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Daimler and Renault-Nissan strike a global partnership

Daimler today struck a wide-ranging partnership with the Renault-Nissan alliance, in a deal that will usher in new jointly developed cars, shared technologies and a multitude of cost savings.  Cars such as the new 2014 Smart Fortwo will now be twinned with the next Renault Twingo, while the Forfour is set for a comeback and we can expect plenty of shared combustion engines and electric motors, borrowed platforms and jointly developed SUV tech across all three parties. And that's only scratching the surface of the possibilities opened up by this wide-ranging deal.

Maybach Zeppelin comes over the horizon

The Maybach Zeppelin - an even bigger waste of money than the standard Maybach Maybach has not exactly been an unmitigated success for Mercedes. Conceived as a competitor for Rolls Royce, it does seem to have carved itself a niche, but probably not the one that Mercedes wanted. Perceived by most as a tarted-up S Class, and bought by the wealthy of the Playstation generation, rather than the Captains of Industry that Mercedes envisioned, the Maybach must be a loss-maker for Mercedes.

Kia's Forte Super Bowl ad features violent android lady

There's no Jimmy Cliff or Flaming Lips in Kia's Super Bowl ad for the new Forte, but we can't help thinking they're the second company this week to miss out on co-opting seminal New Jersey punk outfit the Misfits' “We Are 138.” While attaching the song to the unveiling of Ferrari's new F138 was a no-brainer from a numerically synergistic standpoint, the track's poppy brutality and ominous query, “Is it time to be an android, not a man?” dovetails perfectly with the rise-of-the-sexy-machines theme of the Kia clip. Clearly, the android in this spot -- portrayed by former Miss USA Alyssa Campanella -- has the upper hand over the poor schnook oiling up the new Forte with his greasy mitts. We can't help thinking the whole ad would've been better if the Misfits' original pint-size vocal dynamo Glenn Danzig had been involved somehow.