1971 72 73 1974 Yamaha New Hood Louver - Gp 338f 433f 338 433 F on 2040-parts.com

New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.

Shark-inspired Peugeot Exalt set for Beijing

This is the new Peugeot Exalt concept – a sleek, new sporty saloon that's set to make its debut at the Beijing Motor Show later this month.   A suitable follow-up to the Peugeot Onyx? The turbo petrol plug-in hybrid drivetrain provides 340hp The Exalt builds on the equally stunning Peugeot Onyx concept from the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and the Peugeot Exalt is set to make its debut at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, with the Chinese market increasingly important for Peugeot and its rivals.

Volkswagen plans 4 million cars from one platform

Volkswagen is pushing the global-platform concept to a level unprecedented in the auto industry, introducing a modular platform this summer that eventually will be the basis of microcars, sedans, crossovers and SUVs for its four largest brands. While automakers now share platforms across brands and sometimes even segments, the VW initiative that starts this summer is far more ambitious than anything seen so far. By 2017, some analysts estimate, the MQB platform that debuts with the Audi A3 eventually will be used in 4 million units a year--close to half of VW's annual production.