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2014 Mercedes S Class: First interior photos

We have the first interior photos of the 2014 Mercedes S Class ahead of its debut in May 2013, showing a much more modern interior. But now, with a reveal of the new S Class just a couple of months off, we have the first photos of the interior of the new S Class showing a  car that keeps much of the layout of the current S Class but adds in more curves, more technology, a more modern look and a more upmarket feel than ever before. The cabin flows from the screen in to the doors in the same sort of seamless way it does an the Jaguar XJ – where it makes the cabin feel more spacious – the instrument panel is a huge digital display, the seats are differently contoured and trimmed, there seems to be more room, better lighting and an altogether more upmarket feel for Mercedes range topper.

Fifth Gear Tonight: Skoda Fabia vRS, BMW M6, DIY Servicing & best small cars

Fifth Gear tonight sees Vicki in the Skoda Fabia vRS, Tiff testing best small cars, Jason with the BMW M6 and Jonny on DIY car servicing. With no Top Gear on TV now the latest series has ended (well, apart from the ‘Best of’ Sky+ insists on recording) it’s Fifth Gear for your TV petrolhead fix, with tonight’s episode – episode 6 – offering old-fashioned consumer advice as well as a bit of blasting and blatting in something interesting. Vicki Butler-Henderson is off for a performance motoring triathlon in the company of Norwegian rally star Andreas Mikkelsen, with fun in a pair of single-seat race cars, a race against the clock in a 200bhp off-road buggy and a proper play and test of the appealing Skoda Fabia vRS (you can see a clip of the Fabia vRS test in the video below).

Hyundai ix35 FCEV: The go-to hydrogen fuel cell car

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV has been chosen for the second year running as the FCEV of choice for the European Commission-backed Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). As we’ve reported previously, the Hyundai ix35 FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) is the first proper production FCEV in the world, although the roll-out of Hyundai’s hydrogen-powered car isn’t exactly on a huge scale, at least not for the next couple of years. But as governments (perhaps) start to wake up to the fact that the BEV car is a road to nowhere  - or nowhere far, at least, with its limited range and the current state of battery technology – they are starting to see hydrogen-powered vehicles as a realistic future for a world that doesn’t have to rely on fossil fuels for transport.

New Mercedes SLS planned – & it won’t be a hybrid

AMG’s Tobias Moers has confirmed that a new Mercedes SLS is planned – as is a sub-SLS SLC – but it won’t come with hybrid power and electric assistance. But the Mercedes take on a supercar – the Mercedes SLS – isn’t set to go down the KERS route ant time soon according to AMG’s Director of Vehicle Development, Tobias Moers, who said that a next generation SLS – which is under development – would rely on weight saving and engine tweaking, just like the new Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series (pictured above), rather than electric assistance for its performance. Moers also said that Mercedes and AMG realised that the AMG brand doesn’t have the cachet of Ferrari and they have no plans to produce a car to go head to head with LaFerrari (or even the McLaren P1) so we won’t be seeing a hyper-SLS pushed upmarket in to the firing line of Ferrari any time soon.

2013 Dodge Challenger owners urged to park cars

Chrysler Group is warning about 2,500 owners of 2013 Dodge Challengers with V6 engines built in December and January not to drive their cars because of a potential short-circuit that could lead to a fire. At least seven such fires have occurred, none causing injury, on Challengers built from Dec. 3, 2012, through Jan.

Australian Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

A rain delayed qualifying ultimately saw a Red Bull front row for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix. Did the race see Red Bull follow on from 2012? The start of the 2013 Grand Prix circus saw a rain-delayed qualifying in Melbourne, but when the clouds cleared and qualifying was completed it was Red Bull dominating – Vettel on pole, Webber alongside – with Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes taking third and the Ferraris of Massa and Alonso in fourth and fifth.

Koenigsegg can take the P1, LaFerrari & Huayra with the Agera R

Koenigsegg believe that the Agera R has more than the measure of the new toys at Geneva – LaFerrari and McLaren P1 – and Pagani’s Huayra lap at Top Gear was a farce. But a car that was also at Geneva was the Koenigsegg Hundra, Koenigsegg’s one-off special to celebrate 100 Koenigseggs built since Christian von Koenigsegg started bolted his immense supercars together in a shed in Sweden a decade ago. So we thought it would be interesting to chat to Koenigsegg people – including Koenigsegg’s UK dealer Supervettura –  and get their thoughts on the new batch of supercars that could perhaps take some gloss off the offerings from Koenigsegg.

