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Car-buying confidence hits new high

THE NUMBER of people who believe they will buy a new car in the next three years has jumped to 71%, according to the latest AA Car Purchase Index; up from 55% last year. Of the 19,786 survey respondents who said they were going to buy a new car, 42% said they would choose a petrol engine, with 38% saying definitely diesel. A further 13% don’t know what fuel type they will opt for, but 7% will choose some kind of hybrid and 1% will go fully electric – a total of exactly 100 respondents.

2013 Mercedes CLS63 AMG & Shooting Brake get new E63 AMG power hike

The 2013 Mercedes CLS 63 AMG and Shooting Brake are getting the same power upgrades as the new E63 AMG and the E 63 AMG S. But hidden in the press info that come in from Mercedes on the new E63 AMG was the news that the power upgrades it gets will also be offered on the CLS 63 AMG (and its Estate version – the CLS Shooting Brake) and that there will be a CLS 63 AMG S version too. That means that the regular CLS 63 AMg will now get 549bhp and be able to scoot to 62mph in 4.2 seconds, with the CLS 63 AMG S – with 577bhp –  probably getting to 62mph just a tenth quicker at 4.1 seconds.

Europe's Car of the Year 2011 shortlist announced

The 41 contenders for Europe's 2011 Car of the Year trophy have been whittled down to the final seven as the European CoTY shortlist is announced today. The winner will be voted for by 59 of Europe's most influential motoring journalists, including two CAR writers: editor Phil McNamara and European editor Georg Kacher. The 2010 winner - by just 10 points ahead of the Toyota iQ - was the Volkswagen Polo. Like the Eurovision Song Contest, Car of the Year has proved controversial in the past with accusations of block-voting and blind patriotism, yet the award remains one of the most prestigious in the motor industry.