Mazda to recall 400,000 vehicles globally for possible wiper defect

More than 400,000 Mazda3 and MazdaSpeed3 vehicles worldwide could be subject to recall by Mazda Motor Corp. after drivers reported defective windshield wiper motors. In documents posted Monday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site, Mazda said it’s recalling 103,300 vehicles in the United States manufactured between Jan.

Daimler and BYD name new brand Denza

Mercedes-Benz sources in Germany have confirmed Chinese media reports suggesting that parent company Daimler and Chinese carmaker BYD's new joint venture brand will be called Denza. Created as a Chinese-market-only brand, Denza is planned to support a range of "affordable" electric-powered vehicles, the first of which is set to be unveiled at the Beijing motor show next month. Based on the underpinnings of the first-generation Mercedes-Benz B-class--a car originally designed to accept batteries within its flat floor structure--the first Denza model was developed in China by a team of engineers from both Daimler and BYD Auto.

First BMW i8 for US to be auctioned at Pebble Beach

The Frozen Grey BMW i8 for Pebble Beach The other end of the scale from BMW’s i3 City Car is the BMW i8 Supercar and, despite its modest 1.5 litre range-extender engine for its electric propulsion it seems to offer proper borderline supercar performance. With just an estimated 500 BMW i8s heading for the US this year, BMW has decided it would be a bit of a wheeze to produce a one-off i8 for the US market to plonk in Gooding and Co’s auction at Pebble Beach in August to give one lucky American buyer the chance to jump the queue for the i8 and inject some funds in to Pebble. So they’ve created a special i8 for Pebble which comes with a Frozen Grey Metallic paint job and a titivated interior with Dalbergia Brown Leather upholstery that’s been dyed using plant extracts – all very ‘Green’ – with BMW i Blue for the stitching and highlights.