Metra 99-7313 Hyundai 2001-08 Radio Stereo Install Trim Installation Kit on 2040-parts.com

Mini is 50: a Mini celebration by CAR writers and readers

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 13 October 2009 12:45 Mini is 50 this year and we've published a 33-page Mini special in the new November issue of CAR Magazine – packed with memories, drives and analysis of and with the cars and people that made Mini great.  Here we've asked some of CAR's top writers to remember their personal highlights from the past five decades. Gavin Green explains why he recently drove across Australia in a modern Mini, while Anthony ffrench-Constant recalls why crashing a classic Mini caused him to start a lifelong nicotine habit. Click on the links below for our new Mini stories – and don't forget we want YOUR Mini memories too.

Owner gets sunken car back

A SUBMERGED CAR that was abandoned because of flooding on the Somerset Levels has been reunited with its owner. Hubert Zajaczkowski, 21, was forced to leave his Seat Toledo on a road near the village of Muchelney on Christmas Eve because of the rising water. For weeks, the car remained stranded under several feet of water, filmed and photographed by national and international media and press as an illustration of the disaster unfolding in Somerset.

Video: Exploring the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class

To coincide with the announcement that its new C-Class has entered production, Mercedes-Benz has released a video exploring its design. Featuring design chief Gordon Wagener and other key members of the team, the video explains where their inspiration came from and how they experimented with proportions during its development. While the dropping bodyside feature line is a key element of the exterior, it's also found inside the C-Class, where the typical Mercedes sports car interior is combined with the floating, vertical center console.