2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG

Sometimes, luxury isn’t about having more – it’s about having less, albeit artfully architected. Just ask BMW, which lops off a heaping helping of headroom and cargo space to turn its well-conceived X5 into the costlier, less utile X6. Admittedly, the X6 isn’t particularly artful, but its rival, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport is. Both vehicles are more indulgent – and more costly – despite offering reduced lebensraum and less exotic mechanicals.

Perhaps the originator and best practitioner of this less-is-more movement is Mercedes-Benz, whose designers adroitly took the last-generation E-Class, lopped off gobs of headroom and trunk space, added some CLS badges, and then proceeded to give the four-seater a much larger price tag. Given that luxury and practicality are nearly polar opposites, perhaps this trend shouldn’t be that surprising. The ability to fritter away utility in favor of fashion is arguably the ultimate statement of luxury (“We could be rational, but why be so sensible, dahling?”).

Of course, we needn’t be so cynical – especially when the end result from Mercedes is so striking. The 2006 CLS wasn’t simply a Stuttgart cut-and-shut job – any fool with a pair of working eyes could see that Benz had developed a voluptuous creature that looked downright otherworldly compared to the stodgy E-Class that sired it. Mercedes would go so far as to market the original CLS as a ‘four-door coupe,’ and while pedants broke out in hives upon hearing the term, the reality was that Benz had created something far sexier than an ordinary sedan. The CLS’ sleekly beveled form wasn’t for everyone, but it sparked a rash of imitators in nearly every segment of the industry, from fellow luxury players to workaday sedans. Clearly, Mercedes had no small job when it came to reinventing its style icon.

And this being our first drive of the new-for-2012 CLS family, what better way to start than with the Big DaddyCLS63 AMG range topper?

Mitsubishi to kill Eclipse, Endeavor and Galant

It turns out the rumors we heard about the languishing Mitsubishi lineup are true. According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi is planning to drop the axe on the entirety of its American-made portfolio of vehicles in order to begin building new global platforms here in the States. That means that the Eclipse, Endeavor and Galantwill all be sent to pasture gradually between now and 2014. In their place, Mitsubishi is likely to begin building cars and crossovers off of the Lancer and Outlander bones at the company’s Normal, Illinois manufacturing facility. At least some of those vehicles will be hybrid or battery powered.

Mitsubishi has made it clear that the company will offer eight hybrid and battery-powered vehicles by 2015 in a move to be better prepared for rising fuel prices. The company saw a sales increase of around three percent last year, and by 2013 or 2014, the automaker says that it plans to see that figure at 37 percent. That would mean Mitsubishi would need to move a total of 1.37 million vehicles by that date.

Volvo boosting XC60 production, ponders bringing China-built cars to U.S.

New Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby has stated publicly that the Swedish automaker plans to double global sales to 800,000 units per year by 2020. That’s a significant increase by any measure, and the company’s popularXC60 crossover appears to be a big part of those plans. Automobile reports that the Geely-owned automaker plans to increase production of the popular crossover to 100,000 units globally, with quite a few of those extra units reserved for the rebounding U.S. market. Volvo is reportedly optimistic that it can increase XC60 sales by eight percent over 2010 levels.

We guessing Volvo can increase production at its existing plants to nudge XC60 sales beyond the six-figure mark, but to hit 800,000 total units per year, a new plant is likely needed. It just so happens Volvo is planning a new factory in China, and Automobile cites a report by The Wall Street Journal that suggests the idea is being kicked around to build vehicles in the emerging market and ship a portion of them them to our shores.

The plan makes abundant sense from a cost standpoint, but the move would have to be approved by the Chinese government. It should help that Volvo is owned by a Chinese automaker, and we’re thinking it’s only a matter of time before “Made in China” will include cars and trucks ’round these parts before too long.

Ferrari’s fantastic four-wheel-drive FF flagship four-seat fastback

Beautiful. Fast. Expensive. There are any of a number of adjectives you could use to describe a Ferrari. Radical is one of them, too. But versatile? Hold on to your hats, because the FF is like no other Ferrari we’ve seen before.

