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Meet the new 2014 BMW 4-series coupe

Thanks to certain European websites, BMW's 3-series coupe replacement is out a few hours early. Here's the 2014 BMW 4-series revealed in production form. The 4 will take on the Audi A5 and Mercedes-Benz C-class coupe and make its public debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

General Motors to shut down Saab

General Motors has announced that it will be closing the Saab brand after the company was unable to strike a deal with Spyker Cars. This follows from last month's withdrawal of would-be suitor Koenigsegg, leaving Spyker the sole contender in the acquisition of the ailing Swedish brand. According to Nick Reilly, GM's European president, the company has decided to cut its losses: "Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time.

Merc to revive straight six, plus 4cyl and smaller V8s

Mercedes has just signed off a new engine family which will see most full-sized Mercs in future run four-cylinders, downsized V8s and… straight sixes. A friendly Mercedes engineer recently met CAR to disclose the engine plans for future models, including the surprise disclosure that Merc plans to switch to straight sixes, like its rivals over in Munich.  It's fair to say I almost choked on my breakfast croissant when I found out the details of the next MB engine generation which has just been signed off for release in 2015. Mercedes' future four-cylinder engines Again, there will be a family of new low-cost fours, and the big-bore V8s will be replaced by a series of downsized turbocharged 4.0-litre units.