Duelmen, Germany - The niche German sports car maker Wiesmann is marking its 20th birthday by launching a special edition of its three model segments.

Based in the western German town of Duelmen, the firm was established in 1988 with the aim of building puristic sports cars in a classic design.

The 20th Anniversary Editions include the MF3 two-seater roadster, the MF4 closed-top Grand Tourer and the M5-powered MF5.

Los Angeles - BMW is launching a fleet of 500 electric-powered MINI cars for private and business customers in the United States with a prototype to be unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show this month.

The zero-emission MINI E, powered by a 150 kW/205 hp electric engine that gets its energy from a lithium-ion battery pack, would be leased to customers in California, New York and New Jersey inn 2009, the car maker said.

Ulm, Germany - Daimler has launched a new urban car pool system in the German city of Ulm allowing motorists access to a fleet of 50 Smart minicars any time and any where within the city limits.

The "car2go" system will be available to all persons with a driver's license. After a one-off registration process, the customer's driving license is given an electronic chip to unlock the car.

Once the trip has been completed, the driver simply parks the rental Smart within the city limits. Charges are based on time for an amount of 0.19 euro cents (0.23 dollars) per minute including fuel, taxation and insurance costs.

Tokyo - The Toyota lux

Stuttgart - Mercedes is introducing a new diesel engine generation this autumn starting with a four cylinder in the C 250 CDI that offers higher performance and lower fuel consumption, the car maker has announced.

The BlueEfficiency Prime Edition has an output of 150 kW/204 hp, accelerating from zero to 100 km/h in seven seconds on the way to a top speed of 250 km/h. At the same time, Mercedes lists an average fuel consumption of only 5.2 litres per 100 km with a carbon dioxide emission figure of 138 grams per kilometre.

Kiev - Ukraine is a paradise for motorists addicted to chatting on mobile phones and driving at the same time, and the former Soviet republic's police face an uphill battle breaking the habit.

At a busy Kiev central city intersection on a sunny autumn afternoon, phone conversations audible through open windows displayed nothing less than epidemic violation of already-existing regulations banning phone calls behind the wheel. One in 10 drivers was on his or her mobile at any given moment, a Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa reporter estimated over a half hour of observation.