2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate Spied, Shows Redesigned Interior

Our intrepid spy photographers not only caught the Estate version of the facelifted 2011 C-Class, but this time they also managed to snag some pictures of the car's redesigned dashboard, which will be the same for all body styles including the sedan and the new addition to the range, the coupe.

Taking styling cues from the larger E- and S-Class models, the prototype C-Class facelift pictured here gets a newly designed instrument panel that extends to include the display screen over the new center console, which has new controls and air-vents.

On the outside, the light camouflage hide a series of subtle design tweaks that include gently massaged front and rear bumpers, small changes to the design of the headlamps and tail lights plus a more contoured bonnet and front grille.

There's not much info going around about the engineering upgrades, but buyers should expect some mechanical tweaks to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions across the range.

The facelifted C-Class sedan and Estate models along with the all-new Coupe variant (see our most recent spy shots here) will go on sale next spring.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate Spied, Shows Redesigned Interior

Our intrepid spy photographers not only caught the Estate version of the facelifted 2011 C-Class, but this time they also managed to snag some pictures of the car's redesigned dashboard, which will be the same for all body styles including the sedan and the new addition to the range, the coupe.

Taking styling cues from the larger E- and S-Class models, the prototype C-Class facelift pictured here gets a newly designed instrument panel that extends to include the display screen over the new center console, which has new controls and air-vents.

On the outside, the light camouflage hide a series of subtle design tweaks that include gently massaged front and rear bumpers, small changes to the design of the headlamps and tail lights plus a more contoured bonnet and front grille.

There's not much info going around about the engineering upgrades, but buyers should expect some mechanical tweaks to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions across the range.

The facelifted C-Class sedan and Estate models along with the all-new Coupe variant (see our most recent spy shots here) will go on sale next spring.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Porsche wants Hybrid Version of every Model, 918 Spyder to follow Panamera Hybrid

In the ever-growing world of automotive efficiency, more and more sports car manufacturers have decided to get in the game of providing more efficient speed. Now, Porsche has taken it one step further, committing to a hybrid version of each of its models in order to get its average CO2 emissions down to 216 g/km by 2015 (from the current 255 g/km).

"In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line," Porsche's development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer, told Autonews Europe.

After the hybrid Cayenne and the upcoming Panamera hybrid, Porsche wants to release the hybrid 918 Spyder as a halo car to garner attention and learn more about the new path the company is taking.

To help bring down corporate CO2 output and improve fuel economy, Porsche also aims to cut weight by 10% on each model with every following generation (through the development of carbon fiber for body panels and the like), as well as possibly utilizing four-cylinder engines.

"If the CO2 guidelines require it, then our engines will become smaller and may have just four cylinders," Duerheimer said. "The important thing is that the performance has to be right. The 911 must always be on the cutting edge."

The Porsche development chief added: "We want to learn how we can electrify all our sports cars in the future with the help of [the 918's] short production run." So does that mean we're getting a hybrid entry-level 914/356 roadster or what?

By Phil Alex

Source: ANE (sub. req.)

Porsche wants Hybrid Version of every Model, 918 Spyder to follow Panamera Hybrid

In the ever-growing world of automotive efficiency, more and more sports car manufacturers have decided to get in the game of providing more efficient speed. Now, Porsche has taken it one step further, committing to a hybrid version of each of its models in order to get its average CO2 emissions down to 216 g/km by 2015 (from the current 255 g/km).

"In the future, we will have hybrid drive in every model line," Porsche's development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer, told Autonews Europe.

After the hybrid Cayenne and the upcoming Panamera hybrid, Porsche wants to release the hybrid 918 Spyder as a halo car to garner attention and learn more about the new path the company is taking.

To help bring down corporate CO2 output and improve fuel economy, Porsche also aims to cut weight by 10% on each model with every following generation (through the development of carbon fiber for body panels and the like), as well as possibly utilizing four-cylinder engines.

"If the CO2 guidelines require it, then our engines will become smaller and may have just four cylinders," Duerheimer said. "The important thing is that the performance has to be right. The 911 must always be on the cutting edge."