Australian F1 Grand Prix Qualifying: Postponed until Sunday by heavy rain

Final qualifying for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne has been postponed until Sunday by torrential rain and poor light. The 2013 Australian Grand Prix is the opening event for the new F1 season, but the new season is off to a difficult start after torrential rain in Melbourne has forced the postponement of qualifying until Sunday morning – just before the race itself is due to start. Race Director Charlie Whiting called time on qualifying this morning after just the first knockout round when the heavy rain – and fading light – made it too dangerous to continue the knockout session.

McLaren P1 goes round Top Gear Track with Sergio Perez (video)

We have video of the new McLaren P1 taking on the Top Gear track at Dunsfold in the hands of McLaren’s F1 driver Sergio Perez. We reported from Geneva that Ron Dennis has declared he put the new McLaren P1 round Top Gear’s Dunsfold track a full 10 seconds quicker than the contentious Top Gear lap time set by the Pagani Huayra. So when McLaren sent us a video that declared their new F1 driver, Sergio Perez, had taken the P1 round Dunsfold – and here is the video – we though we might get a proper insight in to just how quick the P1 is.

Best 'Popemobile' for Francis

As people welcome Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, we've been wondering what type of vehicle he'll choose to transport himself. Francis probably won't request a new set of wheels -- the bestsellingcarsblog.com, the top-selling cars in Argentina as of the end of February were the Chevrolet Classic, VW Gol Power, Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, and the Peugot 207 Compact. None of these seemed regal enough for his holiness in our opinion, though.

Video: Stuntman flips over charging Lamborghini

This might be the coolest video we’ve seen this week: a stuntman at last week’s Top Gear Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park in Australia flips over a charging Lamborghini Murcielago. The supercar isn’t traveling even close to peak speed, but the stuntman’s timing, vertical jump and acrobatics are impressive enough. The festival combined a slew of motorsport spectacles and stunts, hosted by UK Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and “The Stig.”

Callaway Cars turns Corvette Stingray into AeroWagon

The first Corvette upgrade from Callaway Cars came in 1987 as an option from select dealers. The Vettes would go to Old Lyme, Conn. for the conversion, straight from the factory in Bowling Green, Ken.

Concept Car of the Week: Opel Junior (1983)

30 years ago, Opel was already thinking about a very compact vehicle that would fit in its range below the Corsa. The Junior Concept was a realistic study of a future-oriented A-segment car with an interior packed with innovations. The three-door Opel Junior offers room for four passengers in a package of only 3,410mm in length.

New Lexus IS UK debut

The 2013 Lexus IS – revealed at the Detroit Motor Show – gets its UK public debut at the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court. The Ideal Home Show may not seem the obvious place for Lexus to show the new IS, but Lexus are the headline motor sponsors for the event and you can’t argue with the footfall; footfall that is probably predominantly bang on the Lexus target demographic. And the target demographic for Lexus may be a bit surprised that the new IS is a chunk more dynamic looking than its predecessor, with statement looks – taking cues from the LF-CC Concept – that make the new IS a far more appealing prospect.

New Hyundai Santa Fe goes butch with Andy Torbet

Hyundai has roped in extreme adventurer and TV presenter Andy Torbet as a Hyundai Brand Ambassador to demonstrate the rugged side of the new Santa Fe. In fact, Hyundai has gone about as far from fluffy stuff as it can by getting extreme adventurer, and sometime TV presenter, Andy Torbet on board as a brand ambassador for Hyundai, and throwing him a new Santa Fe to tackle his rugged adventures. Andy is busy writing a book about extreme adventures in the UK and is travelling round the country to the UK’s most remote spots, so Hyundai found this a great opportunity to get him in the new Santa Fe as he tackles stuff like rock climbing and exploring flooded mines (and not doubt lots of other butchness too).

Autoweek in review: The racing season heats up, we pick the Popemobile

The second week of March saw the racing season warming up. We also finished our Geneva motor show coverage and began to prepare for the New York auto show. Here are our top stories of the week.

Nissan recall due to faulty airbag sensors

Nissan is recalling the Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, Sentra and Infiniti JX35 vehicles from model year 2013 due to a problem with passenger airbag sensors. According to NHTSA, there's a chance the sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) were manufactured out of specification, which could keep the passenger airbags from deploying in a crash. Nissan will notify owners in April, and dealers will inspect affected vehicles, replacing faulty sensors at no charge to the customer.

Fiat 500L: Now it’s the ‘Fatherhood’ video

Fiat has followed up their viral ‘Motherhood’ video for the new 500L with a new version to balance the gender bias – ‘Fatherhood’. That was because Fiat managed to tap in to the woes of parenthood (or, more precisely, motherhood) with a bit of a hip-hop ditty by a vexed young mother, bemoaning the changes motherhood has wrought on her life. It was a clever bit of marketing to target grown-up lovers of Fiat’s funky little 500, with the family sized version of their favourite car offering solace for a very different lifestyle.

