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Plans for Smart’s three-seat sports car uncovered in patent drawings

Mercedes-Benz is developing a three-seat sports car for Smart. Depicted here in a series of European patent-application sketches obtained by AutoWeek, the radical new sports car forms part of an extended range of new Smart models planned for introduction by the middle of the next decade, including a more conventional four-seater to be produced in cooperation with Renault. Mercedes-Benz is reacting to increased competition from Toyota in the form of the iQ and the impending arrival of similar urban-based offerings from premium-brand rivals Audi and BMW.

Detroit brands top Asian, European rivals in study of most appealing models

Owner delight with import vehicles is falling, and Detroit 3 brands are more appealing than European and Asian rivals for the first time in 13 years, according to a study measuring owner enthusiasm and satisfaction. The biggest improvement in owner appeal was made by high-performance models from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., J.D.

Watch 'The Million Dollar Mustang' part one: Shelby GT350 R

“The Million Dollar Mustang” is not about how much these great cars go for at auctions in today's heady times, but about what made them worth so much in the first place. Nearly five years in the making, the documentary starts out talking about the Ford Mustang in general, how they sold 22,000 of them on the first sales day and then sold a million of them in the first two years and things like that -- the notion that the Mustang was a revolution in American car design and in the American consciousness. Then it starts to narrow its focus more and pretty soon the bulk of the piece is all about the Shelby GT350 R.