BMW AG’s Mini unit will take the wraps off its Beachcomber concept model at next month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The vehicle previews next year’s all-wheel-drive Mini Countryman and could lead to an even more rugged derivative.

Inspired by the 1960s-era Mini Moke, the Beachcomber teams a utilitarian design with improved functionality. As with its forebearer, the new concept eschews a conventional roof and doors in favor of snap-on plastic inserts. The Beachcomber gets reinforced A-pillars and a D-pillar bar with an integrated lateral support element at the rear of the car. The latter is made of high-strength steel.

The Beachcomber’s underpinnings, size and drivetrain are shared with the Countryman, which itself sits on a modified version of the Clubman platform that has been stretched and widened. The Countryman will be the longest Mini to date, measuring 157 inches from front to rear bumper.

Other features of the Beachcomber/Countryman include run-flat tires, 17-inch wheels and a long-travel suspension system with increased spring height to provide greater clearance. A center rail integrates armrests, music players, storage boxes and other devices. The instrument panel has fewer air vents so that additional loudspeakers and special off-road instruments can be accommodated. The plastic surfaces in the cabin use a special grain designed to look like dry earth.

Production of the Countryman will be outsourced to Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. The vehicle will be launched in Europe next fall and come to the U.S. in 2011. Media reports say its debut could be followed a year later by a production version of the Beachcomber.

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. account for four of the six finalists in the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

The three car finalists this year are the Buick LaCrosse, Ford Fusion Hybrid and Volkswagen Golf/GTI. Those vying for the truck trophy are the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect and Subaru Outback. The finalists were announced on Tuesday at an Automotive Press Assn. lunch in Detroit.

Winners will be announced next month just ahead of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Last year’s car and truck winners were the Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150, respectively.

Volkswagen AG and Suzuki Motor Corp. plan to hold joint meetings next month to kick off their pending partnership. Last week the companies announced a deal, due to be completed in January, that will give VW a 19.9% stake in the Japanese automaker and Suzuki a 2.5% share of the German company.

Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki tells Reuters the companies have agreed to develop a new small car. But R.C. Bhargava, chairman of the Japanese automaker’s Maruti Suzuki venture in India, backed off earlier comments indicating that the partnership would start with a VW variant of the all-new Suzuki Alto developed in India. He now says that scenario is only one of the possibilities being discussed and adds that nothing has been finalized.

Suzuki has sold 10 million Altos since the nameplate was launched 30 years ago. It was one of the first major programs initiated under Osamu Suzuki’s control. The seventh-generation hatchback is sold in various markets around the world as the Suzuki/Maruti Alto, Suzuki Celerio and Nissan Pixo. It rides on a 93-inch wheelbase and is powered by a 1.0-liter engine.

Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit is readying a new range of downsized gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) engines, Edmunds.com reports. Thomas Weber, who heads Mercedes-Benz’s product development efforts, tells the online data service that the modular “MoVe” family will include V-6 and V-8 offerings, the first of which is expected to debut late next year.

Weber says all V-8-powered Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks will switch to direct-injection engines for the 2011-model year. In high-performance AMG models, the current 6.2-liter V-8 will be replaced with a turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8 GDI. The new twin-turbo’s output will be about the same as the 563 hp generated by 6.2-liter mill but the smaller powerplant will be more fuel efficient, Weber says. Rival BMW AG is taking a similar tack with its “M” lineup of turbocharged engines.

Other current Mercedes vehicles equipped with a V-8 will switch to either a smaller twin-turbo V-8, a twin-turbo V-6 or a normally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6, Edmunds says. Most of the new GDI units will be designed to integrate with hybrid drivetrains.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. is working with Toyota Motor Corp., its largest shareholder, on a new range of hybrid and electric vehicles, President Ikuo Mori tells The Nikkei.

FHI currently sells an all-electric variant of the Subaru Stella minicar to businesses in Japan. The company is planning to develop a subcompact EV for overseas markets. Mori says the goal is to launch the vehicle in Europe by 2013, then gradually expand elsewhere, including North America.

In addition to all-electric systems, FHI is planning conventional and plug-in hybrids. The first Subaru hybrid is due in 2012. The company says combining efforts with Toyota and increasing volumes by selling EVs in multiple markets should help reduce costs. FHI says it also may develop electric motors in-house.

Robert Bosch, Deutz and Eberspaecher are forming a joint venture-Bosch Emission Systems GmbH-to develop and market diesel exhaust aftertreatment systems.

The Stuttgart-based joint venture will start operations next month. Series production is expected to begin in the third quarter.

The three German companies plan to combine their current exhaust aftertreatment products and know-how to develop a complete system, including electronic control and optimized burner technology for the regeneration of diesel particulate filters. The approach will allow the partners to use a modular approach and customize systems for various applications. The development process also is expected to be faster and cheaper.

The partners expect demand for such systems to increase as stricter emission regulations for on- and off-road vehicles are adopted in Europe, Japan and North America. In addition to trucks and buses, the partners also will target makers of stationary engines and mobile machinery such as excavators, wheel loaders, tractors and combine harvesters.

Bosch project manager Wolfgang Albrecht will serve as the managing director of Bosch Emission Systems, overseeing an initial staff of 100 people.