The Porsche development chief added: "We want to learn how we can electrify all our sports cars in the future with the help of [the 918's] short production run." So does that mean we're getting a hybrid entry-level 914/356 roadster or what?

By Phil Alex

Source: ANE (sub. req.)

Gone in 180 Seconds: Neiman Marcus Camaro Convertible Sells Out in Record Time

As absurd as it may seem to spend $75,000 for what is essentially a luxed-up edition of the forthcoming mass production 2011 Camaro Convertible, it took only three minutes earlier today for 100 people to put their name down for the Neiman Marcus special edition cabrio. The new owners claimed their 2011 Camaro SS ragtops through a special telephone reservation process, a few hours after the car made an appearance on NBC's Today Show.

All 100 examples of the special edition Camaro Convertible (see video here), which was prepared exclusively for the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, will be SS models with a 6.2-liter, V8 engine hooked up to either the 6-speed manual gearbox or 6-speed automatic transmission.

Unique feature include an exclusive Deep Bordeaux exterior color, accented by subtle, "ghosted" rally stripes, a matching color fabric top, windshield frame finished in matte silver and 21-inch polished alloy wheels with red detailing that are wrapped in beefy Pirelli P-Zero tires.

As with the regular high-$20,000s to low $40,000s Camaro Convertibles for us plebeians, deliveries of the Neiman Marcus special editions will take place in the spring of 2011.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Gone in 180 Seconds: Neiman Marcus Camaro Convertible Sells Out in Record Time

As absurd as it may seem to spend $75,000 for what is essentially a luxed-up edition of the forthcoming mass production 2011 Camaro Convertible, it took only three minutes earlier today for 100 people to put their name down for the Neiman Marcus special edition cabrio. The new owners claimed their 2011 Camaro SS ragtops through a special telephone reservation process, a few hours after the car made an appearance on NBC's Today Show.

All 100 examples of the special edition Camaro Convertible (see video here), which was prepared exclusively for the annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, will be SS models with a 6.2-liter, V8 engine hooked up to either the 6-speed manual gearbox or 6-speed automatic transmission.

Unique feature include an exclusive Deep Bordeaux exterior color, accented by subtle, "ghosted" rally stripes, a matching color fabric top, windshield frame finished in matte silver and 21-inch polished alloy wheels with red detailing that are wrapped in beefy Pirelli P-Zero tires.

As with the regular high-$20,000s to low $40,000s Camaro Convertibles for us plebeians, deliveries of the Neiman Marcus special editions will take place in the spring of 2011.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Maserati Quattroporte 2030: A 1970s Concept...from the Future

The Maserati Quattroporte 2030 Concept is Yaroslav Chumachenko's vision of where Maserati's large sedan could be design-wise should we end up in the world of Minority Report and Tom Cruise is knocking at your door for that crime you're about to commit.

Chumachenko, a 25-year old Ukrainian designer, drew inspiration from dinosaur skeletons, zeppelins, and the Maserati Birdcage to create a car that is futuristic and unique: its modular platform would allow engineers to replace the car's various systems as they evolve and the panels would be uniquely customizable for each customer (in theory).

Its curvaceous exterior body panels use "Stereolithography additive manufacturing technology", the benefits of which are a quick formation process and the ability to adapt to any customer's request, while the four doors - larger front units and smaller rears - can actually fuse magnetically to become two larger doors (or, conversely, simply open as smaller front doors and leave the rear doors in position).

Beneath its body panels, the Quattroporte 2030 has a backbone consisting of the engine and transmission (its "vertebrae"), around which is a rib cage that functions as structural reinforcement and protective bracing.

This is definitely a concept that would most definitely be welcome on the show circuit, hearkening back to the long overhang-wearing pods of the 70's. Something like this would be much more entertaining to view than these "concepts" companies release purely as a means of gauging public reaction to a production car.

By Phil Alex

Images: Yaroslav Chumachenko , Via: CBD

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________