Thunderbird Power Vent Window Motor, Right, 1965-1966 on 2040-parts.com

Geely’s Rolls Royce clone gets de-cloned

The Geely GE Facelift - no longer a RR Clone It’s amazing how much things have moved on in the last twelve months. A year ago we reported that China’s Geely had become the latest Chinese car maker to produce a complete rip-off clone of a Western car, in this case a clone of the Rolls Royce Phantom. The Geely ‘Phantom’ even sported a  single seat  ’Throne’ in the back so the owner could feel really important in his Chinese version of  a Western plutocrat’s carriage.

New Mercedes CLA photos & new Mercedes 4MATIC 4WD – UPDATED

We have the first official photos of the new Mercedes CLA and news of a new Mercedes 4MATIC 4WD system for Mercedes’ smaller cars. The new Mercedes CLA – the baby CLS based on the new A Class and previewed by the Mercedes Concept Style Coupe we saw at the Beijing Motor Show - will arrive at the Detroit Auto Show in January (and be followed by the CLA 45 AMG at Frankfurt in Autumn 2013), and will come with a new Mercedes 4MATIC four wheel drive system. To herald the arrival of the new CLA and the new 4MATIC system, Mercedes has released details of the new 4MATIC system and sent us the first official photos of the production CLA – albeit with the usual swirly black and white camouflage – to illustrate where their new 4WD system will arrive.

Money woes may keep Converj from market

General Motors' tight finances may hold the automaker back from building a production version of the Cadillac Converj concept car. GM revealed the coupe, which would use the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, last week at the auto show here. GM designed the Converj so the production version--if it ever happens--will look "exactly like this," says Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman of global product development.