A year into driving the Ford Fiesta RS WRC after years spent sitting behind the wheel of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI,

Kia has unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show a new sedan model based on the Rio platform. It will be called K2 and was designed and engineered specifically for the Chinese market. Sales will begin this June, and it will be followed by a five-door hatchback later in August.

Every month as we approach a Trend deadline, Swedish Automobiles NV, better known as Saab (not SANV) seems to have inched ever closer to death, only to find a last-minute hero. The victories tend to be much smaller than the defeats, though.

Daimler plans to recruit more than 10,000 people worldwide in 2011, 4,000 of those jobs in Germany alone. 6,700 skilled workers and approximately 700 graduates will be recruited directly all over the world. The Group is also focusing on gaining talent for the future: As well as taking on approximately 1,900 apprentices, Daimler is also offering positions for 600 trainees in its CAReer trainee program and for more than 200 students at the ‘Duale Hochschule’. Most of those positions will be offered in Germany.

Although most don’t know it, the Chrysler 300 line is actually pretty old.

Like his colleagues in Detroit, GM China Group president and managing director Kevin Wale spent a lot of time last year revising sales forecasts. But unlike the GM execs in Motown, who watched helplessly as American buyers stayed out of showrooms and the U.S. vehicle market imploded, Wale was forced to keep revising his forecasts dramatically upward. "I started 2009 forecasting the Chinese market at 9.5 million units," says Wale, a laconic Aussie who came from GM's Holden operation to run Vauxhall in Britain, before moving to GM's Chinese headquarters in Shanghai five years ago. "I undercalled it by four million units."

GMC will show the Denali XT concept at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show to gauge reaction.

Mercedes-AMG is extending its portfolio: the AMG Driving Academy will now also offer tailor-made racetrack training for its Chinese sports car fans. The kick-off event will be held from 19 to 24 November 2010 on the Shanghai International Circuit. Around 150 AMG customers and enthusiasts have already signed up for the Asia premiere.

Anybody that has a self-professed affinity for supercars will attest that a Lamborghini is right up there in the annals of exotic royalty. With a design language that screams pure unadulterated aggression, Lamborghini’s have always been close to the hearts of exotic lovers from all corners of the world.

The truck business isn’t exactly a glamorous segment for aftermarket companies. Not because there’s a shortage of companies willing to fine-tune a monster of a truck, but more so because the appeal these days can be found in other automotive segments.

On the first day of the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen kicked things off on the right foot with the debut of the two concept vehicles it co-designed with noted design firm, Italdesign Giugiaro: the Tex and the Go! Concepts.

When it comes to designing eco-friendly urban transportation, automakers have tried just about everything. They've drawn up bubble cars, autonomic pods, even semi-robotic unicycles. Ford however, has decided against cribbing from the pages of a sci-fi novel and opted for something far more conventional: a three-door hatchback. Specifically, the Start concept the automaker unveiled at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

Though not direct competitors, they're both truck-based 4x4s with monster motors. Chevrolet will finally offer a hot truck (the Silverado SS isn't it) with its long-anticipated TrailBlazer SS (lead image). GM Performance Division stuffed an LS2 6.0-liter V-8 under the hood and lowered the suspension and then tuned and tested it at the Nurburgring. The 6.0-liter small-block makes 390 horses and 405 pound-feet in the SSR. Chevy estimates a sub-six-second 0-to-60-mph time for the TB SS, which will be offered with rear- or four-wheel drive.

At “Auto Shanghai 2011″, Mercedes-Benz today presented its new star for the growing global premium compact car segment. The “Concept A-CLASS” study, which is one of the highlights of the leading Asian auto show, heralds the imminent arrival of an all-new generation of Mercedes-Benz compact cars.

"Oh my god, is that for real? It's like a grown-up Big Wheel." "It's a Mini monster truck." The Mini Countryman elicits all sorts of responses from bystanders. So far, they're only positive, but at the same time you get the feeling no one takes the pint-sized crossover seriously. Other companies might cringe at the thought of their products being compared to toys, but Mini revels in it. A vehicle like the Countryman was never meant to be just another car; it's all fun all the time.