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New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.

VW Passat Highline Plus released

The new VW Passat Highline Plus I suppose that when you’re trying to shift a huge range of cars it’s always useful to have a model to fit every niche. VW – and particularly Audi – milk this style of marketing for all its worth, and I’d be amazed if anyone ever walks out of the showroom with the exact model they had in mind when they walked in. One of the big ‘Selling’ points is value for money.

Bentley & Lamborghini SUV on hold?

Reports today say that VW is planning to put the Bentley SUV and Lamborghini Urus SUV on hold as VW fights to cut costs. Despite still strong sales, VW is now forecasting lowered sales going forward than previously expected and looking at ways to keep costs in check until the economy starts moving in the right direction again. And one of those cuts seems to be the launch of luxury SUVs by Bentley and Lamborghini.