Mercedes-Benz E350 Estate CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Avantgarde

IF there’s a more relaxed and versatile all-round family car than the Mercedes E-Class Estate then I’d like to know what it is.

I’m not sure how much of a priority console is for Mercedes-Benz designers but it feels like it’s the starting point for this car and pretty much everything revolves around it.

From the moment you sit in you feel relaxed and very at home. In fact the at home analogy is fairly accurate.

With the possible exemption of a Range Rover it’s the closest automotive experience I’ve had to sitting at home and relaxing in my living room.

The seats have the kind of adjustment controls you might wait for to find flying club class, to the point where I was still discovering what some of the buttons did after a week. I also liked the fact that you feel as if you’re sinking in to them yet they’re still extremely supportive.

At the risk of stating the understandable you actually have to wonder whether the E-Class Estate is just a little too comfortable for its own good – to the point where you’re in danger of nodding off at the wheel.

Perhaps with this in mind the designers have very gently come up with a range of gizmos that will prevent you doing so.

But on a serious note this safety technology is completely state-of-the art, all encompassing and actually very useful.

Mercedes Benz USA Gives the SLS AMG GT3 a Walk-Around

Mercedes Benz’s US division has launched a five-minute video devoted to the stunning SLS AMG GT3. The company’s Assistant Product Manager, William Vetter, was present at the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance to show off the car and offer an in-depth look at the many unique features.

The racer got a lot of concentration at the event, thanks in part to its white paint that has a matt finish. The body kit is not something that should be ignored either, as wide use has been made of lightweight carbon fiber. The big splitter and the winglets at the front force the front down. Unlike the production car, there are air vents on pinnacle of the wheel. Other aerodynamic modifications include a cowling in the sides that are used to cool the rear brakes.

The hood features a central opening for the taking out of heat from the engine, while side openings in the front fenders facilitate air flow through the wheel arches. Weight optimization measures comprise the application of extremely lightweight polycarbonate for the side and rear windows and, if specified, for the front windshield as well. The most famous piece of the car is the huge rear wing that produces down force a can be adjusted.

Vetter then moves on to the interior of the car and the racing navigation wheel, which features paddle shifters. One of the most attractive features of the interior is a button that detonates two pyrotechnic charges that blow up the doors if the car is upside-down.

1 dies in 3-car crash in North Andover

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- A three-car collide in North Andover killed one person and sent two others to the hospital on Monday morning.

The crash occurs on Route 114 near Route 125.

A reconstruction team was on the scene on Monday morning trying to figure out how the collide happened. The accident is causing delays to the morning commute in the vicinity.

Tata Chairman Says U.S. Car Will Cost ‘$7,000 or $8,000’

Tata Motors struck headline gold in 2008 with the 100,000-rupee price tag ($2,172) for its Nano city car. But if the Indian automaker succeeds in bringing a vehicle to the United States, the car’s window sticker will forfeit a good deal of its shock value.

Last week Ratan Tata, the Tata Group chairman, discussed sales and pricing prediction for a United States city car after a symposium at Cornell University’s College of Art, Architecture and Planning. Mr. Tata is an alumnus. The symposium was held in concurrence with an exhibition that explored the design and development of the Nano.

It won’t be a $2,000 car; it will be a $7,000 or $8,000 car, Mr. Tata said during the Q&A session. But it will still be, in proportional terms, a car that the U.S. would accept.

The ultimate vehicle, he added, would be produced with the same design philosophy and frugal engineering that informed development of the Nano.

Mr. Tata was not asked whether the Pixel, a scissor-doored runabout that was exposed in concept form at the Geneva auto show this month presaged neither an American Tata nor whether the company still intended to bring the Nano in a few form to the American market.

The Mini Seven turns your kid into the envy of the whole school

If you have a kid who is into cars and racing, the Mini Seven from Micro Electric Vehicles will most likely make his/her dreams come true. It’s no Ferrari, but it will allow you kid to experience the joys of driving before the lawful age. The Mini Seven is hand-built and proportionally accurate to a real car and is powered by a little petrol Honda HP motor. It can hit a top speed of 19 mph (30 km/h) and seats 2 children. The seats are equipped with a 4-point harness seat belt system to keep the driver and passenger secure, wand all moving parts are fully enclosed in the vehicle, ensuring nobody will get their small fingers or hair caught in such situations. The car even has an adaptable engine and hydraulic disc brakes that parents can customize to make sure their kids don’t drive a car they can’t handle. With a starting price of $11,305 (£6,995) it won’t come cheap, but you can be attractive sure you’ve bought your kid one of the best presents of his/her whole life. Head here to find out more about the Mini Seven.

Pixel: Tata's new pocket-sized concept car

Tata Nano's newborn cousin is three meters long, gives 29 kilometers per liter, has four full-sized seats and can turn approximately in as much space as your office cubicle. And it's too attractive to boot

Don't get all excited yet Ratan Tata says -- it's just an idea -- but last week his company introduce a concept car for the most "package efficient" four-seater in the world at the 81st Geneva Motor demonstrate.

The Tata Pixel, a cousin of the pioneering Rs 100,000 Tata Nano, is just over three meters in length and has a turning circle radius of just under that amount.

There is an chance in Europe for a city car, which is optimal in space, maneuverability and environment-friendliness. The Tata Pixel is a reflection of Tata Motors' idea of what such a car should be, says Carl-Peter Forster, managing director and group CEO of Tata Motors.

When the Hindustan Times asked Forster's boss, Ratan Tata, if the Pixel could meet the demands of Indian customers, he said, it may.

Indian auto blogs reckon the Pixel may feature in New Delhi's Auto Expo in 2012 and transform into a production model between the Tata Nano V2 which is due for open this year and the Tata Indica Vista.

SUBARU SHOWS SPORTS CAR 'ARCHITECTURE CONCEPT'

While Toyota grabs the headlines with its second-generation of the FT-86 concept, Subaru has, er, a glass model that doesn't actually depict what its version of the shared sports coupe project will seem like at all.

In fact, apart from the common dimensions of the car, the only real significance of this unveil is the visual proof that Subaru's version of the car will be rear wheel drive - and how the drive train layout really looks.

This is a shame: while Toyota bathes in the generated excitement, Subaru admits that its more meagre budget is being spent on really engineering the thing. The firm is leading the partnership, and it will be building the dissimilar cars for both companies as well.