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A look at Mercedes-Benz future products

Are Americans ready to pay hefty prices for small, front-wheel-drive cars with features usually reserved for large German luxury cars? Mercedes-Benz is about to find out. Starting in the fall of next year, Mercedes will bring three, possibly four new compacts based on a new fwd platform to the United States.

Nissan IDx concepts tour Cali

Having traveled from the Tokyo motor show to the Detroit auto show, Nissan's Datsun-inspired IDx concepts are on to much warmer weather. The upcoming three-day tour, starting Jan. 31, will begin in Venice, Calif., on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

Max Wolff to become Design Director at Lincoln

Ford's luxury nameplate, Lincoln, is set to welcome a new design director, the first dedicated design director for the brand. The role will be filled by former GM designer Max Wolff, who will head the design team in the new year.  Until Wolff's appointment, Peter Horbury and Moray Callum, Ford's Executive Director of Design, The Americas, oversaw Lincoln-Mercury designs – the two brands were paired before Ford decided to kill off Mercury earlier this year. While Gerry McGovern headed Lincoln-Mercury design for a brief period before becoming director of Advanced Design at Land Rover in 2004, Lincoln itself has never had a design director dedicated solely to the brand.  Wolff brings with him extensive global perspective and luxury design experience; his most recent role was with Cadillac, where he was head of exteriors.