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More than a (gull)wing and a prayer

They make up just six percent of Mercedes car sales in the United States—but nothing preserves and proliferates the top-shelf, seductive image of a Benz like a sports car. This is a point that's been driven home to me in a wide array of circumstances this year: Mercedes sports cars are still rock stars. I'll admit, I've often been a skeptic.

Smart ForTwo Brabus

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 09 March 2007 11:31 Smart ForTwo Brabus: the lowdown With a third more power than the outgoing Brabus, the new ForTwo looks set to be quite a pocket rocket. The newcomer, unveiled at Geneva, packs a punchy 98bhp and has a sprightly 780kg to carry around, so Smart is promising warm-hatch performance for the first time in a ForTwo. Okay, so it won't trouble the GTI brigade, but the new Brabus will crack 62mph in 9.9sec and is so fast they've had to limit it to 155.

Ford eyes dandelions as sustainable alternative to synthetic rubber

Ford, in conjunction with Ohio State University, is turning to the humble garden weed as sustainable resource, researching the dandelion's potential use as an alternative to synthetic rubber. While the automaker already makes considerable use of sustainable materials in its vehicles – such as soy foam seat cushions and straw-filled plastic for interior trim – this latest discovery opens up a wealth of new possibilities for automotive applications. According to research conducted by Ford, a milky-white substance that is found in certain dandelion roots can produce a sustainable rubber that could be used to create plastic parts for vehicle interiors.