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Chris Evans’ CarFest North. Just as big as CarFest South

Chris Evans’ second petrolhead extravaganza – CarFest North at Cholmondeley Castle – has been as big a success as CarFest South. It may be a new petrolhead show on the calendar, but Chris Evans’ CarFest Shows have been a real success, not just for visitors but for the BBC’s Children in Need charity. This last weekend saw CarFest North try and follow in the footsteps of last month’s CarFest South, which it appears to have done in style, pushing the amount raised for Children in Need up to £800k from both CarFest events.

2014 European Car of the Year finalists revealed. Could the Mercedes S-Class win?

Could the 2014 Mercedes S-Class (pictured) win the Car of the Year? We’re at the end of 2013, so the time has arrived to take a look at the finalists for the 2014 European Car of the Year award. In the last few years, despite Europe producing some of the most impressive luxury and performance cars on the planet, the Car of the Year Award has gone to much more prosaic machinery.

Frankfurt auto show: Mercedes-Benz previews the electric B-class

Mercedes-Benz revealed an electric-powered B-class with range-extending capabilities at the Frankfurt motor show. This rounds out the company's line of standard gasoline- and diesel-engine versions in the second generation of the multipurpose fiver-seater. Set to go on sale in selected markets in 2013, the B-class E-cell Plus is propelled by a 136-hp electric motor that draws electricity from a lithium-ion battery mounted low within the car's MFA platform structure.