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First Sight: Mercedes-Benz SL

The new high-tech, low weight Mercedes SL roadster receives its official global unveil next week in Detroit but Car Design News got an early peek of the final production car and had a chat with its designers at Mercedes' US advanced design studio in Carlsbad, California back in November. "We want to get back to clean, long-lasting design," director of Mercedes global advanced design and SL project leader, Steffen Kohl told CDN at the exclusive preview of the sixth-generation model. "So the new SL is long, sleek and still full of tension in the feature lines but less wedgy." In a short presentation Kohl felt all SLs became successfully iconic in their times because they followed two key rules – ‘sensuality' and ‘cleanness' – but alluded that the first rule may have been lost in more recent eras.

Car companies, community & a cause

Last Saturday night (April 20) was one of those I-can't believe-I-get-paid-to-do-this kind of evenings. My wife Maria and I -- along with 550 of our closest friends -- were invited to attend the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute's 31st annual dinner. The name sort of says it all, and the dinner is a simple enough concept that even I get it: It's held to raise money.

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2014 preview

The driving directions to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance tell you that this is an event held in a very special place. Whether you’re arriving from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz or Monterey, Pebble Beach is one of the world’s premier automotive events. In the words of the organisers, “only the most beautiful and rare cars are invited to appear on the famed 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links”, with “connoisseurs of art and style” gathering to admire the masterpieces.