Brightent Navy Blue Canopy Boat Bimini L8'/w79-84/h54 Xb3n1) on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes A-class at 2012 Geneva motor show

Mercedes whisked the covers off the new A-class on the eve of the 2012 Geneva motor show. As predicted, it's a lower, sleeker, more Golf-like alternative to the Golf, sitting 18cm closer to thetarmac. These first official pictures of the new 2012 Mercedes A-class prove the 'tallboy' look is over for good and the production car closely apes the look of the Concept A-class.

Mercedes R-class facelift (2010) first official pictures

This is the facelifted Mercedes R-class, unveiled today at the 2010 New York auto show.  It lives, and in the UK the new model will only be available as an entry level, rear-drive R300 CDI and a top-spec, long-wheelbase R350 CDI. The R300 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY 2WD (to give this big beast its full name) is 7% more efficient than before but still offers the same power and performance. The more snappily titled R350 CDI 4MATIC is also more economical (its 33.2mpg bettering its predecessor by 2.8mpg) but also more powerful, with outputs of 261bhp and 457ft up from 218bhp and 376lb ft.

Ironman Stewart retires, sells all

The off-road racing accomplishments of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart might never be matched: 82 major wins in desert racing, 17 of them in the crash-and-bang Mickey Thompson stadium series, three Baja 1000s and others too numerous to squeeze in here over a career that spanned 30 years. The thing that really sets him apart is that, while competitors shared driving duties over the long desert courses, Stewart did the vast majority of them alone, with no relief drivers--just him and the dirty, dusty desert. But even legends want to retire someday.