BenzInsider is going to Germany

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I will be moving to Germany tomorrow to work for one of the biggest companies in the World – Robert Bosch GmbH. It has been great reporting from the US all this time, but I believe that the relocation will give me the opportunity to get the news out much faster and actually be at the location where the news is made. In the coming week, you probably won’t see much news on here, as I will be busy settling in and getting all the paper work that the Germans require for a foreigner to work in the country. This is definitely a new adventure for me, as I haven’t been in Germany for seven years, and of course the work environment and culture will be significantly different than what I have been used in the States.

I will be working in Karlsruhe (Baden Württenberg) at their Automotive Aftermarket division. Wish me luck! :)

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Mercedes C-Class Promo Video


This is a great promo video of the upcoming C-Class, as it shows you clearly what the C-Class had to go through to fine tune every little part in the car. A lot is riding for Mercedes with this new-gen C-Class, but based on your comments, and many others around the interweb, I can definitely conclude that a lot of people are anxiously awaiting it.

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Mercedes CLS: More than 100,000 Units sold

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Mercedes-Benz is reporting very positive results for its CLS-Class: More than 100,000 units of the innovative four-door coupe have been delivered to customers around the world since the vehicle was launched in October 2004. “The CLS-Class combines the elegant design vocabulary and dynamics of a coupe with the comfort and functionality of a sedan in a completely unmatched way,” says Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group, responsible for Sales and Marketing. “The extraordinarily positive customer response to a model that is still unique underscores Mercedes-Benz’ role as a trendsetter in the development of new vehicle concepts and impressively demonstrates the success of our product strategy.”

Demand for the CLS is particularly high in the U.S., where about 27,000 units have been sold since the vehicle was introduced to the market in January 2005.

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Is CL63 AMG the mystery car???

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There is another rumor out there that I personally did not mention when I wrote about the mystery car last week. It seems that every car enthusiast site reporting on this, but as usual I am skeptical about this. These days, anything someone shouts out will be reported on, so let me shout out something here; I think it is the GL AMG, yeah why not, the proportions fit :)

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Let’s be serious here, it just can’t be the CL, look at the picture above that I constructed, the CL is clearly much longer than the mystery car. Although the roof is pretty close to being the same, but everything else doesn’t match.

If we look at the front, we can clearly see that from the front tip to the fender, the CLs distance is much larger than by the mystery car.
front1 Is CL63 AMG the mystery car???

If anyone wants to argue, please leave a comment, but just so you know I have a user that has elgaedldly driven the CLK 63 Black Series and he confirms that it is the mystery car.

His comment:
For having tried the car, I can confirm that it’s the CLK63 AMG Black Series. Let me give you a brief description : Like the SLK AMG Black Series, the door panel is in carbon. This model is only a 2 seater with Recaro style sport seats. The gearstick for the automatic gearbox is very short like in the CLK AMG DTM. On the ashtray cover is written AMG Black Series. The sport steering wheel has a small diameter.

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BRABUS tunes the new C-Class

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The Mercedes specific tuner, BRABUS, has created a masterpiece out of the already beautiful new C-class. They are one of the few tuner companies that does the full package. Everything from interior to exerior, and engine gets tuned and enhanced. On the newest C-class, they did just that; transforming it into a DTM sibiling, with its evil and angry exterior, it give it an amazing design that few can match.

They gave it a BRABUS 4.0 displacement engine with 332 hp / 244 kW for the V6 gasoline models, an elegant aerodynamic-enhancement program, light-alloy wheels with 20-inch diameter and corresponding suspensions, plus numerous individual interior options.

The impressive results of the conversion are a maximum power output of 332 hp / 244 kW and a peak torque of 420 Nm at 4,200 rpm. Thus equipped, the four-door delivers excellent performance: Just 5.9 seconds pass from 0 – 100 km/h, top speed is 275 km/h in combination with the BRABUS Vmax-Unit.

