Rustoleum Scratch & Chip Repair Paint Brush/marker- Gm 60000 Arctic White on 2040-parts.com

Smart Fortwo Lightshine launches

Yet another Smart Limited Edition - the Smart Fortwo Lightshine You have to hand it to Mercedes – they don’t give up on Smart (or Maybach – another expensive departure). They keep churning out new cars (well, endless new limited editions, anyway) despite sales that seem to keep falling. Last year (2010) saw Smart sales in the UK fall by 8.5% and their sales last month (December 2010) were a woeful 57% down on December 2009.

All-new MINI dashboard goes mainstream (spy photo)

The all-new MINI – the third generation of the new MINI – is due later in 2013 and will be getting a more mainstream dashboard. Whatever you may think of the ‘new’ MINI – the one BMW make – it’s been a huge success. And it’s been a huge success because it’s managed to evoke the spirit of the original Issigonis Mini without being a pastiche.

Toyota to launch its own version of OnStar

Toyota Motor Sales said today that it is launching a telematics system similar to General Motors' OnStar that will be available on some Lexus and Toyota vehicles in late summer. At the Consumer Electrics Show today in Las Vegas, Toyota detailed its plans for the system, which has different features for each brand. On Toyota vehicles, the system will be called Safety Connect; on Lexus models it will be called Enform.