The designers at Mercedes-Benz got a chance to show their creative clout - while also drumming up some hype for Benz's next generation compact-class car. The "Aesthetics A" sculpture, picutred below, details the shape and some of the styling of the next A-Class. The designers say it adhears to the brand's philosophy of "Sensual Purity", and a shift to more curves. A quote from Mercedes: "Creases have had their day."

German rival Audi, meanwhile, focused on the present, and showed off the very real 2017 R8 V10 Spyder. The roof opens and closes in 20 seconds, and can be operated at up to 31 mph. The car is a little quicker than that, with a 540-HP V10, a 0-60 time of 3.5 sec, and a top speed of 198 mph. That's an increase over the previous R8 Spyder. 

Ford is giving some love to past vehicles, announcing that 2010-2016 Ford and Lincoln vehicles not equipped with a modem can now gain access to their SmartLink suite of technoloies through a plug-in device. Working through the OBD-II port, Ford SmartLink will allow these older vehicles to use features like remote lock/unlock and startup, location assistance, vehicle diagnostics, and 4G LTE hotspot capabilities. Customers can get them at dealerships starting this summer.