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CES 2011 opens in Las Vegas

The pace of development in the world of consumer electronics – particularly touchscreens, smartphones and tablet devices – is increasingly influential on the world of automotive design. So with the world's biggest electronics trade show, the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), opening today in Las Vegas, we thought it high time for Car Design News to attend.  The 2011 show has a strong automotive flavor, more so than in any previous year. CES was the event at which Ford chose to launch its industry leading in-car connectivity feature, Sync, in 2008 and, for the third year running, Ford CEO Alan Mulally will deliver a keynote address, during which he is expected to unveil Ford's Nissan Leaf-rivaling, electric-powered Focus.

Saab 9-4X: First 9-4X rolls out

The Saab 9-4X Production Car rolls out of GM's plant in Mexico I seem to remember we did a similar headline to ‘Saab 9-4X Rolls Out’ almost exactly a year ago. But that headline – when Saab built 147 9-4X models at GM’s plant in Mexico - was for crash-testing and other pre-production requirements. This roll out of the 9-4X is the real deal.

1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta ‘Competizione’ makes €9,856,000

It’s the annual  Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este festival of supercars and classic cars this weekend, and poart of that is the RM Auctions sale at Vella Erba, on the banks of Lake Como, with a 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta ‘Competizione’ smashing the world auction record by fetching €9,865,000. The 375 MM is one of three works cars entered in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and has a good history including 24 Hour of Spa, the Carrera Panamericana, and winning the 12 Hours of Pescara, has been driven by World Champions Hawthorn, Ascari, and Farina and won numerous awards at many events including Pebble Beach, Goodwood Revival and the Louis Vuitton Classic. But it wasn’t just the 375 MM that sold at a strong price, with other notable lots fetching good prices, such as a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, for €1,120,000,  a 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 at €426,600, a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for €1,114,400 and a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coupé Aerodinamico for €2,184,000.