Mercedes-Benz has at least seven latest models of automobiles to launch in the US over the next three years. According to the reports, these new models are a refreshed and latest generation offerings. We already saw their new CL, CLS, S-Class and R-Class, also the spy photo of the anticipated SLK, SL, SLS Convertible and the C-Class Coupe.
Furthermore, its the latest B-Class that may be one of the most fascinating vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz USA lineup. The modified hatch will be developed to be more appealing for its American clients, and will be the first Mercedes to be presented in the US with front-wheel drive and four-cylinder engines. According to the rumors, it will also include a rear-wheel-drive AMG version that would be the foundation for a CLC Shooting Brake, and will be fitted with its own coupe, crossover and sedan trims.
Other models in line include a C-Class convertible and potential crossover that would give M-B 3 Series and X3 competition. A total of 100 F-Cell automobiles will be tried out in California, and the SLS E-Cell will be presented in 2013 with 526 horsepower and a 120-mile range. Additionally, that same year, Mercedes-Benz will also showcase the new S-Class Coupe (to take the place of the CL nameplate), S-Class, E-Class and GL.
How often do you see a classic Mercedes-Benz wagon drifting on the track? Let’s see… uhm, never? Well, now you will. Here’s a video of an E-Class wagon, a diesel, going sideways in what seems to be a drifting competition. In case it hasn’t sinked in yet, what you’ll be witnessing is a real live Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon. A diesel. Well, at least it used to be a diesel.
From the looks of the wheels and tires, and of course the fact that it’s competing in a highly competitive sport, this wagon has been modified inside out. If the Ghostbusters were still around, we reckon they’ll be trading in their Eco-1 for this baby. Hell, they’ll probably even throw in Slimer in their excitement. But of course, it takes a lot more than ghostbusting skills to properly let loose on a racetrack, much more sideways.
Ever since the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya, started drifting on the mountain passes of Japan, never did anyone think that a European diesel wagon would one day be doing the very same thing on a race track. Drifting really has changed ever since Tsuchiya brought it from the underground to a full-blown motor sport.
Well, enough talk. Enjoy the video people. And one more thing. Don’t try this at home. Not even on the streets.
There aren’t so many fans of Russian made cars, perhaps not even in Russia. Still, there is one automotive manufacturer in the country that’s getting a lot of attention. GAZ, who currently manufacturers the Volga Siber at the Gorky Automobile plant (insert Wind of Change chorus here), is getting wooed by a lot of investors wanting to tap into the Russian market. Yep, you guessed it—Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler wants in. And the company will stop at nothing to get the plant to producing the E-Class. And with good reason too.
The Volga Siber is actually based on the Chrysler Sebring platform. As true-blooded Mercedes-Benz fans (you know you are), you should know that there was a time when Daimler and Chrysler were partners. So, why not upgrade the Volga Siber (or its platform) to the E-Class instead? Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
If Daimler and Mercedes-Benz successfully gets their hands on the plant, it will be a big blow to fellow German rival BMW, which has already made its presence felt in Russia. It’s all about who takes the biggest slice of cake, and Mercedes-Benz won’t settle for anything less than the largest.
The company has a lot of rival suitors, though. Indian company Tata motors is just one of them. There’s also General Motors putting the pressure on Tata. It’s worth noting the GAZ Chairman Bo Anderson was once head of worldwide purchasing for GM. Small world, isn’t it? Daimler needs to spend quite a lot to get the wind of change in its favor.
So which car won this year’s Top Safety Pick? Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it’s the Cadillac CTS and the Infiniti M, which are both very impressive in each of their own’s rights. With the competition very tough, it helps if the vehicle has the makings of a strong shell. Something that can survive a rollover while not necessarily being built like a tank. At the least, its roof has to have enough strength to as much as four times its own weight.
Well, that is what clinched the award for the Cadillac and the Infiniti. Since this is Benz Insider, we’re assuming you’re wondering what happened to Mercedes-Benz in this race. Well, the company’s E-Class range was able to join the ranks of these two, along with the BMW 5 Series, Lincoln MKS, Volvo S80, and the Hyundai Genesis. Yes, we know, it’s pretty hard to believe the Genesis is included in the list. It seems those cheap Korean cars are no longer as cheap as they used to be.
Now, you may be wondering that with all these cars being part of the study, it wouldn’t have been that hard at all to pick out winners. Still, you have to take note that not each and every car studied got a “Good” rating. The Lexus GH and the Audi A6 only managed to get “Acceptable” ratings. Heck, Acura’s RL even fell behind with a “Marginal” rating. So you see, you have much to rejoice for with the E-Class’ inclusion.
Mercedes-Benz is geared to present their latest safety systems this autumn. The said safety systems intensely restrains cars from straying into the path of other vehicles on the road. Based on the review of WhatCar.com, it stated that the new feature is a development of what is already available. Presently, Mercedes-Benz provides blind-spot and lane-change alerts that warn the driver if the car is about transfer into the path of another vehicle coming up behind, or drift inadvertently into another lane.
Based on the review, the great difference with the latest active systems is that they administer the brakes on one side of the car to put it back to straight course, even if there is no instantaneous danger of collision. Additionally, the website stated that the active blind spot feature functions between 20 and 125 mph, even though a visual reminder will be flashed right up to the maximum speed of 155 mph.
The active lane-change system at the same time functions between 35 and 125 mph, under the condition that there is a solid white line on one side of the automobile and a dotted line on the other. The two safety features will primarily be accessible on the revised S-Class saloon, CL couple and the E-Class line.
