Mercedes Benz W163 Ml Class Transmission Control Gearbox Unit A0305453632 on 2040-parts.com

More than a (gull)wing and a prayer

They make up just six percent of Mercedes car sales in the United States—but nothing preserves and proliferates the top-shelf, seductive image of a Benz like a sports car. This is a point that's been driven home to me in a wide array of circumstances this year: Mercedes sports cars are still rock stars. I'll admit, I've often been a skeptic.

EyesOn Design Awards 2010

Outstanding achievement in automotive design was recognized at the fifth annual EyesOn Design Awards held at the 2010 NAIAS in Detroit in January. Top honors were awarded to the GMC Granite urban utility vehicle in the Best Concept Vehicle category, and the Audi A8 luxury sedan for Best Production Vehicle. Frank Saucedo, Director of GM Design's California studio, and Clay Dean, Executive Director GM Advanced Global Design, accepted the award for the GMC Granite Concept and acknowledged the importance of recognition from their design peers.

Lexus LF-NX SUV – has the production LF-NX been accidentally revealed?

Is this the production version of the Lexus LF-NX? We got the reveal of the Lexus LF-NX Concept – a mid-sized SUV/Crossover, designed to slot in below the Lexus RX – at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September, and it turned up again in November at the Tokyo Motor Show. Two showings in as many months made it all but certain the LF-NX was heading for production, and the accidental reveal of what looks like a production version of the LF-NX at the Society of Automotive Analysts Conference ahead of the Detroit Auto Show during a speech by Toyota’s Jim Lentz seems to confirm the LF-NX’s imminent arrival.