1987 Mercury Sable Limited Edition White Monochromatic "nos" Post Card 5"x9" on 2040-parts.com

Video: Yasushi Nakamuta on Mazda 3's 'unique' design process

It may be leaden with PR-talk but this short presentation by Yasushi Nakamuta, Mazda's director of advanced design studio at the press unveiling of the new Mazda 3 in Melbourne is still worth a couple of minutes of your time. But while the 3 is undeniably attractive we can't help but feel that the 'unique' design process Nakamuta describes (which appears wholly conventional to us) has resulted in little more than a thoroughly normal product. Take a look for yourself at the video to your left.

Mercedes E 63 AMG S: UK price from £83,740

The E63 AMG S is the extreme version of what is already an extreme car in the E63, with a power boost that takes it from 549bhp to 577bhp – and throws in an extra 60lb/ft of torque for good measure too – and promises real extreme performance. The problem is, getting that power down to the road. In left hand drive markets that’s solved by simply offering the Mercedes 4WD option – 4MATIC – which does a much better job of transferring power to the road than the regular RWD layout.

USED CAR MARKET BOUNCED BACK IN JANUARY

BCA’S LATEST Pulse report shows that average values rose in January following the disruption caused by the Arctic conditions and shorter trading period in December. The volume of vehicles being traded also increased – not surprisingly very significantly when compared to December, but also by 10% year on year. Vehicles from both the fleet & lease and part-exchange sectors recorded notable value improvements and part-exchange values reached record levels.