Mercedes-Benz still ranks among the world’s top 3 most valuable automotive brands, according to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2012 study. The German automaker is ranked behind rival BMW at the top and Japanese automaker Toyota in second place.

In the overall Top 100, Mercedes-Benz was ranked at 46, just behind Disney (43), Nike (44), and Accenture (45). BMW (23) and Toyota (28) both ranked in the top 30 overall, however. Honda (65), Nissan (81), and Volkswagen (96) were the other automotive manufacturers that were able to crack the Top 100.

Even with what many may deem a dismal finish, Mercedes-Benz actually managed an improved brand value score, up 5 percent from last year according to the study and moving up 4 spots from last year. Toyota was actually down 10 percent from 2011, when it was ranked 27th overall.

The study, conducted by Millward Brown, took quantitative financial data as well as qualitative data from consumers to determine the aggregate brand value of the global brands.

A number of factors affected the automotive brands over the past year, such as the acceleration of the US market and the slowing down of the Chinese market. The Japan earthquake also contributed to some supply difficulties, which is probably why Toyota lost some ground brand-wise.

ESWE Verkehrsgesellschaft was the proud recipient of 3 Mercedes-Benz Citaro Euro VI buses—the first production units of the clean bus that rolled off the plant and straight into operation. The transport company based in Wiesbaden, Germany took the delivery of the buses in a handover ceremony that was even attended by Wiesbaden mayor Helmut Muller.

It’s no secret that the Citaro Euro VI is perhaps the cleanest bus model out on the market right now, which is why transport companies are lining up to get their hands on these tech wonders. The bus relies on an elaborate new emission control system to help it meet the strict emissions standards of Euro VI, which is going to be in effect by 2014. That puts the Citaro Euro VI ahead of the pack.

Great care has been made to make sure that the bus was able to retain its weight from the Citaro G series even with the added emissions equipment. Each one will be powered by the 360 horsepower Mercedes-Benz OM 470 engines.

“We take our responsibility towards both people and the environment extremely seriously,” said ESWE Chairman of the Board Uwe Cramer. “Buses meeting the highest possible emission standard play a significant role in this.”

ESWE has been ordering Mercedes-Benz buses for some time now, and these latest acquisitions will help boost its fleet. Two more units are due within the next couple of days.

Daimler subsidiary Setra, which manufactures top-of-the-line touring coaches, has just debuted its new ComfortClass 500 coaches. The new Mercedes-Benz-powered models are ready for retail by autumn this year, and they are touted to have superb fuel efficiency along with unparalleled aerodynamic qualities.

Setra is banking on the inherent style that the ComfortClass 500 possesses, along with a slew of other desirable features. See, the coaches already comply with Euro VI emissions standards. Aside from that, there are plans to include various safety features like driver assistance systems and other safety elements as indicated by new regulations imposed on tour buses that will take effect within a few years.

“With the new ComfortClass 500, we want to do more than just prepare our customers for the challenges of the next few years,” said Setra brand spokesman Lothar Holder. “As a technology leader, we are setting standards for design, aerodynamics and efficiency with this new generation of vehicles, making the future tangible today.”

Mercedes-Benz BlueEfficiency engines act as the beating hearts of these ComfortClass 500 buses. There’s the 10.7-liter 6-cylinder OM 470 that has already been tweaked to provide optimized performance and fuel efficiency figures. It’s good for 428 horsepower with a max torque of 2,100 Nm—so even with the fuel efficiency, the power output is still considerable.

Surely you have already seen two or more people bumping at each other in a random place, maybe in a coffee shop or an elevator, and it is not unusual anymore.

In this video, it shows how Mika Hakkinen and Nico Rosberg sort of bumped into each other in Monte Carlo. You shouldn’t be surprised, as they live just a few floors apart.

Mika Hakkinen has long history with Mercedes-Benz. In 1998 and 1999, he won the world title riding the McLaren Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is driving for the third season since Silver Arrows returned.

In the video, you will see how long they’ve been ‘together’, it was long before Rosberg started in motorsports. He was just 11 years old when he met Mika, because Keke Rosberg, was the leader of his management team.

Watch the video and hear how these two motorsports champion got in the game and stayed in it, and how they also got in their friendship. For the full story and the gallery, you can see it after the jump.

Race Preview Feature Five: A Monaco story: When Nico met Mika

Mika Häkkinen was the first Mercedes-Benz world champion of the modern era, and a two-time title winner in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren Mercedes; Nico Rosberg is the first man to win a Grand Prix at the wheel of a Silver Arrow since the great Juan Manuel Fangio, in the third season of the return of the Silver Arrows. On the eve of the race around their home streets, the two men met to discuss their experiences as part of one of the most spectacular events in world sport.

The histories of Mika Häkkinen and Nico Rosberg have been intertwined for more than twenty years, when Nico was just a young boy and Mika worked with Keke Rosberg, who led his management team.

