Mercedes-Benz head office staff in Milton Keynes have been hoarding food to help local people who are in need.

A festive red Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport X van has been collecting the contributions for local charity The Food Bank, which supports local people who are living in conditions close to poverty through no fault of their own.

The Charity Champion team and representatives from the Commercial Vehicle division – Jayne Jones, Ian Knight, Mandy Freeman and Carol Gosling – handed the food collection to the Food Bank project manager, Sue Wall, on December 23rd.

Steve Bridge, marketing director of vans at Mercedes, said: "Our colleagues wanted to do something to help local people – and the Food Bank was a way where we could give something back and deliver Christmas cheer to families in and around Milton Keynes."

Mercedes recently celebrated 75 years of its racers, who first took to the racing tracks in 1934.

Volvo will team up with Snowbombing to offer "the biggest show on snow" next year.

The winter show will take place at the winter sports resort of Mayrhofen in Austria from 5th to 10th April 2010.

It offers a week of music and snowsports both on and off-piste at the resort.

Volvo will display some of its coolest winter models such as its new C30 SportsCoupe and C70 coupe/convertible.

It will also showcase the XC60 crossover which performs perfectly on snow and off-road with its sports-inspired R-DESIGN style.

Live musicians will include Fatboy Slim, Editors, Doves, The Enemy and Friendly Fires – playing in venues such as huge igloos and alpine forests, and all in the scenic mountain setting of the Austrian alps.

Earlier this week Volvo announced that it will offer 25-point winter car checks at participating dealers to help keep more cars running this winter.

For three months from the new year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will offer a new Personal Contract Plan (PCP) for three of its campervans.

The offer will be available for the seven-seat Caddy Maxi Life, the new Caravelle and the new California campervan.

It costs £199 a month with 6.9 per cent typical APR for the Caddy Maxi Life; £349 a month with 5.9 per cent typical APR for the Caravelle; and £399 a month with 4.9 per cent typical APR for the California caravan.

These examples are a vehicle covering 10,000 miles a year and for 36-month payments.

Simon Elliott, director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: "Everybody dreams of escaping in a Volkswagen campervan, and the new features for the California, and the Caravelle, make them irresistible, more luxurious and cheaper to run."

Volkswagen recently announced that it plans to build on this year’s success and defend its Dakar Rally title in 2010.

Volkswagen motorsport will hope to build on its success earlier this year in South America.

The team claimed the first diesel-powered victory in the first Dakar Rally held outside of Africa.

Five factory-prepared Race Touaregs, driven by some of the biggest cross-country rally names, will line up on the start line of the 9,000 km course in Dakar on January 2nd.

The driver line-ups include 2009 winners Giniel de Villers and Dirk von Zitzewitz, Dakar Rally veterans Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk and the new additions Mauricio Neves and Clecio Maestrelli.

Volkswagen’s progress can be followed on the Volkswagen Motorspot media site which will include daily stage results, press releases, interviews and high resolution photos.

The Dakar Rally app will allow iPhone users to access updates in real time.

Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport director, recently said that the brand has always been a market leader for motorsport innovations after it released the Dakar Rally app.

The Aston Martin One-77 is threatening the all-time record for the British marquee after easily breaking 200 mph in initial high-speed testing.

Tests were conducted at a top secret location in south Europe as part of the supercar’s strict development process ahead of its 2010 release.

In a series of runs it reached a top speed of 220.007 mph in dry, wintry conditions – smashing the manufacturer’s original expectations. Further testing is scheduled for the new year.

The model gets its name from the fact that only 77 individually numbered cars will be made and it is expected that deliveries will commence in mid-2010.

Aston Martin says that the One-77 represents everything that the company stands for and combines modern technology and design with craftsmanship and exclusivity.

A 1950 Aston Martin DB2 recently sold at auction for £550,000 – the highest price ever paid for any car of its kind at auction.

