Fuel protests halt Spanish car production

By Dimitri Pesin Motoring Issues 16 June 2008 10:25 Fuel protests in Europe triggered by the soaring cost of fuel have drastically reduced car production in Spain this month.  Last week's truck blockades and fuel depot pickets in Madrid caused car plants around the country to cut production. Seat, Citroen Peugeot, Ford, Nissan, Renault and Mercedes-Benz all have factories in Spain and most said they were affected.Seat production slashed by 40 percentSeat said its main Martorell plant was operating at 40 percent capacity, with production of the Leon and Altea models severely affected. However, the protests won’t delay sales of the new Ibiza, a spokesman promised, and assembly of cars in the factory is expected to return to normal this week.

Mercedes-Benz E-class family gets a wagon

The redesigned Mercedes-Benz E-class family is growing with the upcoming release of the wagon body style. The E-class wagon will get its formal debut next month in Frankfurt, but Mercedes-Benz has released photos. And, there's some info for U.S.

Ferrari GT teaser photos

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 12 May 2008 10:11 These are the first pictures of Ferrari's new GT, taken from the Italian firm’s teaser website www.ferrarigtcountdown.com. The car won't be shown until the Paris motor show this autumn, but you don't need to wait that long in this internet age – Ferrari is gradually revealing its new baby bit by bit online over the next few months. The five teaser pictures reveal a wide, low, oval front grille, distinctive creases around the door handles, five-spoke alloys, a third rear brake light and a sloping rear end.The official website also has four audio clips of the new Ferrari starting up, revving, running through the gears and then being driven hard.