Harley Davidson Softail Seat on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes A, B & CLA-Class get more frugal engines & new 4MATIC 4WD options

The Mercedes A,B & CLA-Class get more frugal and get new 4MATIC options The new Mercedes A-Class, B-Class and CLA-Class may not have been with us very long, but that’s not stopping Mercedes playing with what’s on offer with more frugal engines being launched and the option of 4MATIC 4WD being extended to the Mercedes A 200 CDI and 220 CDI. With an official fuel consumption of 54mpg and emissions of 125g/km, the latest Mercedes CLA 250 manages to improve emissions and economy figures by 7 per cent using a lean-burn process, without affecting performance. The Mercedes A 200 CDI gets a bigger engine – up from 1.8 to 2.2 litres – and 136hp and 221lb/ft of torque and, with the 7Speed DCT ‘box fitted, manages official consumption of 72mpg and emissions of 102g/km – 7g/km less than the old 1.8 litre A 200 CDI.

Tesla Motors open-sources patents

Since Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors a decade ago, his electric car venture has been a thorn in the traditional auto manufacturers' side. Now, Musk has made another disruptive move by announcing he is scrapping the firm's patents. In a blog post on the Tesla website, he wrote "[the patents] have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.

Vauxhall's 2012 Astra cab to be standalone convertible

Vauxhall's new convertible will not be the Astra cabriolet, CAR has learned. Instead the new Astra-based convertible will be positioned as a separate, standalone model like Volkswagen's Eos. The new mid-sized Vauxhall/Opel convertible will be launched in 2012.