2014 Volkswagen Passat Sport to start at $27,295

The 2014 Volkswagen Passat Sport will start at $27,295 including destination when it goes on sale early next year. Compare that to the base S model, which starts in at $21,665, and the top-of-the-line SEL Premium sedan, which starts at $34,715. The Passat Sport will fall between the midlevel SE and range-topping SEL Premium trims.

2013 Audi A3 Sportback revealed (+video)

Audi has revealed the 2013 A3 Sportback ahead of a Paris 2012 debut, the five door version of the new A3. The new A3 Sportback is bigger than both the new A3 – by 35mm – and the old A3 Sportback – by 58mm – and it get a bigger boot than both – 380 litres with the seats up and 1220 litre with the seats down. There’s not a lot to say about how it looks, because it looks just like the new A3 with an extra pair of doors and a set of roof rails, but that extra length does mean a small amount more legroom in the back.

Mercedes-Benz CLS shooting brake sparkles at Goodwood

Mercedes-Benz used the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed as the backdrop for the premiere of the definitive production version of its stylish new CLS shooting brake in Sussex, England. Set to go on sale across Europe in October, the new sporting wagon was given a production go-ahead by Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche following positive reaction to the earlier E-class-based ConceptFascination prototype car unveiled at the 2008 Paris motor show and the subsequent CLS shooting brake show car wheeled out at the 2010 Beijing motor show. Sadly, though, there are no plans to sell the new Mercedes-Benz model in North America, owing to what one official described to Autoweek as "the continued aversion to wagons by U.S.