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BMW beats Mercedes-Benz to claim first U.S. luxury sales crown

BMW fended off a late-year surge by rival Mercedes-Benz to win its first title as best-selling luxury brand in the United States. BMW said Thursday that U.S. sales rose 15 percent to 26,834 in December, for an annual total of 247,907.

GM makes select OnStar services free

General Motors said on Wednesday that it will make unlocking doors, activating horn and lights, and remote start on equipped vehicles standard with its OnStar RemoteLink Mobile App for 2014 vehicles, even if owners decline to pay for other OnStar services. More than 36 Buicks, Cadillacs, GMC and Chevy models are compatible with the app. GM says it gets more than 60,000 requests from forgetful drivers each month, asking for door-unlock assistance, “so it makes sense for us to offer RemoteLink key-fob services to enable customers to lock, unlock or start their vehicle from anywhere they have a wireless or cellular connection,” said Mary Chan, president GM global connected-consumer business unit.

Bentley and Bugatti get a new boss

Volkswagen said Audi's former development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, will head its Bentley and Bugatti brands. It will be Duerheimer's second stint at Britain-based Bentley and France-based Bugatti. In February 2011, he took the helm at both brands for 19 months, succeeding retiring chief Franz-Josef Paefgen.