'09-12 Chevrolet Colorado Hollander 5426/7 Black Center Caps Gm # 97288190 Set/4 on 2040-parts.com

MINI Paceman Coooper S hits the Nurburgring (video)

The next MINI to hit showrooms – the MINI Paceman – has been caught testing at the Nurburgring ahead of a Paris Motor Show. We did think that the MINI Paceman – which arrived at the Detroit Auto Show last year as a concept – would make it to market as a Countryman Coupe. But just last month MINI let it be known that they’re actually going with the funkier Paceman rather than the descriptive, though predictable, MINI Countryman Coupe for the production version of the Paceman which will debut in production guise at the Paris Motor Show in September.

Mercedes-Benz A-class patent renderings leaked

Mercedes-Benz unveiled a three-door concept version of its 2012 A-class at the New York and Shanghai auto shows in April, and images of a possible production model leaked this week via the European Patent Office. The renderings show a five-door hatchback version of the A-class concept with less aggressive styling. Its world premiere is said to be scheduled for the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Toyota FT-EV II – it’s the Jetsons!

The Toyota FT-EV II Electric city car concept As we reported earlier, Toyota believe electric cars have no future, apart from as short-range, low power city runarounds or as commercial vehicles. So the Toyota FT-EV II is exactly what Toyota believes the EV future is – a small, slow city car. Toyota say of the FT-EV – “… (its) design and technology look to a future society where EVs will be in common use, among a range of different means of transport that will reflect user requirements, the type of energy used and the local energy supply infrastructure”.