Mercedes supercars

By Tim Pollard 29 July 2008 09:00 The SLR is the fruit of a strange motor industry marriage. Collaborating as they do in motorsport, Woking and Stuttgart decided to build a road car that showcased their full-bodied technical know-how. Perhaps the mixed messages from F1-centric McLaren and luxury brand Merc, or the untold pressure of the seminal F1, were too much, for the SLR has failed to worm its way into our affections.

Essay: Variable Degrees of Translucency

Car door panels and fenders are generally made of steel, sometimes of aluminum or plastic composites, and you can't see through them. Car windows, on the other hand, are made of a transparent sandwich of glass and plastic - and you can see through them. But in the future there will be variable degrees of transparency: translucent elements where once there were none, traditional window areas that will have opaque elements and graduated progressions from opaque to see-through.

Infiniti confirms Q30 concept unveil in Frankfurt

Infiniti is to unveil the Q30 concept C-segment hatchback at next month's Frankfurt motor show. The Q30 concept, which has been previewed in a sketch, could be a pre-production version of the Etherea – first seen at the 2011 Geneva motor show –based on the same platform as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. It's the carmaker's latest exploration into new premium segments and signifies an expansion of its product range as it moves to strengthen its global position.