Mercedes-Benz C300 2013 News

The show stealer of Frankfurt 2013 is also its biggest decoy. Jaguar's gibber inducing C-X17 SUV concept is essentially window dressing for a far more dramatic announcement by Jaguar's global brand manager Adrian Hallmark.“We will have a rival for the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans in 2015,” he tells Carsguide. “It will be built in the UK at a new factory on new lightweight architecture. It's a world first aluminium monocoque.“Jaguar would like to change the vocabulary of prestige motoring from the ‘German Three’ to the European Four. We don't want to pick on anybody or nick their lunch. We want to attract people by the intelligence of our offer."Hallmark says the new sedan will run purpose built engines that will, in their various forms,  use less than four litres of fuel per 100km or reach 300km/h. Asked if coupes, cabrio and wagons would follow - in keeping with the Germans - Hallmark simply says the news sedan is the “start”.How will this model, the first ever purely Jaguar compact sedan, be known? “Well, possibly X-something, but not with the word 'Type',” he laughs referring to the ill-regarded rebodied Mondeo from the brand's Ford-owned years.Hallmark says the compact sedan could be expected to sell by itself a volume greater than the annual total of Jaguar's combined ranges. So what's with the C-X17 then? Hallmark refuses to confirm its production, although the new lightweight architecture would clearly fit this car, if not bigger, heavier Jaguars.“We,” he says, as in Jaguar/LandRover combined, “already have six SUVs. We haven't built this for fun. The reason for throwing this out there is that it adds colour, literally, to the saloon architecture story. And we want to test the idea of Jaguar SUV on people. We want to test the design, test the reaction to a shift in direction. We'd love to build it, but I won't confirm it.” 

Stand-by for a short-term price war as car dealers panic sell to clear orders cancelled due to the Rudd Government’s controversial changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules.“Thousands of cars here or on their way here have had their orders cancelled or postponed because of the sudden changes to FBT," said Richard Dudley, the CEO of the Australian Automobile Dealers Association.“There will be an initial glut of new cars but what happens depends on the outcome of the election. The government is not prepared to move on its FBT decision whereas the opposition says they will abolish the changes."As Ford Australia confirmed it is considering cutting production of the Falcon sedan and Territory SUV, its arch rival Holden issued an urgent bulletin to dealers offering new discounts across most of its model range.“Due to the uncertainty created by the recent announcement on FBT … Holden is offering an additional bonus over and above the current retail incentives”, the confidential bulletin obtained by News Corp said.All new Holdens except the Commodore have an extra $1000 slashed from their prices while the Colorado 4WD has an extra $2000 discount. It means the cheapest car in the Holden range, the Barina Spark, can be bought for $12,990 drive-away.Toyota is understood to be preparing to clear up to 1000 Camrys over the next two months because it is unable to cut production at short notice. The last time Toyota had to quit Camrys, prices dipped to $27,990 drive-away, about $5000 off RRP.Ford, which will end production in Australia in 2016, has foreshadowed further cutbacks. “We can confirm we are looking at what mean for our August production,” said Ford spokeswoman Sinead Phipps.Ford Australia has also put an immediate halt on its employee company-car program. “We’re not calling cars back, but we’re not issuing any new ones at this stage.”Manufacturers have stopped most company-car deliveries to their own staff because the new rules will increase their FBT bills by more than $50 million -- an estimated $20 million each for Toyota and Holden and about $15 million for Ford which has a smaller fleet.The car industry is yet to accurately measure the impact of the FBT changes on new-car sales because the data is compiled on the last day of the month.“It is too early to determine the impact of the FBT on sales after just 10 days, but we will likely see a slowdown in the next two months,” said Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber Automotive Industries. “Long term, if the FBT changes are not reversed, we expect to see a reduction in new-car sales of at least 10 per cent.”Industry estimates say a 10 per cent drop in new-car sales would wipe $1.3 billion in GST revenue a year. When the Rudd Government announced the changes to company car tax rules it forecast a contribution of $1.8 billion towards the axing of the carbon tax.State governments would also miss out on an estimated $100 million in stamp duty revenue from new-car sales and about $50 million in registration fees each year.Luxury car buyers will also be able to grab a bargain. BMW took out advertisements in daily press during the week advising customers against novated leasing because under the new circumstances “a novated lease may no longer be the most suitable way” to buy a new car.Mercedes-Benz is understood to have a surplus of about 400 of its most affordable sedan, the C-Class, which is Australia’s second-biggest selling medium-sized car after the Toyota Camry.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

It's still wrapped in camouflage, and based on the current C-Class body, but packs the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 already fitted to a range of AMG models including the SL63.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

The idea is good, and the green power pluses are mostly fine, but no-one wants to pay to play this way.Global sales of plug-in cars are currently little more than a trickle, even if Tesla of America is currently trumpeting a showroom success - thanks to massive government subsidies across the Pacific - that means its Model S outsold the about-to-be-replaced Benz C-Class last month in the USA.Here in Australia, Nissan has slashed the price of its plug-in Leaf by $7000 and has an $85-a-week repayment plan to try and entice buyers.But the numbers are not good and even Carlos Ghosn, global boss of the Nissan-Renault alliance that leads the mainstream conversion to battery power, says it's going to take time - and large-scale conversion work in China - to turn electric power into anything beyond an oddity.We're expecting the Renault Zoe in 2014 and it drives well and looks good, but Renault Australia has effectively cancelled its plan for a Fluence electric car because Better Place - the start-up energy company that's in all sorts of trouble - cannot deliver on its plans for battery-swap stations across Australia.But there is something new that could also help and it plugs into one of the oldest maxims in the car business - Racing improves the Breed.This tagline is mostly applied to V8-powered racers that have fuelled our appetite for V8 muscle cars, but it applies just as well - or better - to a new category called Formula E. Think of it as F1 with batteries.The plug-in racers are set to run in 2014 in a new world championship that's also intended to take the whisper-quiet contenders into the hearts of some of the world's biggest and best-known cities, including Rome, Rio, London and even Bangkok. The organisers are planning for 20 cars in 10 teams.Not surprisingly, Renault is an early adopter for Formula E and will supply cars and power packs, while TAG-Heuer wants to time the action and get a nice green rub-off for its watch business.“We believe that motorsport is an efficient manner to promote the efficiency of new technologies, and we’re eager to use that single-seater in FIA Formula E championship to show our technology is the best,” says Patric Ratti, managing director of Renault Sport Technologies.But the key to Formula E is huge support from Paris, and the global headquarters of the FIA. The French organisation is responsible for overall governance of world motorsport but is taking a growing role in road safety and the future of the automobile, including its electrification.It believes Formula E can be a powerful tool to drive electric power forward, as well as showcasing the advantages of plug-in power and the performance potential of battery cars.The conversion plan looks shakier in Australia, because we rely on dirty coal combustion for almost all our power, but it still has plenty going for it.A bunch of high-tech single seaters will highlight the latest developments in electric power and, provided no-one runs out of zap, it's a formula for potential success that could revive another of those hoary old slogans from the past.You know it - Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover