Sherman 844-320l Door Mirror Left Pontiac Grand Prix on 2040-parts.com

Volvo drops plans to compete in the luxury F-Segment car market

In fact, at the Shanghai Motor Show in 2011, Volvo delivered the Concept Universe car which we all though was pointing the way to what could be a Volvo S90; Volvo’s luxury car for Chinese plutocrats. It sported a rather strange ‘East meets West’ design language with a very odd nose and lots of curves, and it wasn’t exactly showered in plaudits. But that didn’t stop Volvo coming back at Frankfurt in 2011 with an altogether more convincing concept – the Volvo Concept You – that sported a much clearer vision for a future luxury Volvo.

First Sight: Mercedes-AMG GT

“If I was to buy any sports car that wasn't a Mercedes, it'd be a Porsche 911,” says Mercedes' head of design, Gorden Wagener. “But when you see the two cars together, we think ours has the edge.” He's talking about the new Mercedes-AMG GT, a front-mid engined, two-seater sports car that's unashamedly aimed at higher-end 911s, and we've come to see it at Mercedes' Sindelfingen studio.  The GT replaces the larger SLS, and is seen by Wagener as the best example yet of his 'sensual purity' design philosophy: “The SLS is very much [he gestures] line, line with a surface in between. With the GT we started with the surface and worked to refine and reduce the number of lines.” Elements of the SLS's platform have been carried over, so the GT measures the same 1,939mm wide.

Toyota to unveil low-cost car next month

Toyota said it will unveil a concept of its new car for emerging markets at the New Delhi auto show on Jan. 5. The Japanese automaker plans to sell the low-cost compact car in markets such as India, Russia and Latin America.