It’s been a decade since Mercedes-Benz first rolled out its very first super sports car. Now, the company is celebrating their sports car heritage by presenting eight of their most iconic vehicles down at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It’s going to go down from August 12 to 15. Along with old sports classics are the entire lineup of the E-Class range, a Gran Turismo 5 gaming sled courtesy of Sony, a Maybach exhibition and what everybody is hoping to experience, an SLS AMG test drive booth.
There will also be a private owner of a 1902 Simplex that’ll be gracing the event, driving 1,500 miles from his home just to please the crowds of Mercedes-Benz fans. This car won numerous hill climbs and road races back in its years. A 300SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupe” will also make an appearance from its home in the Mercedes-Benz Museum back in Stuttgart.
The rest of the cars that will be put on display are the following: a 1929 SSK; a 1952 W194 300SL—which ushered in the Sport and Light era—which was the icon that gave the world the Gullwing doors; a 1956 W198 300SL; a 1970 C111-II; a 2011 SLS AMG; and of course, the 2011 SLS AMG GT3 which is set to make its debut in racing later this year.
It’s all happening at Pebble Beach. So if you’re a true Mercedes-Benz connoisseur, you better be there this August!
This July 2010 has yet proved to be another achievement for the German carmaker Mercedes-Benz, who recorded a 17 percent rise in sales, or a total of 97,700 units sold. This is the ninth successive month in which Mercedes records a double-digit upsurge in sales. This means that since the start of 2010, the overall number of new Mercedes vehicles have resulted to 654,400 units sold, a boost of 16 percent in contrast to the same time frame last 2009.
Based on Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales and Marketing vice president, Joachim Schmidt, the company’s sales figures maintain its rise followed by the flourishing first half of the year, the second half has now started and also started successfully with an above average growth rate. The upsurge in sales was driven by the Chinese market in July, the same which for several months now drags, percentage wise, practically the whole German auto industry to new heights. July was the German carmaker’s finest month in China, having a total of 14,600 passenger vehicles being up in the market here representing a 205 percent increase.
From the volume perspective, Western Europe is responsible for over half of the new Mercedes vehicles that are up in the market, or a total of 47,100 units. The top selling units remain to be the E and S Class, having 19,200 and 5,500 units respectively being sold. The sales of smart though is slowly decreasing, having a 20 percent decline to 8,400 vehicles. Added by Schmidt, starting this fall, a line of appealing new models will come together with the E and S-Class to provide them with extra momentum. The latest generation of the R-Class, for example, has gotten an excellent customer feedback, and the fully updated CL will preferably supplement their lineup in the luxury section.
Last week, German carmaker Mercedes-Benz summarized its plans to release at least 20 new auto models in the next five years. Their plan is to continue and, if possible, intensify their present sales levels. These large number of models would include new releases, modifications and variants of existing car models. The new 2011 Mercedes C-Class Coupe would place into that last group. With the public release date of the said variant still to be announced, the coupe version of the C-Class is intended to provide the class the same selection of models as the E-Class. Unlike the coupe version of the E-Class, this model would not be modified individually, but will be mostly based on the saloon version.
The said version would include comparable front end, taillights and rear bumper. What will obviously change are the centre-section and the roofline. This would mean that the doors and windows will be modified as well. As with the engines, the latest C-Class coupe will utilize the same units as the ones used in the saloon, which are four or six cylinder petrol units running in between 156 and 292 hp and diesel engines having outputs in between 136 and 231 hp.
A semi hybrid version, utilizing a 20 hp electric motor, is also reportedly geared towards production. There are also rumors about a plug-in version of the model, and its 60 hp electric motor engine. With regards to the price, the model is likely to be much cheaper that the four door version, as it is directed towards the customers of the existing C-Class coupe semi-hatch.
After ten years of leading the U.S. luxury vehicle sales charts, Lexus may shortly be dethroned by the previous leader, Mercedes-Benz, as well as BMW. While Lexus sales have been recuperating this year from the first half of last year’s poor sales result, the Mercedes-Benz sales have been going up really fast.
One likely reason for this discrepancy is the chain of recalls Lexus has had this present year, which includes accelerator pedals, floor mats, leaking gas tanks and defective valve-springs. Also, based on the reports, the the strong sales of Mercedes-Benz has been greatly influenced by the release of the new E-Class.
Last month, the sales of Lexus went up by merely 2.7 percent in contrast to the 25 percent and 15 percent boost in sales of Mercedes and BMW respectively. Until Lexus sort out its problems and convince its clients that their quality problems have been dealt with, Toyota’s premium brand could descend behind both German brands.
Since its launch, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been thrilling customers all over the world, and more than 300,000 units been delivered to date. Says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “The new E-Class is a great success, setting standards not only for safety, comfort and efficiency, but also for market acceptance. This is demonstrated by the fact that each of the four models – the sedan, the estate, the coupe and the convertible – is currently the world’s best-selling vehicle in its comparative class. We are delighted about the positive customer response to the new E-Class models since they are essential to the success of Mercedes-Benz.”
Around 230,000 sedans, 28,000 estates, and 60,000 coupes and convertibles of the new E-Class family have been delivered to customers to date. The sedan was launched in March 2009, followed by the coupe two months later in May and by the estate in November. The market introduction of the convertible in March 2010 completed the model family, ensuring that Mercedes-Benz now offers an unparalleled range of products in this segment.
Mercedes-Benz has at least seven latest models of automobiles to launch in the US over the next three years. According to the reports, these new models are a refreshed and latest generation offerings. We already saw their new CL, CLS, S-Class and R-Class, also the spy photo of the anticipated SLK, SL, SLS Convertible and the C-Class Coupe.
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