How car makers fix official fuel economy tests

Official fuel economy tests on new cars are being fixed by car makers using a number of legal ‘tricks’ that artificially boost economy ratings. Has anyone ever bought a new car and ending up getting the sort of economy the maker claimed? Probably not.

VW unveils electric e-Up (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

VW is dipping its toes into the electric car pool with its first battery vehicle: an electric Up city car. Christened the 'e-Up', it's not a special edition for Yorkshire only, but rather a silent, zero-emission EV that VW reckons is the perfect commuter's tool. Read on for the full spec.

Mercedes G63 AMG 6×6: Official

Mercedes-Benz has built a six-wheeled – and six-wheel drive – Mercedes G63 AMG which isn’t just a one-off but is being produced to order. The Mercedes G63 AMG 6×6 is a six wheel, six-wheel drive, monster G-Wagon which you would normally think was a just a one-off monster created for an Arabian buyer. But this is actually a fully fledged AMG creation – so far they’ve built two of them – that you can actually order from Mercedes-Benz.

2014 Acura RLX priced at $49,345

The 2014 Acura RLX goes on sale Friday with a starting price of $49,345 including a destination charge of $895. The top trim with the Advance Package starts at $61,345. All RLX sedans will get Acura's new 3.5-liter V6 making 310 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque.

2014 Porsche 911 GT3 hits the track in video

Porsche revealed its track-ready 911 GT3 at the Geneva motor show earlier this month. The lightweight 911 will go on sale in late 2013 as a 2014 model. On Wednesday, Porsche published the first sweet teaser video of the car in action on its YouTube channel.

Henrik Fisker leaves his eponymous company

Henrik Fisker, co-founder of Fisker Automotive, has resigned from the company as Fisker seeks funding to move forward. But Henrik Fisker managed to convince the car world his Fisker Karma was credible, even if its gestation has been plagued by problems,  the latest of which has been the demise of its battery supplier – A123 Systems – and the wrecking of a dock full of seemingly uninsured Karmas by Hurricane Sandy. The current problems at Fisker has seen them seeking a new investor, with two Chinese companies – Geely and Dohnfeng – vying to take a majority stake in Fisker Automotive and help Fisker recover sales of the Karma and move on with Project Nina, the smaller Fisker Atlantic.

Jets land on Rodeo Drive

Tail fins will be all over Rodeo Drive on Father's Day, June 16. The Rodeo Drive Committee has chosen “The Jet Age” as its theme for this year's street-closing concours, with tail-finned cars of the '50s and '60s lined up on the 300 block of the famous street. And to top it off, and perhaps because they made a nice contribution, parked on the 200 block will be a mock-up of the new Lear 85 business jet in all its carbon-fiber glory -- with the tail fin but minus the wings.

Honda issues recall due to braking problem

Honda is recalling more than 180,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to a potential vehicle stability assist problem that could cause the system to apply a small amount of brake without any input from the driver. According to Honda, an electrical capacitor on the VSA control unit could have been damaged during the manufacturing process, causing the braking problem.

Electric Volkswagen e-Up revealed in production guise

Volkswagen has revealed the production version of the VW e-Up, an Up! with an 81bhp electric motor. Debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013.

VW’s big jump in profits shows the cost for ‘Premium’ badges

Volkswagen’s profits jumped by £5.7 billion to £25.5 billion with sales numbers up by one million. But the big profits come from ‘Premium’ badges. What’s in a name?

RenaultSport Clio 200: Price from £18,995

Renault has confirmed prices for the RenaultSport Clio 200, starting at £18,995 in standard spec and £19,995 for the Lux spec. Starting at £18,995, the RenaultSport Clio 200 comes with AirCon, SatNav, Bluetooth, Keyless and Sports seats with Renault’s Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) gearbox as standard (which can skip gears) and the RS Drive system – giving a choice of three modes that change the settings for throttle, engine and steering – launch control and traction control you can actually switch off. If you want a few more home comforts, then you can opt for the Lux version that throws in Climate, auto lights and wipers, better sound system and electric windows for an extra £1,000.

Hyundai plays chauffeur to Inspirational Women

Hyundai has been busy chauffeuring the inspirational women in Tesco’s Mum of the Year in a fleet of i40s and new Santa Fes. We all know by now that Hyundai UK PR has a penchant for ‘Girl Power’, which explains why we’ve had Hyundai out playing with the Storm Model Agency and getting cosy with Harrods. Now, in the next instalment in their  ’Girls are dong it for themselves’ PR campaign, Hyundai has been busy chauffeuring the inspirational women from Tesco’s ‘Mum of the Year’ award around London, popping from the Savoy to Downing street for a bit of high-profile PR and photo opportunity, with celebs like Mel C, Denise Van Outen and Emma Forbes roped in for good measure.