Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today unveiled a new concept car called "EA2" equipped with X-by-Wire technology.

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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will showcase an experimental model of a walking assist device which could support walking for the elderly and other people with weakened leg muscles(*), at the International Trade Fair on Barrier Free Equipments & Rehabilitation for the Elderly & the Disabled (BARRIER FREE 2008) which will be held at Intex Osaka, Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27, 2008.

60 years ago, a motoring icon made its public debut, when the original Land Rover was shown at a motor show in Amsterdam, on April 30, 1948. The current Defender is clearly descended from that first vehicle, known as a Series 1. Extraordinarily, they even share a couple of original parts, an oil filler plug and a cleat for tying down the canvas roof. But the rest of the vehicle technology has moved on considerably.

Although the all new GLK small SUV isn’t scheduled to hit dealers until October 2008 (January 2009 for the U.S.), the opportunity for a vehicle to be showcased in a scene of the summer’s hottest film, Sex and the City, was too good to pass up. It was however, quite challenging to secure an early release from the prototype vault at the Stuttgart factory.

Audi is expanding the TT line with a new entry-level engine: the 1.8 TFSI. This highly efficient four-cylinder engine with turbocharger and direct injection, with 118 kW (160 hp) and 250 Nm (184.39 lb-ft) torque, lends the TT Coupé and TT Roadster sporty performance. A second innovation rounds out the program: The 2.0 TFSI now is also available with quattro all-wheel drive.

Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it will receive the Outstanding Technical Paper Award at the 58th annual Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan awards ceremony in May. Mazda will be honoured for its analysis of the combustion mechanism of catalysts in diesel particulate filters.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced that Tom Purves will join the company as its Chief Executive Officer. He will take up his new position in July, following the recent appointment of Ian Robertson to the BMW AG Board of Management. Robertson will remain Chairman of Rolls-Royce.

With the delivery of the 500,000th vehicle since its market launch in 1996, Mercedes-Benz has now reached another milestone with the successful SLK compact roadster. All in all, about 310,000 customers opted for a model from the first generation of this dynamic two-seater, and its successor has now sold 190,000 units since its market launch in March 2004.

GM announced today that it is eliminating one shift of production at its full-size pickup truck assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich.; Flint, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario; and its full-size SUV assembly plant in Janesville, Wis. The decisions were made to bring production capacity more in line with market demand.