Contine reading and view more pictures.\

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Is the mystery car a CLK?

I am trying to get to the bottom of this mystery car that appeared on the AMG owner’s website today. There is a lot of speculation going around and everybody seems to know what it is, yet no one really knows. The newest rumor is that it is the CLK Black Series, but others are saying that it could be a C-class coupe. In this post I will try to shed some light on what it could be, so let us begin.

I took the side of of the covered mystery model and loaded it in photoshop, then I went around the internet to find a side view of a current CLK AMG model, which I found on AMGs website. I also wanted to use the DTM as the “black series” might look close to that. Here is the end-result. The red outline is from the CLK AMG, and the blue is from the CLK DTM. (click image to enlarge)
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As you can see I aligned the hood almost perfectly, along with the front grills for both outlines. The front of the DTM has different body kit than the CLK AMG, which results with the outlines not matching.
hood Is the mystery car a CLK?

Unfortunately , the outlines on the roof doesn’t match with the covered car, but both the red and blue do.
roof Is the mystery car a CLK?

At the back of the cars it is the same thing as with the roof picture. The rear of both cars (DTM and AMG) aren’t the same either, but that is due to the DTMs rear spoiler and different body kit.
back.jpg

I have outlined where the door handle and side mirror are located on the CLK AMG, comparing that to the covered car. As we can see they are very close, but again, this doesn’t really prove anything, as we are not sure if the a possible C-class coupe may have similar dimensions to the CLK.
middle Is the mystery car a CLK?

What can we conclude from this little comparison, well we definitely can’t rule out that it is the CLK Black Series, as the proportions match. What we probably can rule out is a C-class coupe, as it is early for that. It also will not be a C-class AMG, as all the hints are that it is a coupe, with shape of the roof and the door handles. Some have said that it is the new CLS with is facelift, but that is unlikely too, as the back of the car is not very bulky, compared to the current CLS.

What is it? I say it is the CLK Black Series.

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Accessories for the Smart car

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It looks like some kinda joke, but these sketches did actually come from Smart, or the parent company DCX. I just can’t imagine a Smart car towing a boat, a bike (after the jump) or anything else really. If it can tow the two people inside, then its job is done; adding a half ton accessory would certainly make the Smart cough a bit.

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AMG model to debut at NY Auto Show

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The guys over at WorldCarFans have received some pictures of a mysterious AMG model that will make its debut at the New York Auto Show on April 4th. Nobody really knows what model it will be, as the car is covered up, but some people are speculating if it could be the CL65; others are more optimistic and are talking about a coupe based C-class.

It is more likely that this will be the new C-class C63 AMG, but looking at the picture, it seems that the car does not have doorhandles in the back, which would make it a coupe, dunno.

Check out the images and judge for yourself

Update: A lot of people are saying that the mystery car could be the CLK Black Series; this would be from the same “performance studio” that we got the SLK Black Series. This would certainly explain the picture above, where only the front door handles are somewhat noticeable, which hints that it is a coupe.

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Fifth Gear: Ferrari Enzo vs. Mclaren F1


Tiff Needell, from Fifth Gear, reviews two of the best Supercars available. Both of the cars have their pros and cons, but overall they are amazing, if we can believe Tiff that is. The exterior of these cars is perfect craftsmanship, but once your inside, the car is totally different; it’s more like a race car, than a luxury supercar. It seems that the Bugatti Veyron is one of the only ones that is both luxurious and sporty.

The maintenance cost for both of the cars is just staggering, especially for the Mclaren F1. See the video and see for yourself why it costs so much to own a supercar.

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Videos on Wednesday


I am finally bringing back the “Videos on Wednesday” category due to popular request – thank you for the emails. To start things off I present to you the latest ads for the Mercedes flagship – the S-class. I am not sure about you, but when I listen to the people talk about their experience and the car itself, I get goosebumps. We can clearly see how they are targeting the business people and executives, as those are probably the only ones that can afford a car like that. Beautiful commercial!

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