Volvo Plug-In Hybrid by 2012

Volvo are working on a plug in Hybrid for 2012 offerng 50g/km Co2 emissions Laudable though this intent is, it’s a little like the Vauxhall / Opel Ampera – it relies on technology that doesn’t yet exist to deliver what it promises. But to get things moving, Volvo are going to be running a number of Volvo V70 diesel-electric Hybrids round Europe this year, to guage customer feedback and try to establish exactly what the consumer wants. They also want to establish exactly what the consumer can live with in terms of ‘Re-fuelling’.

Monaco Grand Prix: It’s a Mercedes front row

Nico Rosberg & Lewis Hamilton pictured after making it a Mercedes front row in Monaco Two weeks ago in Spain, Nico Rosberg pipped team mate Lewis Hamilton to pole position, and he’s pulled the same trick on the streets of Monaco today to ensure the second Mercedes front row in succession and his own third pole position in a row. Behind the Mercedes it’s a Red Bull second row, with Sebastian Vettel taking third place and Mark Webber fourth, with the third row made up of the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. McLaren managed to take seventh (Perez) and ninth (Button) with Sutil’s Force India in eighth and Vergne’s Torro Rosso in tenth.

New Mercedes CLA helps Daimler to 16% profit jump

The new Mercedes CLA (pictured) help Mercedes to a 16% profit jump. There’s an argument that the move in to more compact car sales by premium car makers will see their turnover rise and their profits fall as more compact cars tend to work on smaller margins than high-end luxury cars. But Mercedes has defied that logic by posting a 16 per cent increase in profits for the third quarter of 2013, boosted by sales of the new compact coupé – the Mercedes CLA.