AutoWeek Daily Drive — Wednesday, January 6, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Wednesday, January 06, 2010                  The Mercedes-Benz Concept Fascination from 2008 previews a wagon version of the second-generation CLS sedan.... Mercedes-Benz OKs the CLS wagon Mercedes-Benz will launch a wagon version of the second-generation CLS sedan as a rival to the recently introduced BMW 5-series GT and the upcoming Audi A7. The new four-door--presaged by the German carmaker's 2008 Concept Fascination two-door shooting brake revealed at that year's Paris motor show--is among a throng of niche-market models under consideration by Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche....   General Motors combines smartphone functions with the Chevrolet Volt General Motors is bringing together two of the hottest areas of technology--smartphones and plug-in electric cars. GM's OnStar telematics unit has developed a downloadable application that will let Chevrolet Volt drivers use a Blackberry Storm, Apple iPhone or Motorola Droid to remotely control...   Ken Block to campaign a Ford Focus next season in WRC Ken Block has forsaken Subaru and will campaign a Ford Focus next season in the World Rally Championship and a Fiesta in Rally America and the X Games. This is an impressive addition for Ford's rallying efforts internationally. The Blue Oval has won three WRC titles, but an American has never...   Dakar Rally: Robby Gordon takes the lead NASCAR star Robby Gordon--who finished third in last year's Dakar Rally--has taken his first stage win on this year's event in his Hummer, beating rally leader Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) by a mere second. As the crews entered Chile, the strain began to tell. Owing to treacherous road conditions...   Noble plans to bring the Fenix supercar to the United States with Chevrolet power A new 200-mph, Chevrolet-powered supercar from Briton Lee Noble is headed to the United States, possibly in 2011 or 2012. Powered by either a 638-hp supercharged LS9 V8 or a 480-hp LS3 V8, Noble's new Fenix supercar will aim for Ferrari 458 Italia performance at about half the price, a...   Spyker said to be General Motors' only candidate to buy Saab Spyker Cars NV is the only buyer under consideration for the Saab brand and is seeking to line up funding that will satisfy General Motors Co., a person with direct knowledge of the situation said. Financing has been a main obstacle to a deal, said the person, who declined to be identified... You May Have Missed...   What's so hard about selling Saab? What makes for common sense to many isn't always how business is run.Take Saab. This rumination, agitation and gnashing of teeth that General Motors' executives are putting themselves through with selling Saab to Spyker is anathema to me.Why is it this difficult?If GM sheds Saab and deals the...   Saab enthusiasts rally near GM headquarters, an AW video feature About 30 Saab enthusiasts gathered for a rally on Tuesday near General Motors headquarters in Detroit. The reason: To persuade GM to sell the iconic brand rather than simply close it. AutoWeek takes you on the scene....   Ford, Hyundai, Toyota lead industry to 15 percent gain Ford, Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai Group spurred a year-end U.S. sales rally that took some sting out of a painful year.Overall, December sales of 1,030,096 light vehicles rose 15 percent from December 2008, when the credit crisis and a deepening recession dragged industry demand to 27-year lows....   Saab fans gather outside GM headquarters The 60-plus-year history of Saab may come to an inglorious end in the next few days if General Motors and Dutch supercar maker Spyker--or perhaps a dark-horse bidder--fail to reach an agreement to save the iconic Swedish maker of premium cars.But the potential death of yet another GM brand raised...   Briatore thrilled with court's decision Former Renault Formula One boss Flavio Briatore expressed “great joy” on Tuesday after a French court overturned his lifetime ban from motorsports handed down by the FIA in September.Unsurprisingly, the key to the decision was the court's belief that the FIA could not ban team personnel ...   FIA will appeal Briatore court decision The FIA responded to the Flavio Briatore court verdict late Tuesday by insisting that it will not reverse its decision until it exhausts all appeal avenues.The governing body pointed out that the decision did not challenge the FIA World Motor Sport Council's September 2009 finding that Briatore and ... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.