Having a hard time understanding the stream of inexplicable niche products coming out of the German automakers recently? Mercedes isn’t about to make things any easier. According to the latest print edition of Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes has fallen so far down the segment-busting rabbit hole, it’s planning a “Shooting Brake” wagon version of its already-confusing four-door coupe, the CLS. Intended, of course, to compete with the BMW 5GT and Audi A7. Look for a concept inspired by this 2008 ConceptFascination study to debut at this fall’s Paris Auto Show. Then expect Audi and BMW’s designers to drop even more acid and talk their bosses into producing a landaulet-roofed, seven-door, MPV-coupe. You know, just to see if Mercedes makes one too.

The “S” word became one of the more popular words in online discourse this year, typically derailing discussions way off topic and resulting in the kind of partisan screeching that drives everyone bonkers. More often than not, these fruitless debates settle around a single major point of contention: the definition of Socialism. Well, thanks to a 48-picture gallery of auto ownership in the former East Germany at Autobild, we now have a distinctly automotive definition of Socialism. Autobild’s thesis is that automobiles helped destroy Socialism, and certainly being forced to choose between a Trabant, a Moskvitch and a Lada would be enough to turn Che Guevara into Milton Friedman. But the gallery also includes images of the Neo-Trabant, an EV concept that plays on Germany’s strange quasi-nostalgia for the bad old days. Or at least the bad old cars of the bad old days. Which indicates that the most typical response to all forms of politics is ambivalence.

No, it’s not an Infiniti, and yes, it is Chinese. Chery’s M14 is testing in UK, reports China Car Times, where Lotus is reportedly helping tune the engine and suspension settings.

Feast your eyes on these images of the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge being constructed over the Colorado River near Hoover Dam. Sure, it cost taxpayers $160m, but just look at it. America may have lost its way in terms of auto manufacturing, but we’ve never stopped being the greatest country to explore by car. [Hat Tip: Dean Huston]
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The last Chevy big-block, an L18, rolled off the line at Tonawanda, NY last Friday, bringing the era of the big-block V8 to an end. Tonawanda produced over five million big-block V8s since 1958 [via Buffalo News].

This strangely blurry picture of a Lancia Delta rebadged as a Chrysler has shown up at Vince Burlapp’s blog, possibly giving a clue as to the identity of the rumored NAIAS Lancia-as-Chrysler showcar. Er, except that it’s clearly a photoshop of a Wikimedia image shown after the jump. Oops!

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No Saab 9-5 wagons for you! [via Autobild]

Marketing runs Amarok, as VW exhumes German 80s rockers The Scorpions to promote their new South American pickup.

Slavche Tanevsky play his (highly original) inspiration close to the chest in this promotional rendering of his Ankonian concept [via Sub5Zero].

The auto industry is a brutally competitive game. GM’s Bob Lutz may have just discovered that Chrome window surrounds are the key to perceived quality, but Audi has already gone one better, cladding the entire C-pillar of its new A1 with chrome. And if that doesn’t scream “upscale” loud enough, they have a former boy-band member on hand to amplify the message. Anspruchsvoll!

New Aston Martins don’t come around every day. When they do, the entire automotive world holds its breath and watches as a new legend is born. Such a moment has arrived… Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the Aston Martin Lagonda DB1.8 Gosling Vantage (courtesy: Vincent Maltese). Coming soon.

The Aston Martin Cygnet: because the auto industry just isn’t surreal enough these days. For its next trick, the Aston Martin grille will be appearing on a Corolla. Is there a photoshopper in the house?

As a kid, I remember playing a little game to help pass the time on road trips: every time something low, wide and red drove past I’d shout “Ferrari!” and laugh as the other kids in the car got whiplash trying to catch a glimpse of the Corvette, Trans-Am, or 3000GT I’d purposefully misidentified. Perhaps Hofele had that game in mind when it designed this R8-alike-ish bodykit for the A5. Of course, it’s also possible that they just though it looks good. You never know with tuners.

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Toyota is teasing this “dedicated hybrid concept vehicle” set to be fully unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show.

What’s that you say? Chrysler’s planning on spending $170 per projected vehicle sale on advertising next year? That could be as much as $1.4b! Well, we can’t give the Journey a prize for obvious reasons, but they do have a new Ram out this year… Truck Of The Year it is!