Rt Side Muffler 97 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic 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.

Want wagons? Kill the crossover

Cadillac boss Bob Ferguson recently told Automotive News that GM is considering an ATS wagon. Autoweek contributor and GM big shot Mark Reuss is on record speaking in favor of wagons. And whether they know it or not, American car buyers need a station wagon, but not a wagon built to satisfy station-wagon fetishists.

Volkswagen Golf R confirmed for America

Enthusiasts spoke, and Volkswagen listened. VW announced Thursday that the diminutive and powerful Golf R is coming to the United States in 2012. VW said the Golf R will have a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a significant increase in horsepower over the 200-hp GTI.