04 05 06 Avalanche 1500 Brake Master Cyl 49118 on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes previews technology before Frankfurt auto show

Future Mercedes will crash less often and use less gas doing so. We got a few insights into exactly how that will happen when we attended the Mercedes preview the night before the Frankfurt auto show. Inside its own enormous hall at the International Auto Austellung, Mercedes previewed gas-saving and accident-avoiding technologies we can expect to see on production cars within the next decade.

2014 (or is it 2015?) Ford Mondeo to launch in UK & Europe late 2014

The new Ford Mondeo will now arrive in the UK in late 2014 The story of the new Ford Mondeo for the UK Europe (which should have been the 2013 Mondeo but will end up as the 2014 or 2015 Mondeo) has been a bit tortuous. Despite the new Mondeo being on sale in the US as the Ford Fusion since summer 2012, and in China since summer 2013 (and the reveal of the production version of the Mondeo over two years ago and a set of new Mondeo photos too), Ford’s decision to shut up shop at Genk in Belgium – the Mondeo’s traditional manufacturing plant – meant there was no way to give Europe the new Mondeo. So we’ve had to wait for Ford to sort out production lines in Valencia to build the new Mondeo but now, according to Mark Ovenden – Ford’s UK boss – the new Mondeo will arrive in the third quarter of 2014 in the UK and Europe.

Nissan expands Beijing studio

With the expansion of the Chinese market, the country's position in the automotive industry is increasingly important. Homegrown design elements look set to enhance brand competitiveness, while the on-the-ground knowledge garnered by Chinese studios is becoming invaluable feeding back into global companies. It's clear therefore that Nissan Design China (NDC) will play an increasingly important role in Nissan's global design network.