Wiesbaden, Germany  - German exports continued their drastic decline in February, with a year-on-year drop of 23.1 per cent, as the global recession continued to take its toll on the German economy, data released Wednesday showed.

Exports reached a total of 64.8 billion euros (85.4 billion dollars), the National Office for Statistics said. Imports also fell by 16.4 per cent, to a total of 56.2 billion euros.

Seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.7 per cent compared to the previous month, while imports dropped by 4.2 per cent.

Russelsheim, Germany - Opel is working on a compressed natural gas (CNG) hybrid drive system in cooperation with car parts supplier Bosch and the University of Stuttgart to combine a turbo engine with an electric motor.

A prototype based on an Astra Caravan and equipped with a start- stop-system achieved a carbon dioxide emission figure of just 90 grammes per kilometre, the car maker said.

Hamburg - Calling all company car users and well-heeled family fathers - the all-new E-class from Mercedes-Benz is as solid and reliable as customers of this marque expect, with a host of clever electronic trickery and greener engines too.

The new limousine also goes a long way towards restoring the model's tarnished reputation for durability after some irksome quality control slip-ups in the past.

Ingolstadt, Germany  - As part of its centenary celebrations, Audi will exhibit a 1935 Audi 225 Front Roadster, which has been reconstructed on an original frame, at this month's Essen Techno Classica show.

Audi hailed the vehicle as one of the "most spectacular cars" during the recently opened exhibition "Horch - an Audi!" at the company museum in Ingolstadt, south-west Germany.

Washington  - The lawyer of Nazi-era war-crimes suspect John Demjanjuk on Tuesday attempted to halt his pending deportation to Germany.

Attorney John Broadley filed an appeal to stop the deportation after the US Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday had cleared the way for Demjanjuk to be taken to Germany as early as Wednesday. The court had earlier stayed the planned deportation, but then reversed course.