General Motors is trying to sell its medium-duty truck operations first to Navistar and then Isuzu. But neither of these two has taken up the offer to buy.

Isuzu president Susumu Hosoi has stated that "There will be no such acquisition happening" from his company either, suggesting that the market for heavy-duty trucks has not yet hit the bottom.

There has been a long-standing partnership between the two companies. They have jointly built and developed the Durmax engines that are in GM most powerful full-size trucks.

The ADR Motorsport EVO X which competed in a 24-hour circuit endurance race at the Silverstone track in the UK was a great success by the team. The ADR Motorsport EVO X covered 1,651 miles over 517 laps - placing them fifth in class and 24th overall. According to reports, the car was easy to drive and very well built.

The car was driven by James Kaye, Andy Barnes, Mark Lemmer and Jay Wheals. Team principal for GM, Raliart Paul Brigden, said the car was built in a short space of time, and that it performed well straight out of the box without any testing for a 24-hour race.

So, will the likes of David 'Flowmaster' Summerbell and Douglas 'Hollywood' Gore be running to get their EVOs ADR modified?

BMW has expanded the range of its X models with the release of the X1 concept. It's the world's first sports activity vehicle in the premium compact segment.

The X1 CUV will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show. It is 175.5 inches in length and is 4.3 inches shorter than the X3. The X1 will ride on 19-inch alloy 10-spoke wheels.

I wonder if a certain triple Olympic gold medallist would want one from his Puma sponsor for his next birthday?

Mercedes has done it again by tweaking its largest and most luxurious model, the S class, by placing a 3.0-litre diesel engine with their 7-speed automatic transmission, and a power steering pump that works when needed. With those subtle changes the fuel mileage has increased to 31 mpg, which is good for a large car like that. Can you imagine if a hybrid motor was attached to this engine?

Suzuki is planning on selling 18,000 new Wagon R every month on the Japanese market. The new Wagon R will be powered by either a normally aspirated or turbocharged 600cc engine mated to 4 or 5 speed CVT automatic transmission.

The 64hp turbocharged Stingray wagon R will get the CVT paddle shifter. Will we see any of these in the showroom of Stewart's Auto?

So, is the future here? Well, the concept 2025 Mitsubishi Rally Racer will be on display at the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, and might just have the ultimate bragging rights.

The concept was designed by Jon Hull, who is the senior designer for Mitsubishi Motors research and development. The concept is called the MMR25 and is an all-electric 8x4 wheel drive rally car of the future.

The powertrain is made up of four lightweight high efficiency in-wheel electric motors. The powerful recyclable batteries can run up to 1,000 miles on a single charge.

The MMR25 has an Omni directional wheel design, which makes it the first and only 8x4 wheel drive vehicle. The vehicle can be actually driven sideways or at any angle, no need for drifting. So it will be a long time before this car reaches our shores, and if the car reaches the hands of Doug Gore, the New Kingston leg of Rally Jamaica will never be the same again.

Audi has currently tested its A4 TDI Concept E, which returned a whopping 58.95 mpg. The car is powered by Audi 2.0-litre engine that produces 120 hp. Audi has done a few things to have achieved the 58 mpg by brake power recuperation system that recovers power when braking and coasting to a stop and stores it in a battery temporarily.

There is a start-stop system that stops the engine running when the car stops and using low rolling resistance tyres.

The auto industry is trying its best to make cars more fuel-efficient. So what else can be done to improve fuel economy, and what will be the next major breakthrough?