Mercedes E300 BlueTEC Hybrid and E400 Hybrid Detroit debut

Mercedes E300 BlueTEC Hybrid Mercedes has revealed a pair of hybrid E-Class cars bound for a Detroit debut – the E300 BlueTec hybrid for Europe and E400 Hybrid for the US. All car maker are busy introducing hybrid platforms where they can, especially for their big-selling cars, and MB is no different, with a pair of new Mercedes Hybrid cars bound for a debut at next month’s Detroit Auto Show. The Mercedes E300 BlueTec Hybrid is the offering for Europe, although it wouldn’t be a huge shock if Mercedes eventually launched it in the US.

Interior Motives China Conference to explore new design directions

Chinese consumers are driving new design directions, and CDN's Interior Motives China Conference in Beijing next week is set to explore how. Titled ‘New brands and the search for a design identity', the conference features an impressive speaker line-up that blends the international (Chris Bangle and VW's Wolfgang Muller Pietralla) with the regional (GM PATAC's Friedhelm Engler, Ford China's Chelsia Lau and PSA-Peugeot/Citroën China's Robert Walker), with the domestic (Shan Wei of the Beijing Automotive Technical Center (BATC), and Ken Ma of SAIC). The annual conference is the third in China to be hosted by CDN's magazine Interior Motives, and will be held on Wednesday 21 April, and Thursday 22 April, just in advance of the opening of Auto China 2010 in Beijing on Friday (23 April).

Aston Martin One-77 tops 220mph in testing

The Aston Martin One-77 tops 220mph in testing We saw the Aston Martin One-  77 all over the place last year. It turned up Geneva, at Villa D’Este in the summer and the One-77 was also to be seen at Salon Prive in July where our leader spent time checking it out together with celebrity petrol-head JK. But it’s gone a bit quiet on the One-77 front lately as Aston Martin work to iron out the wrinkles before the One-77 starts to hit the roads in the Summer.