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2014 European Car of the Year finalists revealed. Could the Mercedes S-Class win?

Could the 2014 Mercedes S-Class (pictured) win the Car of the Year? We’re at the end of 2013, so the time has arrived to take a look at the finalists for the 2014 European Car of the Year award. In the last few years, despite Europe producing some of the most impressive luxury and performance cars on the planet, the Car of the Year Award has gone to much more prosaic machinery.

First Sight: Smart Fortwo and Forfour

"Dress-down Wednesday," remarked a colleague as Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche walked on stage wearing jeans and no tie. While it was a hot day in Berlin, Zetsche's excuse for his informal attire was the occasion – the new Smart is here. Its prospective owners, he explained – young, urban consumers with an active lifestyle, not the typical members of corporate Germany – adhere to a different, if similarly rigid etiquette.

GM delays innovative new diesel truck engine

General Motors' deteriorating financial situation has caused the company to delay one of the most advanced engines that it has ever designed, a 4.5-liter diesel for light-duty trucks. "We have to make tough decisions right now," GM Powertrain spokeswoman Susan Garavaglia said. Truck enthusiasts were eagerly awaiting the engine, which would have started production next fall at GM's plant in Tonawanda, N.Y.