Rhonda Renaissance Part 2: Paint vs. vinyl

We dispensed with the basics in Part 1 on Monday: There's a 1963 Pontiac StarChief in the parking garage of Autoweek HQ. It needs of a new coat of something for the summer, so let's explore some of the options confronting today's refinish customers, where candy paint is no longer the only game in town. Let's start with vinyl wraps: We've seen them, felt them and picked at them at shows and in shops.

New Mercedes C-Class INTERIOR revealed

The more upmarket interior of the 23014 Mercedes C-Class We had the first video tease for the 2014 Mercedes C-Class over the weekend, which didn’t show us very much at all. But now we get the first official photos of the interior of the new C-Class, months before its due to debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. With a need to put clean air between the new C-Class and the A-Class and its CLA derivative, Mercedes are planning to make the interioor of the enw C-Class more upmarket than previously, although it would seem there’s more than a passing family resemblance to the new CLA in the new C-Class’s cabin.

Chrysler issues recall for steering-column fix

Buyers of 11,351 Chrysler products will be getting a recall notice to fix a problem in the steering column. The recall covers 2011 models of the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible and the Town & Country minivan; the Dodge Avenger sedan, the Caliber, Nitro and Journey SUVs, and the Grand Caravan minivan; and the Jeep Compass, Liberty, Patriot and Wrangler SUVs. The steering column in some of those vehicles might be missing a pivot rivet, or the rivet may have been installed incorrectly.