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Mercedes CLA employs a cat in new advert to demonstrate its aerodynamic shape (video)

It’s the Mercedes CLA sliding cat advert We’re not entirely sure that Mercedes has chosen to focus attention on a cat in a new advert for the CLA to dig at Jaguar’s mickey-take of its chicken advert for Magic Body Control, but it’s definitely the cat that’s front and centre, regardless of the motivation. With the new Mercedes CLA boasting exceptional aerodynamic credentials, Mercedes has employed a stunt cat to slide up and over the CLA to demonstrate just how slippery their new compact saloon is. Already shown on TV in the UK at the weekend (during the new series of Britain’s Got Talent), the moggie in question – William, apparently – glides effortlessly over the CLA’s slippery shape to a soundtrack playing Rossini’s Duetto buffo di due gatti (which you may not think you know, but you do).

Mercedes-Benz courts Renault for new Smart model based on Twingo

Mercedes-Benz is set to join forces with Renault in a deal aimed at providing its underdeveloped Smart division with a contemporary-engineered front-engine/front-wheel-drive platform as the basis for a frugal new Forfour model. The new Smart, due out in 2013, is planned to sit on a lightly modified version of the Renault Twingo’s underpinnings, complete with a 93.3-inch wheelbase. Speaking about the new car over the weekend, a highly placed Mercedes-Benz official told AutoWeek: “It’s a key component in plans to grow the Smart brand.

Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato (2011) at Geneva motor show

Fiat surprised the Geneva audience with a Zagato-bodied variation on the familiar new 500 theme.  Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato: an Italian Mini Coupe rival With Mini branching out in all different directions and Citroen growing its DS brand, it was perhaps inevitable that Fiat would try new things with the 500. It looks strikingly different at first sight, but the Coupe Zagato is based on the existing 500 platform. The differences mainly concern a modified lower roofline, bearing the traditional Zagato double-hump roof contours and rear window/C-pillar treatment.  The standard 500 interior has been retrimmed in black and yellow leather to match the ‘Pop Yellow’ exterior hue.