This week's motoring news in brief
New Merc SL for launch in 2012
This is the new Mercedes SL spotted undergoing tests almost two years before it will make its first public appearance at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. As with its predecessors, it won’t be the super-light car the name suggests – but that name is a tradition.
Despite the attempts to cloak the car in camouflage, the car’s classic layout is still visible, with the relatively long front and rear overhangs and the retractably metal roof. New to the SL will be the upright front grille, the result of new pedestrian-protection rules in the EU. We expect the final car to have a somewhat more elegant location for the third brake light, though.
The next generation of Mercedes will be built in Stuttgart. (Photo: Automedia)
British groups campaign for slower limits in built-up areas
A 20mph (32km/h) speed limit in built-up areas is a key recommendation of the UK Faculty of Public Health in a manifesto it hopes will play a part in Britain’s upcoming general election.
The Faculty of Public Health and the Royal Society for Public Health, have published 12 practical recommendations they want to see the next government adopt.
The faculty also wants to see a 25 per cent increase in cycle lanes and cycle racks by 2015.
The Faculty of Public Health represents 3,000 public health specialists in the UK and around the world, and aims to improve the public’s health through advocacy and campaign work, education and standard-setting.
The Royal Society for Public Health represents more than 6,000 members from a wide range of occupational groups. – PA
Don’t blame GM for woes, Opel boss tells staff
Opel management called on staff to abandon any false illusions that parent General Motors was the root cause of the ailing European car maker’s problems.
General Motors gave €650 million to its troubled European unit earlier this month, it said on Friday, underlining the problems Opel boss Nick Reilly’s new management team faces.
“I am not of the opinion that we can make GM responsible for all of our problems. That is only a poor excuse to avoid assuming responsibility for the difficult situation – it’s a victim mentality,” Reilly said in a letter to workers after appointing his management team last Friday.
Opel’s problems stem from the lack of a competitive product below the Corsa, and they have been exacerbated by the sharp decline in sales volumes last year, with further drops expected in 2010.
In the letter, Reilly forecast the western European car market would lose 1.5 million sales units this year, implying a total level of about 12.1 million vehicles. – Reuters