog.
Photo source.

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How to get in a car like a boss