New Mercedes CLA helps Daimler to 16% profit jump

The new Mercedes CLA (pictured) help Mercedes to a 16% profit jump. There’s an argument that the move in to more compact car sales by premium car makers will see their turnover rise and their profits fall as more compact cars tend to work on smaller margins than high-end luxury cars. But Mercedes has defied that logic by posting a 16 per cent increase in profits for the third quarter of 2013, boosted by sales of the new compact coupé – the Mercedes CLA.

Peugeot 208 XY heading for production

It’s been revealed that the luxury concept of the new Peugeot 208 – the 208 XY – will be at the Paris Motor Show in production guise. At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Peugeot revealed a pair of concept cars based on the new 208 – the 208 GTi and the 208 XY. Yesterday we revealed that the new Peugeot 208 GTi was heading for this month’s Paris Motor Show ready for production, and now it seems it will be joined by its luxury sibling concept, also ready to go in to production – the Peugeot 208 XY.

Audi S7 Spied

Audi S7 caught out playing We got the launch of the Audi A7 in July and here we are – just a couple of months on – expecting the Audi S7 to surface at the Paris Motor Show next week. And just in time we’ve got a spy shot of the hot S7 out playing and looking pretty much production-ready; as it should if it’s going to bow in next week. It seems clear this is not an A7 with an S-Line pack as it’s sporting a pair of twin exhausts out back which, as far as we can recall, don’t appear on any A7.