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Aston Martin at the Paris motor show 2008

By Ben Barry Motor Shows 03 October 2008 10:13 The buzz around Aston Martin continues. The now independent brand is teasing motor show visitors with a styling buck of the One-77 (the ultra-exclusive £1.2 million supercar that’ll be limited to a run of, yep, 77 when it arrives in 2009) that reveals just its front right and rear left aspects, plus there’s an automatic DBS on display and talk of exciting future Aston Martin projects. James Bond’s favourite Aston now comes with Touchtronic – a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox that’s borrowed from the DB9 but substantially beefed up.

Mercedes-Benz backs Smart with ads, deals

Smart USA will launch a TV, print and digital marketing campaign by year end to jump-start the struggling microcar brand that Mercedes-Benz USA took over on July 1. "People are not avoiding the brand or the product, but there is a great majority of people who are not aware of the brand," said Tracey Matura, the new general manager of Smart USA. Mercedes is also offering lease and finance deals for the Smart brand through its Mercedes-Benz Financial Services captive finance arm.

One Lap of the Web: new imports, old imports

-- The 1956 Maserati A6G-2000 Allemano is as beautiful as it is rare, and if Jay Leno didn't take one for a spin in this video, we probably wouldn't see one until next year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. -- Simon Cowell (of Simon Cowell fame) bought a Bugatti Veyron three years ago because a friend told him its a good idea, and he's driven it a total of two times since. Not driven it at its maximum speed, but just driven period.