Mini Vision concept: what does it say about the brand's future?

The sight of Mini design head Anders Warming presenting a holographic, 3D projection of the Mini Vision concept as if appearing in his own cartoon was certainly a new one on us, but it captured the quirky, slightly left-field image the subsidiary of BMW Group has cultivated since its relaunch 13 years ago. As the 'Vision' tag suggests, this is billed as a marker of intent for the brand's future design direction rather than a pre-production teaser of the new Mini hatchback (Cooper in most markets) we'll see later this year. However if the third-generation 'new' Mini doesn't look remarkably similar we'd be amazed, such is the level of productionized detailing on this purely digital model.

Ford Focus RS rolls off the production line

Ford has announced this afternoon that the much awaited Ford Focus RS has now started to roll off the production line at its plant in Saarlouis, Germany. Long awaited, and much anticipated, the Focus RS is going to be available in 20 countries throughout Europe, with its biggest markets being Germany and the UK. Ford Focus RS rolls off the production line The Focus RS has a number of unique features – apart from its performance – including a wider track and wheel arches, new front and rear bumpers and a choice of three colours – Ultimate Green, Performance Blue and Frozen White.

Mercedes sacks U.S. boss Ernst Lieb

Mercedes boss Ernst Lieb let go In a surprising move, Mercedes has upset its apple cart in America by sacking its CEO, Ernst Lieb. It’s hard to work out why Leib has been given the heave-ho, especially considering Mercedes USA is riding high at the moment on the back of strong sales and well-received models in the U.S. Under Lieb’s leadership Mercedes has enjoyed sales up 10.4 per cent for this year, a performance that is outstripping the market as a whole.