Currently reading: Quick news: Mercedes CLS facelift, World COTY finalists

Mercedes CLS and B-class facelifts confirmed; smoking ban extended; new Volvo concept; BMW i3 up for World Car of the Year

Mercedes has confirmed facelifted versions of the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Mercedes-Benz B-Class will arrive this autumn, with the new B-class getting its motor show debut at Paris in October. Officials have also confirmed the new Smart Forfour will go on sale in July, with deliveries starting before the end of the year.

Volvo will show a new concept car at the Geneva motor show next month. The concept, the third in a series from design boss Thomas Ingenlath, is expected to take the form of an estate. The previous two cars in the series, the Concept Coupé and the Concept XC Coupé, gave thinly veiled looks at new production cars including the Volvo XC90.

The BMW i3 is among the finalists for the World Car of the Year award. The overall winner will be announced at the New York motor show in April. Other finalists include the Audi A3, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti Q50, Mazda 3 and Peugeot 308.

Smoking in cars with children will be banned, but won’t become law for some time. MPs have voted to outlaw smoking in a car when children are present, but officials say they now need to work out how to enforce the legislation.

A new Polestar V8 engine with 641bhp will power Volvo’s pair of Volvo S60-based racers in the Australian V8 Supercars series. The engine features an aluminium block and will make its race debut in March. 

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Motormouths 11 February 2014

Darren Moss wrote: The BMW

Darren Moss wrote:

The BMW i3 is among the finalists for the World Car of the Year award. The overall winner will be announced at the New York motor show in April. Other finalists include the Audi A3, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti Q50, Mazda 3 and Peugeot 308.

I sense bias towards the hideous i3. The rest of the cars are described as "other finalists", and the i3 is the only one you've given us an image of.

fadyady 11 February 2014

A3 hatchback or saloon?

Isn't the A3 getting on a bit to make the WCOTY list? It's nearly two years old by my count - unless of course Darren means the saloon based on the A3? Not a bad car to make the list if that be the case - although Audi's generic styling is a bit of a turn-off.