Original Gm 1967-1969 Trunk Catch Plate on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes S-Class Plug-in Hybrid revealed for Frankfurt 2013

We’ve driven the new 2013 Mercedes-Benz S-Class already this year (and loved it), but now the ‘best car in the world’ has added another feather to its cap. The German firm has released details of a super-high efficiency version of its S-Class saloon called the S500 Plug-in Hybrid, ahead of the car’s debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show next month. It goes on sale in the UK in 2014, and its vital statistics are absolutely astonishing.

EVs are Dead, Long Live Tesla says Morgan Stanley analyst

The Tesla Model S is the only successful electric car The experiment of getting the car buying public to believe an electric car is a sensible alternative to an ICE car isn’t an unmitigated failure – but it’s close. And now Investment Bank Morgan Stanley has come out and stated the obvious: Apart from the success of Tesla, electric cars are a failure, falling far short of sales predictions and likely to see no real growth in the coming years. Morgan Stanley declare that we will still all be driving ICE cars for the foreseeable future, and despite predictions that as many as one in ten cars will be BEVs by 2020 the reality is likely to be less than one in a hundred.

Smart for-us

The latest addition to the Smart conceptual range is the for-us pickup, which follows on from the forspeed convertibe of Geneva, and the forvision hatchback that was unveiled Frankfurt, delivering another twist on the iconic city car platform. Despite the increase of size to 3547mm in length, traditional Smart iconography such as the tridon safety cell, three-spoke wheels and product-like execution – such as the inner lamp graphics – retain the brand identity. Squarer lamp and grille graphics and knobbly rocker surfacing add a twist of robustness.