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Mercedes GLA: New B Class SUV in 2013

Mercedes GLA based on the new B Class (pictured) Another Mercedes niche car based on the new A Class platform will arrive in 2013 as the compact SUV Mercedes GLA. Mercedes’ nomenclature has got confusing in recent years so it’s quite hard to pin down exactly what they’re likely to call a new car we know is coming but which isn’t yet official. But it does now seem clear that the compact SUV we’ll see from Mercedes in 2013 – and based on the same platform as the new A and B Class – will be the Mercedes GLA.

Bentley and Bugatti get a new boss

Volkswagen said Audi's former development chief, Wolfgang Duerheimer, will head its Bentley and Bugatti brands. It will be Duerheimer's second stint at Britain-based Bentley and France-based Bugatti. In February 2011, he took the helm at both brands for 19 months, succeeding retiring chief Franz-Josef Paefgen.

Volvo’s ‘Drive Me’ is the world’s first large-scale autonomous driving pilot project

Yes, you’ll be able to chat on the phone when the Volvo does the driving for you Like it or not, we’re rapidly moving to the point where autonomous cars will be the norm, with the driver only being involved in the act of driving by choice. Volvo – unsurprisingly with their stated goal of making sure no one dies in a Volvo in future – is at the forefront of the move to autonomous driving, and have teamed up with the Swedish Transportation Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg in a project called ‘Drive Me - Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility’. The project kicks off next year with customer research and the development of the necessary technology and Volvo aims to have 100 autonomous cars on the roads of Gothenburg by 2017, where they’ll be driving round approximately 50 kms of selected roads, including commuter roads, motorways and regular queues.