Three 200mph supercars will be on display at the Autosport International racing car show in Birmingham next month.

The Noble M600, Lamborghini Murcielago LP670 SV and Lexus LF-A will be featured on the Autocar stand at the show which runs from January 14th to January 17th 2010.

It will mark the first European appearance for the Lexus and Noble and the Lamborghini LP670-4 Super Veloce – the most special and expensive version of the Murcielago model – will also be on show at the stand.

Autocar editor Chas Hallett said: "We are absolutely delighted with the cars we have put together for the Autocar stand at the ASI show in January. The line-up is a dream for car enthusiasts, and will be absolutely unmissable for show-goers."

British manufacturer Keating’s 260.1mph TKR supercar was on display at the MPH Show last month. The appearance followed its successful attempt at the production car land speed record in California.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its aim to recruit 100 graduates in 2010.

The manufacturer plans to invest in graduate engineering, manufacturing, finance, human resources, marketing, IT and purchasing.

Closing date for applications for the scheme – which last year recruited 70 graduates and undergraduates – is December 31st 2009.

Jaguar Land Rover is also offering a placement scheme for undergraduate engineering students.

Des Thurlby, Jaguar Land Rover HR director, said: "Jaguar Land Rover is looking to recruit passionate graduates to join the business and help to develop our next generation of world-class products."

"We also need graduates in our business and commercial functions as we respond quickly to consumer desires and wants," he added.

Chairman of the Association of Graduate Recruiters Carl Gilleard welcomed the news and was encouraged that the company was continuing to invest in its future through graduates.

The unemployment rate for 18 to 24 year olds reached 18.4 per cent in November – the highest figure since records began.

Ford’s Focus model has won the coveted Used Car of the Decade award at the CAP awards.

The independent car pricing experts recognized the Ford Focus to be the best used car range from the year 2000.

Mark Norman, chairman of the CAP judging panel, praised the engineering as well as both the durability and reliability of the popular model.

He said: "As a used car the Ford Focus has satisfied every criteria for the demanding consumer requiring a true five-seat family car."

The Ford Focus RS was recently voted car of the year by Nuts magazine.

Writing for the Times, Jeremy Clarkson gave it three stars out of five and compared it to its rival – the Volkswagen Gold GTI, saying: "The Volkswagen is a game of chess. The Focus is a game of strip poker."

There are currently 1.3 million Ford Focus cars on the UK’s roads.

Skoda has announced that prices for its latest estate model will start at £17,715.

The Superb Estate S – complete with 1.4 TSI 125bhp engine will be available to buy from February 26th 2010.

It will be available in three levels: the S, SE and Elegance.

The estate is to have a £1,050 premium over the hatch for the S trim model and £1,200 for SE and Elegance.

New features for the estate over its hatch sister models include roof rails, a removable LED torch, and load-bay lights built into the tailgate.

It will also have an electrically-operated boot with an automatically retractable parcel shelf as well as an electronic panoramic sunroof KESSY keyless entry and start system and a movable boot floor that can be pulled out the cover the rear bumper.

The Skoda Yeti was recently named the 2010 Czech Motoring Journalists Club Car of the Year at an awards ceremony in Prague.

Volkswagen’s Passat has been named as Large Used Car of the Decade at the CAP awards.

The fifth-generation Passat was revealed to the public in 1996 at that year’s Paris Motor Show and the model has since received a number of accolades including the prestigious European Car of the Year at the 1997 Auto 1 awards.

CAP Black Book’s Mark Bulmer, commenting on the award, said: "The Volkswagen Passat is a byword for quality, and the model launched in 1996 was a quantum leap forward in every area most important to the trade and the used car buyer."

John French, national used car manager for Volkswagen UK, also commented on the award, saying that the brand’s image and residual values were to thank for its high demand.

The model has been available for 36 years and is now in its sixth generation.

Earlier this month, the Volkswagen Polo was named the best car of 2010 by the Car of the Year jury.