04 Bmw K1200 Gt K1200gt Left Dash Panel 34k on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes to sell Sprinter vans through its own stores

Mercedes-Benz USA is getting back into the commercial-van business Jan. 1 and will appoint up to 120 dealers to sell Sprinter vehicles. That means Mercedes will yank the Sprinter from nearly 350 Dodge dealers who now carry the van.

Toyota to close Australian design studio

Toyota designers at its Technical Center Asia Pacific Australia (TTCAP-AU) are to lose their jobs as part of Toyota's decision to scale back the facility's activities as well as halting all manufacturing within the country by 2017. The TTCAP-AU, which carries out all its Australian design and evaluation operations, employs 150 designers and modelers and it's possible that its activities with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models could be scrapped, raising doubts over its future. Around 2,500 employees at Toyota's Altona manufacturing plant are expected to lose their jobs, although the effects are likely to be wider ranging.

Kia GT4 Stinger concept headed to Detroit auto show

The Detroit auto show is just a few days away, and Kia has shown us a glimpse of the concept car that it will be unveiling at the show on January 13th. Dubbed the GT4 Stinger, the concept is a low and wide 2+2 sports car, featuring an expansive grille framed by vertical LED headlights. Like the Kia GT concept we saw in Frankfurt in 2011, the GT4 stinger is supposedly rear-wheel drive.