2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Dash Instrument Gauge Cluster Speedometer 111k Hemi on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

SEAT’s future model plans

SEAT Last week MSN Cars went to visit SEAT at its major base of operations – the Martorell factory in Spain. Here we spoke to CEO Juergen Stackmann and executive vice president for research and design Dr. Matthias Rabe about the brand’s future model plans.

The year in photos - 2006

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 21 December 2006 12:00 We've researched, voted, argued and nearly came to blows in the office... after much debate, we now bring you the best photos of the year. Browse through our top 10 - and add your comments below.