Sea-dog Corp 3280201 Stainless Folding Step-cast on 2040-parts.com

VW Touareg (2010) first official photos

By Chris Chilton First Official Pictures 10 February 2010 20:00 Volkswagen’s all-new Touareg range includes a clever hybrid version that can hit 62mph in 6.5sec or travel 30 miles on electric power alone.Set for a Geneva motor show unveil in March  2010 alongside the Porsche Cayenne – with which it once again shares a platform and most of its hardware – the new lower, curvier Touareg is 40mm longer than the car it replaces but up to 208kg lighter. Just like Georg Kacher predicted years ago.What's new on the 2010 VW Touareg?There are three engines from launch. Two diesels:• 3.0 V6 TDI, 237bhp, 405 lb ft, 38mpg, 195 g/km• 4.2 V8 TDI, 335bhp, 590 lb ft, 31mpg, 239 g/kmAnd the hybrid:• Supercharged 3.3 V6 TSI, 328bhp, 265 lb ft (374bhp and 428 lb ft with the electric assist), 34.4 mpg, 193 g/kmVW Touareg Hybrid: how clean?Those figures would make the VW hybrid massively less green than the Lexus RX450h (148g/km, 45mpg).

Mercedes CLA driving Mercedes-Benz new car sales

New Mercedes CLA (pictured) is driving Mercedes-Benz new car sales Mercedes had a rocky road a few years ago as it changed its focus from quality to cost-cutting, so the decision by Mercedes to move in to more compact premium cars in a serious way can’t have been the easiest decision to make regardless of the rising demand for compact premium cars. But Mercedes decision and investment is now starting to reap big rewards as Mercedes start moving from an investment in to a sales cycle, with sales of their new compact cars – the new A-Class and new CLA – proving to be a real driving force. Mercedes is the UK has made all time record sales in the UK in 2013, reaching 100,000 car sales for the first time in a year, and managing that by the end of November (which in itself was the best November Mercedes had ever had in the UK).

One Lap of the Web: BMW M3 gets color-corrected, a gentleman's GT-R and the Porsche 959

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Oh dear, BMW: Perhaps you shouldn't have made two M3 color selections sound so similar?