Toyota's luxury brand, Lexus, will be releasing a high-performance variant to add to its 'IS' range of sedans. The new sports sedan from Lexus, dubbed the IS F, has been designed to compete with the likes of BMW's M3, Mercedes C 63 AMG and Audi's RS4 - all of which have been established in the sports sedan market for some time now.

The long-awaited Mercedes S400 hybrid has finally been officially unveiled, and the results are somewhat surprising. While the S400 BlueHYBRID is still billed as the first series-production car to market with a purpose-built lithium-ion battery, it's not as impressive a hybrid system as may have been anticipated.

Reports that Mercedes-Benz might be considering renaming the CLK to reflect its E-Class design cues have taken firm hold of the automotive world. Now Mercedes has officially confirmed the E-Class coupe will be returning, and as a preview, will be showing the Fascination Concept at next month’s Paris Motor Show.

Mercedes-Benz Australia has announced pricing and specifications for its new A and B-Class cars. Arriving in dealerships later this month, all models have been subject to a small price increase, which Mercedes accounts for with the addition of standard equipment that was previously optional. A new entry-level diesel model, styling updates and driver-assistance features complete the mid-cycle refresh.

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed Australian pricing and specifications for its facelifted M-Class luxury SUV, with both standard features and base prices set to rise. Since its release in April 2005, Mercedes has sold around 300,000 units of the second-generation M-Class, but last year the BMW X5 and the Lexus RX both outnumbered it in sales by significant margins, despite competitive pricing from Mercedes.

A new Audi A8 is in the works but development is still in the early stages and so far only engineering test-mules wearing current-generation sheet metal have been sighted. This artist’s rendering shows a potential new look for the next A8, revealing a streamlined shape with new head and taillights and plenty of dramatic character lines. The chrome-laden front end of the current version will also likely be toned down somewhat for the next-generation, though the essential form of the car will remain more or less the same as most of the upgrades will be happening beneath the surface.

Falling asleep at the wheel claims numerous lives each year, especially in rural and night-time driving. To counteract this deadly problem, Mercedes-Benz has developed the Attention Assist system and plans to roll-out the safety device in its production cars from early next year.

A law suit filed by Mercedes-Benz against battery supplier Cobasys in the United States last week claims the company failed to deliver batteries as required under their contract. The supply holdup could now push back production or even result in the cancellation of the upcoming hybrid ML450 SUV (concept pictured), even though it’s not due to make its global debut until late in 2009.