01-04 Sebring Flywheel/flex Plate on 2040-parts.com

Smaller Mercedes SLS confirmed, and with front-mounted V8 too

Baby Mercedes SLS AMG - or at least how it could have looked if mid-engined We’ve believed for some time that Mercedes were planning a smaller version of the SLS, but so far there’s been no official word. But that’s now changed, with AMG’s Christoph Jung telling AutoExpress that Mercedes and AMG are currently working on a smaller SLS, to go head-to-head with cars like the Porsche 911 and Audi R8. Interestingly, we’d thought that Mercedes would go the route of a mid-engined two-seater for the baby SLS, and that it would probably get a turbo V6. But it would appear not.

Lincoln hires ex-Cadillac designer

Lincoln has hired ex-Cadillac designer Max Wolff to be its design director starting on Jan. 3. Wolff, 38, will oversee the look of Ford's luxury brand as it plans to launch seven new vehicles over the next four years, including its first C-segment small car.

VW eyes stake in Suzuki, report says

Volkswagen looks to stake an ownership stake in Suzuki Motor Co. by the end of this year, according to a report in Automobilwoche, a sister publication of AutoWeek. "We expect that there will be a basic agreement this year," the German-language publication quoted an unnamed Suzuki executive as saying.