Tyc 20-5696-01 Headlight on 2040-parts.com

New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.

Saab says asset sale to BAIC gives it cash for a fresh start

Saab believes that a deal to sell some key assets to Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. will help secure the money-losing automaker's future. "The money will finance the new Saab and contribute to a good start under new ownership," Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs said without revealing financial details of the deal.

IDEA Institute acquired by Quantum Kapital

Turin-based automotive design, modeling and engineering firm IDEA (Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering) has been sold to Quantum Kapital AG, an investment company with an industrial emphasis based in St. Gall, Switzerland. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.