Steve Davies

I'm a great believer in the power of online video, for telling a story but also in reaching an audience beyond that which the written word can achieve. Consider how moving pictures can transcend the language barrier - even without subtitles, but we've also been observing the levels of engagement on SkiddPlayer of less-obvious viewers, such as women and 50-70 year olds.

Ahead of the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace this weekend (5-6 August) Alfa Romeo ambassadors Kelly Sotherton (400m), Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (100m), Lisa Dobriskey (1500m) and Iwan Thomas MBE (former European and Commonwealth 400m champion) stepped off the track and into the studio alongside an Alfa MiTo Sprint - shedding their clothing somewhere along the way.

Special Editions. Sometimes they're really special, whilst at other times it's just a way of freshening up a familiar model which has been on sale for a few years. Few would question its effectiveness when selling a few extra super-minis or roadsters during the summer months, but there's been a growing tendency during the past 24 months to follow the special edition route with performance cars.

You'd consider it somewhat odd to order a Vindaloo curry at your favourite Indian restaurant and then be asked if you wanted it hot or not, or buy a set of Kitchen Knives with the option of sharp blades, so I'm always slightly suspicious when a sports car maker announces a new 'sport' pack for what should already be a performance-oriented car.

I'm sure I'm not alone in finding Mazda's tech-speak a little challenging to decipher. We've become so used to such all-encompassing phrases such as Efficient Dynamics, Intelligent Performance and ECOnetic that initially Mazda's SKYACTIV has me wondering if the Japanese car maker has invented some form of anti-gravitational device. And how does SKYACTIV fit with ZOOM-ZOOM? Or is that SO last decade?

With MINI's Countryman and new Coupe models gaining most of the attention in 2011, it's clearly time to shine the special edition limelight on those old stagers in the range - the MINI Hatch and MINI Convertible.

The New 2012 Mercedes B-Class will be launched at this year's Frankfurt motor show on 13 September, in the meantime the company has released a few images of the new model's interior, which is likely to become its key selling point when it arrives in European dealerships in November 2011.

After weeks of rumour that the BBC would be dropping its coverage of F1 in a bid to save costs, a seven-year deal was announced this morning which will see both the BBC and Sky providing coverage across their broadcast and digital properties.

“With this new deal not only have we delivered significant savings but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights coverage all the action continues to be available to licence-fee payers,” said the BBC’s Head of Sport, Barbara Slater.