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Volvo Concept XC Coupe at Detroit Auto Show – previews the new Volvo XC90 (+ video)

The Volvo Concept XC Coupe (pictured) will debut at Detroit next month Volvo are heading to the Detroit Auto Show next month with the second of three concepts planned utilising their new scalable platform architecture which will underpin almost all future models – the Volvo Concept XC Coupe. The first of the three new concepts from Volvo came at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in September as the Volvo Concept Coupe – a new take on Volvo’s iconic P1800 – but this time we get a concept that points firmly at the new Volvo XC90, due in a year’s time as a 2015 model. We’ve already got some idea of what Volvo’s designers think the new XC90 should look like, but the styling cues on the Concept Coupe – and the teaser photos of the Concept XC Coupe (above) – give us a much clearer view of what Volvo are planning for one of their most successful cars.

New Mercedes-Benz S-class spotted in SoCal

The new Mercedes-Benz S-class must be hustling toward the developmental-cycle finish line, because it's been spotted en masse in places such as Toronto (where it must be undergoing cold-weather testing) and Irvine, Calif. (where it must be gauging the interest of Benz-crazy vox populi). Because as devoid as it is of bodywork-breaking pillboxes, camera-obfuscating swirl paint, and surly engineers, the fact that it's seen here in little more than some sticky paper and a pair of cheap sunglasses on the driver means that the elder statesman of the automotive world is readying its next debut.

First Dacia Duster SUVs leave India bound for the UK

The first Dacia Duster SUVs built in RHD for the UK market left India this morning to help satisfy Renault’s growing order book for the Duster. With the sort of response the Duster has received in the UK – with prices for the entry-level Duster starting at just £9k – Renault are no doubt wishing they’d brought the Duster to the UK sooner. But such was the demand for the Duster in mainland Europe and emerging markets that they just couldn’t get production of RHD Dusters organised for the UK until now, when Renault’s plant at Oragadam, near Chennai in India, finally managed to satisfy its home market demand sufficiently to leave enough capacity for RHD cars bound for the UK and Ireland to roll off the production line.