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In what is quickly becoming a rather alarming trend, we have the third reported crash involving the new BMW 1-Series M Coupe.

After the heavy fender bender in South Korea that we told you about on July 22 and the Polish mishap on July 29, today we bring you a more serious incident that occurred in South Africa, courtesy of 1Addict forum member Dossantr on behalf of his unnamed friend that owns the white 1 M Coupe.

If Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche's dream comes true, Mercedes-Benz is on course to become the world’s leading premium car maker both in sales as well as in profits. As Automotive News reports, Zetsche sent a letter to the firm's employees admitting that chief competitors Audi and BMW are growing faster than Mercedes.

"Some of our competitors are now growing faster and more profitably than we are. Granted, those are just snapshots in time and should not be overestimated. After all, many of our best new products are yet to come" Zetsche wrote in the letter.

When Audi pulled the wraps off the newest iteration of the A6 in November, 2010, the Ingolstadt-based automaker made no word about the availability of the hybrid variant in the North American market. And officially, the Germans are still refusing to confirm the A6 Hybrid.

However, Car&Driver magazine is now reporting that it has received confirmation from "several reliable sources within Audi" that the new A6 Hybrid will be sold in the USA starting from next year with a price "somewhere north of $55,000".

The Chrysler Group is taking its first baby steps in the plug-in hybrid arena with the launch of an evaluation program that will see around 140 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) being supplied to selected cities and states across the USA.

On Tuesday, August 2, Chrysler will deliver 14 Ram 1500 PHEV prototypes to the City of San Francisco as part of a three-year assessment program.

Kia Motors’ global sales increased by 21% during the last quarter - that is from April to June- compared to the same period in 2010. South Korea’s second-largest carmaker sold 621,000 units in that period, largely due to the increase in US sales.

Kia’s progress in the American market was impressive as it recorded a 67% increase in profits and 36% in sales, largely due to the surge in sales of its new Optima sedan and Sportage SUV.

Following the release of the MINI Clubman Soho edition last year, the British automaker decided to name all of its special edition models after London boroughs, districts, streets and landmarks.

As a result, the Soho nameplate has now been applied to the three-door hatchback and soft-top convertible model, both of which will be available in the United Kingdom in Cooper and Cooper D models from now until March 2012.

M&M is not just a well-known candy but also the name of a part of the Mumbai-based Mahindra Group - an Indian conglomerate with a market value of $17.6 billion that has 119,900 employees in more than 100 countries and is involved in almost everything from banking and agribusiness, to aerospace technology and real estate.

M&M, which stands for Mahindra & Mahindra, is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group and has a presence in both the automotive and tractor businesses. Anand Mahindra, son of one of India’s richest families, leads the company.

Mahindra certainly has great ambitions for his company and SsangYong, the bankrupt Korean manufacturer which he bought in November 2010. Automotive News reports that Anand recently stated “We want to be India’s first global cult brand”.