1946 Dry Lakes - Official Meet - Sticker on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes GLA – the A-Class SUV – will arrive in production guise at Frankfurt

The production version of the Mercedes GLA Concept (pictured) will debut at Frankfurt 2013 It’s only three months since the new Mercedes GLA debuted at the Shanghai Motor Show as a concept, but it’s already close to arriving in production guise. In fact, it looks like the new GLA – based on the new Mercedes A-Class underpinnings – will arrive in production form at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, ahead of going on sale in early 2014. The new GLA is aimed squarely at the competition from the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, and if it delivers as well as the A-Class has it stands a very good chance of becoming the pick of the premium compact SUVs.

Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina CNR-PF (1978)

In the 1970s alarm bells were ringing in the energy sector as a series of energy crises and rising fuel prices spiralled. The car industry was forced to produce a new generation of more efficient cars and designers were putting new models through wind tunnels to optimize their aerodynamic performance to reduce aerodynamic drag. Some pushed the limits further than others and none more so than Pininfarina, which designed a car that slipped through the air twice as efficiently than any other.

VW to build engine plant in Mexico to supply Tenn. factory, source says

Volkswagen AG plans to announce Wednesday that it will build an engine plant in Mexico to supply vehicles assembled in North America, a source at the company's assembly plant in Puebla said. A VW spokesman confirmed that the company will make an announcement but declined to say what it will concern. The new plant will supply an existing VW plant in Puebla, 75 miles southeast of Mexico City, and one being built in Chattanooga, Tenn., the source said.