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Ford eyes dandelions as sustainable alternative to synthetic rubber

Ford, in conjunction with Ohio State University, is turning to the humble garden weed as sustainable resource, researching the dandelion's potential use as an alternative to synthetic rubber. While the automaker already makes considerable use of sustainable materials in its vehicles – such as soy foam seat cushions and straw-filled plastic for interior trim – this latest discovery opens up a wealth of new possibilities for automotive applications. According to research conducted by Ford, a milky-white substance that is found in certain dandelion roots can produce a sustainable rubber that could be used to create plastic parts for vehicle interiors.

Mercedes CLA Detroit debut & CLA45 AMG at Frankfurt 2013

It looks like 2013 will be the year of the new baby CLS at Mercedes, with the regular Mercedes CLA debuting at Detroit in January and the CLA45 AMG at Frankfurt 2013. The next instalment of A-Class goodness will be the arrival of the ‘Baby CLS’ – the Mercedes CLA – which sets out to emulate the CLS with a swoopy coupe design expected to change little from the impressive Mercedes Concept Style Coupe we saw at the Beijing Motor Show in April. And if the new CLA looks just like the Style Concept then Mercedes will almost certainly have another hugely successful model in the A-Class range to bolster sales towards its aim of 2.6 million Mercedes sales a year by 2020.

Mazda celebrates the Miata's 20th birthday

Hard to believe, but the Mazda Miata is 20 years old. And Mazda didn't let the birthday pass without a party. On July 17, parked in the inner courtyard of Mazda R&D in Irvine, Calif., were examples of every significant Miata and MX-5 Miata ever made.