“I don’t remember when we first met – maybe Mika does!” laughs Nico when the question comes.

“Well, I started working with Keke at the end of 1987,” recalls Mika. “I think the first time we met must have been down here in Monaco in the early ’90s. I was visiting Keke, and you were playing in your room! It’s possible I was his first sponsor in karting – do you remember that?”

“Yeah, sure,” laughs Nico. “It was 1997, I was 11 years old and competing in the French go-karting championship. I had a poster in my room with all my sponsors on there, and one of them was you!”

“My son is eleven now,” says Mika, picking up the thread. “I’m sure I did a contract with Keke that one day, when Nico will win races and be world champion, he has to start supporting my son Hugo!”

If the early stages of Nico’s career were supported by Mika – who today himself is a partner with Didier Coton in Aces Management and has, among others, young Finn Valtteri Bottas under his wing – the parallels between the two have only grown stronger as time has passed. Both Mika and Nico had to wait until their seventh Formula One season before climbing the top step of the podium – Mika after 96 races, at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez; Nico in his 111th start, at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix. And both in their third seasons driving Mercedes-Benz-powered cars.

“Your first victory in Formula One always feels like it is a long time coming,” explains Mika. “And especially in my case – but when it arrives, the feeling is just amazing. But problems are part of life, and winning or losing, they don’t disappear. You need to keep understanding the cause of disappointments and where you and the team can improve. There is no point having your face upside down for one week – it’s better to pick up the phone, travel, see people, talk, organise yourself. Then you know that at the next event, you will be stronger – and if not the car, then yourself; you can always be better. Because the day when you have a car to win, you have to be ready. If not, it’s too late. I knew that one day I was going to win, it just took a long time.”

“I had exactly the same feeling – Ross, all the guys, kept telling me that the win would come, I just needed to stay patient and take my opportunity,” agrees Nico. “Of course, you get frustrated if it doesn’t go perfectly, but time takes that away and you keep going, follow the development, communicate constantly with the team.”

“Nico did a perfect weekend in China and deserves full credit for that win,” emphasises Mika. “It was not depending on circumstances or luck, but purely on his hard work. As a Mercedes-Benz ambassador, it was great not only to watch his achievements, but to enjoy seeing Mercedes-Benz back on the top step of the podium.”

Inevitably, the conversation soon turns to the unique challenge of racing around the Monegasque streets, which have been home to both of them for more than 20 years. For Nico, the tunnel was once the route to school, in the passenger seat next to his Mum or on the school bus. And that ‘local’ feel is one that Mika says remains throughout the weekend.

“I had some great victories in my career, but Monaco was something special,” remembers Mika. “I have lived here for 20 years and the thing you realise is that the people who work on the race track are also the people who live and work in Monaco – the police, the pompiers. In everyday life, these are the guys you see in the street and they say ‘hi’ as you walk past. To win in Monaco is like winning in your home streets, and you recognise faces all through the weekend.”

“It’s home for me too, of course,” picks up Nico. “I’ve grown up here, all my friends are here and my family, I know everybody and it’s very special to race here. Mentally, it’s quite a demanding weekend. You have a lot going on, a lot of PR events and appointments. Plus on track, too, it’s a bit more intense – but not so much. You need to be super concentrated at every circuit.”

“That’s true. But what changed for me was that, when I got a car that I would win races with, Monaco became more important for some reason. When you are hunting pole position in Monaco, your mind changes; you put yourself in a higher power, even though you think you are doing it already. When you are fighting for P11 or P12, you always think you are doing your maximum. But when I started fighting for pole, it just happened that I was working even harder to reach my goal – but not purposely. And of course, we changed the car, too: the steering lock, and the seating position to sit higher in the car, because the aero was not so important and we wanted to see the Armco properly.”

“That’s interesting, because we definitely make changes, too,” says Nico. “But I don’t think it’s common practice, even today.”

Source: NicoRosberg.com

US tuner Superior Auto Design released photos of the new project they made for a customer who brought to them his Mercedes-Benz SS50.

Called the CEO Edition, it is the classier version of the S-Class (as if the stock version is not classy enough!) From silver, it was painted in 2003 Lamborghini Murcielago black, done by full body respray. Then the car was dismantled thoroughly, from interior to the trunk lid, as will be shown in the gallery below. They decided on putting on 22″ Asanti AF156 wheels.

No other information was released by the company for now, but you can start enjoying the photos they published through Luxury4Play.com and follow how they built the car from start to finish.

Photo: Luxury4Play.com

Mercedes-Benz keeps the love alive among its most loyal fans with its latest technological offering — the Active Comfort System. This system is designed to (get this) make drivers fall asleep. Yes, you read right.

Before you raise your hand in argument, take note that it’s not meant to make drivers fall asleep while driving. Rather, Mercedes-Benz designed the system to help you catch powernaps wherever and whenever you pull over for lack of a good night’s rest.