The long-anticipated successor to the 612 Scaglietti takes the stage as Ferrari’s flagship grand tourer. It carries four seats like its predecessor, but elongates the roofline for a shooting brake/hatchback body-style that offers plenty of cabin space and – with those rear seats folded down – as much cargo capacity as a small wagon.

It may be the first shooting brake to roll out of Maranello since the legendary 250 Breadvan, but that’s not even the extent of the firsts pioneered in the new Ferrari Four. It also carries the company’s long-in-the-making part-time all-wheel drive system: the innovation is called 4RM, and while technical details haven’t been revealed, it is said to be only half as heavy as a conventional system, helping the front-engined shooting brake keep a 47:53 rearward weight bias. Coupled with a sub-4,000 pound curb weight (some 110 pounds less than the 612), the HELE stop-start system previewed in the California concept from the Paris show also helps keep emissions and fuel consumption down.

Of course nobody buys a Ferrari for its environmental credentials, so here’s the info you’ve been waiting for: 0-62 in 3.7 seconds (a third quicker than the 612) and a top speed of 208 mph (about nine mph faster than the 612). Credit that bit to the all-new, direct-injection, 6.3-liter V12 and its 651 horsepower and 504 lb-ft of torque, which you can read about – together with the other technical details – in the press release after the jump. Ferrari’s also launched a dedicated microsite for the new flagship, and don’t forget, of course, to check out the first batch of high-resolution images of the svelte new shooting brake in the gallery below.

Scion iQ delayed until Summer

Word on The Internets is that the Scion iQ won’t be hitting our shores anytime soon. The pint-sized hatch was originally supposed to arrive here in the United States by March of this year, but GreenCarReports.com has indicated that the city car may not arrive until sometime this summer. The move is thought to be as much about production delays as marketing. Scion has said that it wanted to give the 2011 tC enough time to have the company’s stage all to itself without having the limelight stolen away by its newest sibling.

At the same time, the company said that the first prototypes from Japan were a few months late in arriving and that the delay pushed back the production schedule. Whatever the hold up, buyers clamoring for a competitor to the Smart ForTwo will have to wait a few more months for the pleasure of grabbing the keys to a Scion iQ. As of this writing, there’s no telling whether the car will show up as a 2011 model as first thought or whether it will be labeled a 2012 when it finally shows up.

Could Suzuki Kizashi get VW power?

When Volkswagen announced it was teaming up with Suzuki for some joint projects, initial talk centered around small cars for emerging markets and possibly even a spate of two-wheeled ventures. Now, the rumormill is buzzing with speculation that the Japanese automaker might be interested in securing some of Volkswagen’s well-regarded powerplants for its midsize Kizashi sedan.

Prior to its tie-up with VW, Suzuki had enjoyed a partnership with General Motors that had the Japanese automaker using The General’s engines and transmissions. Those contracts died off after the VW deal, and, according to Ward’s, it now appears that any future engines for the Kizashi beyond the 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder (185 horsepower and 170 lb-feet of torque) will be sourced from Volkswagen.

Currently, there’s no indication what powertrains Suzuki is interested in procuring from Volkswagen, but we’d have to guess that a V6 or possibly even a hybrid would be on the menu, if possible.

Aston Martin prices Cygnet, announces two launch colors

If you’ve been wondering exactly how much Aston Martin plans on charging for the pleasure of owning its newToyota iQ Cygnet, wonder no more. The company has officially released pricing details on its first sub-compact. For the lowly price of just £30,995, you can slide behind the leather-wrapped wheel and avoid the hassle of having to shell out for those pesky congestion charges in downtown London.

Seems perfectly justifiable to us.

Aston Martin is offering two special-edition version of the Cygnet to commemorate the car’s launch. The first, fittingly called the Cygnet Launch Edition White, is slathered in Snow White paint. If this is Aston Martin’s interpretation of the fairest of them all, we’d hate to see the seven dwarves. The exterior also gets plenty of chrome bright work and custom wheels, while the interior gets pearl-white leather and satin chrome accents.

If that’s just not naughty enough for you, Aston Martin is also offering up the Cygnet Launch Edition Black. The evil twin is dipped in Magic Black paint that hides shades of green. Matte-black louvers and chrome accents dominate the rest of the exterior, while the cabin is treated to diamond-pattern black leather. Hit the jump for the full press blast.