Yeah, sure. Whether it’s for lack of sleep the previous night, or just a really bad hangover, this system will help you catch a few z’s to help clear your head for the road ahead. Mercedes-Benz hopes that with fatigue being a major cause of road fatalities, their system can help bring even the most tired drivers home safe and sound.

Not only that. Designers of the system believe that a well-rested driver has a more fuel-efficient right foot. So there. Safety and fuel economy. Sounds good enough to enjoy. Here’s to hoping that it comes standard in all future models.

Source:
themotorreport.com.au

A new kind of CSL — that is what you could expect from the upcoming Concept Style Coupe, pegged to hit distributors by next year. The four-door coupe, otherwise known as the CSC, will be carrying around 208 horses inside its 2-litre inline four turbocharged engine, more than enough power to please even the most adventurous Mercedes-Benz owner.

Daimler reports that the CSC will be produced at the Kecsemet facility in Hungary, and hints at the model having a variety of engines with power ranging from 108 to 208hp. If you weren’t able to catch a glimpse of the CSC at this year’s Beijing Motor Show, then the video below might help spark some love.

You’ll also find the gallery below to be pretty tasty, considering they’re just a bunch of artist renderings. Might help you visualize what it would feel like to actually own one of these once it hits US shores.

Video: The Concept Style Coupe

Source:
inautonews.com

The Cannes International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world, and it is only fitting that Mercedes-Benz is part of the event. In fact, it’s sending in a fleet of golden shuttle vehicles as a tribute to the Palme d’Or.

The Palme d’Or, which translates to Golden Palm, was introduced in 1955 and is the highest award at Cannes. To commemmorate the 65th awarding of this much-coveted prize, Mercedes-Benz has provided the golden shuttles to drive around Cannes so that VIP guests can travel comfortably.

In addition, a golden SL 65 AMG “45th anniversary” will be present at the amfAR foundation’s Cinema Against AIDS Gala, to be held on May 24 at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The name of the special unit is derived from 2012 being the 45th year of the high-performance luxury vehicle manufacturer. AMG was founded back in 1965.

AMG also partnered with other events during the Cannes International Film Festival. It sponsored the IWC Filmmakers Dinner and the Le Club by Albane, giving test drives as well as providing shuttle service to guests using an array of Mercedes AMG vehicles.

The Monaco Grand Prix is fast approaching, and F1 fans can’t help but anticipate all the action that can be watched by the time this weekend hits. One can only imagine how excited the drivers themselves are, and some of them recently chimed in on the upcoming F1 race. Let’s see what the Mercedes drivers have to say.

“Monaco is just a circuit of its own very unique character,” says 7-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher. “In a way, you could look at it with a big portion of irony with regards to the contradiction that, for so many years we have successfully campaigned for more track safety, and then we deliberately race in Monaco.

“But in my view this is justifiable once a year, especially as the circuit is really so much fun to drive.” Schumi added that he expects a good result at Monte Carlo given the hard work the whole Mercedes AMG Petronas team has been putting in.

Fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg spent a good portion of his youth in Monaco (because his dad’s a former F1 champion, after all) and lives there still. “It’s a great feeling to be driving at home, knowing that all my friends and family are watching. I have always been quick around the streets here, and I believe a good result is possible for us next weekend.”

We’ll keep you updated on all the Formula One action this weekend, so stay tuned!

You will say it is but natural for employees of one company to say good things about their products. Of course, you cannot sell something that you do not believe in, right? But when Mercedes-Benz managers and executives are the ones who say nice comments about the Mercedes SL63 AMG, you can tell that they are not doing it just because they work for the three-star brand, they are saying these things because they know about cars and they truly believe in their products.

From the CEO of Mercedes AMG GmbH, Ole Kallenius:
“The new SL 63 AMG is another masterpiece from Mercedes-AMG. Whether driving dynamics, lightweight and efficiency – The SL 63 AMG makes a significant leap forward. After the SLS AMG Roadster and the Roadster SLK 55 AMG is our unparalleled family is now complete. ”

From the Head of engine development and drive train, Friedrich Eichler:
“The high-tech drivetrain with AMG eight-cylinder biturbo and AMG MCT sports transmission has been proven in other AMG models well. The SL 63 AMG stands for thrilling driving dynamics, V8-sound experience and efficiency in perfect combination.

From Tobias Moers, Head of Total Vehicle Development and Member of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH:
“A performance dream cars for passionate driving pleasure: the new SL 63 AMG made tremendous progress in all areas – and he is the strongest and most fuel-efficient sports car in its segment.”

From the Director of Branding and Marketing, Mario Spitzner:
“The previous SL 63 AMG has an extremely loyal fan base worldwide, and its predecessor, the SL 55 AMG is still the best selling AMG model ever. I’m sure the brand-new and fascinating SL 63 AMG has all the facilities to continue the encouraging success. ”

Source: Daimler