The Fruit of Knowledge
Posts tagged mercedes benz
Video: Man power-washes his new Mercedes-Benz CLS – inside
Oct 10th
Filed under: Sedan, Europe, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Diesel, Luxury
We aren’t entirely sure what’s happening here. It seems a Macedonian man took his brand-new 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CDI to the car wash and decided the interior could use some freshening up, too.
Instead of doing what every other Mercedes owner would do and busting out the Armor All, this guy asked the detailers to take the power washer to the interior of his brand-new Mercedes-Benz. Mystified and horrified, the wash attendants refused. That’s when the owner took things into his own hands and, well, the results are in the video after the jump.
Continue reading Man power-washes his new Mercedes-Benz CLS – inside
Man power-washes his new Mercedes-Benz CLS – inside originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mercedes-Benz CLS: on sale now
Oct 10th
Can the Mercedes-Benz CLS combines the best bits of an executive cruiser and a coupé?
First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class
Oct 10th
Filed under: Budget, Europe, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, First Drives
Is Stuttgart’s Latest People Carrier Finally Ready For The States?
Much in the vein of Audi’s Sportback models or BMW’s slow-to-expand Gran Turismo range, Mercedes-Benz thinks it’s time to get excited about various sizes of its “sports tourer” subgroup. Nearly all of the aforementioned are still trying to find proper footing in their bid to be first choice for the world’s practical-minded customers, but the B-Class has had more success than most. Since the launch of the first generation in 2005, around 700,000 of these little boxes have been sold – despite the U.S. being conspicuously left off the list while both Canada and Mexico got theirs. The car’s number one market by far has been the car’s fatherland, Germany. Number two? China, where sales of the car rose 46 percent in 2010.
Frankly, this strain of Mercedes-Benz product has yet to set our collective car-aficionado loins aflame. That shouldn’t be interpreted as a total failure, however. These people-toting premium German compacts drive alright and offer great interior space with flexible cabins to thrill our family-minded selves, but the unemotional R-Class and current thrill-free A-Class (as well as the “I don’t have sex anymore” first-gen B-Class) could use some evening workshops in how to rekindle the passion in a relationship. Why can’t people carriers also get on the scene like a sex-machine? (Bless you, Godfather of Soul.)
This second-generation B-Class we’ve just driven around eastern Austria came away from its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show showered in commentary. Our impressions at the reveal were mostly positive, but we had to hold off on the huzzahs until we actually drove it. The idea of something from Mercedes in this size is fine, but we we’ve been craving some more excitement and a well-executed premium interior – it’s only appropriate considering there’s a large Three-Pointed Star collecting bugs out front. Otherwise, why not go for something like, say, the Hyundai Elantra Touring or its Kia Forte five-door sister car? The Mazda5? Why not splurge instead on a less spacious but far hipper Mini Countryman?
Continue reading 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class
2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Diesel passenger vehicles sales slip 13% in September; VW, BMW on top
Oct 7th
Filed under: Diesel, Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, USA
Oil-sippers failed to make even the slightest of dents in the U.S.’ hybrid-heavy green vehicle scene.
Through the end of September 2011, sales of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. were up 30.9 percent, compared to the same nine-month period in 2010. However, at only 7,663 total units sold last month – a decline of 13 percent compared to August’s numbers – the diesel’s take-rate rings in at a mere 0.73 percent, compared to hybrid vehicles at 1.68 percent and plug-ins at 0.17 percent.
Led by the Volkswagen Jetta TDI and Golf TDI, diesel vehicles have slowly inched their way up the sales charts. No U.S. automaker sold even a single diesel passenger vehicle in September of 2011.
Sales of the segment leader, the Jetta TDI, checked in at 4,158 units in September, bringing the diesel sedan’s year-to-date total to 41,083. The oil-burning Golf didn’t fare nearly as well, but its sales of 694 units in September landed the diesel hatchback in second place. In third, with 610 sales, was the diesel-fueled BMW X5 xDrive35d. And coming in fourth, with 449 units sold, was the spectacular BMW 335d.
Looking for more details? Head over to Hybrid Cars for a model-by-model breakdown of diesel vehicle sales for September 2011.
Diesel passenger vehicles sales slip 13% in September; VW, BMW on top originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Video: GM confirms Camaro ZL1 7:41 ‘Ring lap time
Oct 6th
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, GM
How quickly do you think the Porsche 911 Turbo S can make its way around the Nürburgring? How about the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, or the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG? The Ferrari 430 Scuderia? Would you believe all those amazing machines have been timed at around seven minutes, forty seconds around the famous German race track.
And so has the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Driven by GM test driver Aaron Link, using a production-spec car with no performance modifications, the 580-horsepower (and 556 pound-feet of torque) ZL1 proved 40 seconds faster than the regular-grade Camaro SS, says the automaker. It’s also a bit quicker than the 7:59 recorded by GM for the Cadillac CTS-V, though not quite as blistering as the Corvette Z06 and ZR1.
You might be saying that such timing exercises are meaningless, and for the most part, you’d be right. There is no official production car lap board kept anywhere but in enthusiasts’ heads and hearts (oh, and on Wikipedia…), but fast times are invaluable marketing material and are at least an interesting comparative mental exercise.
Know what’s even better than a press release (or a tweet) touting a notable ‘Ring performance? A video. You’ll find both patiently waiting right after the break.
Continue reading GM confirms Camaro ZL1 7:41 ‘Ring lap time
GM confirms Camaro ZL1 7:41 ‘Ring lap time originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Official: Mercedes-Benz snags naming rights to Louisiana Superdome
Oct 6th
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Mercedes-Benz
We want to be in that number when the Saints go marching in. And so does Mercedes-Benz, apparently, as the German automaker has acquired the naming rights to the stadium where the New Orleans football team plays.
The deal will see the recently renovated stadium (which is also set to host the 2013 Super Bowl and the 2012 Final Four of men’s college basketball) renamed as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and will see the Silver Star appear next to the team’s Fleur-de-Lis logo for the next ten years as official and exclusive vehicle of the Saints.
This isn’t the first time that a sports venue has been named for an automaker. Racetracks aside, the Detroit Lions play at Ford Field, the Vancouver Canucks at General Motors Place and the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. There are even Mercedes-Benz venues in Stuttgart, Shanghai and South Africa. It is, however, the first time a luxury automaker has acquired such naming rights in the United States, and you can bet it’s one which MBUSA will be keen to leverage and bank on for years to come. Details in the press release after the jump.
Continue reading Mercedes-Benz snags naming rights to Louisiana Superdome
Mercedes-Benz snags naming rights to Louisiana Superdome originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Official: Aldo Costa joins Brawn and Schumacher at Mercedes GP
Oct 6th
Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Mercedes-Benz
Back in the day, one team dominated Formula One like no other before it and none since. Michael Schumacher was driving, Ross Brawn was running the team and Aldo Costa was designing the cars. It was a winning combination, to say the least, one that yielded seven world championships. That was at Scuderia Ferrari. And now the three are together again at Mercedes GP.
Brawn and Schumacher working together at Mercedes is nothing new – it’s a familiar relationship that has found its roots again under the Silver Star for the second season running. The news is the addition of Costa.
The Italian engineer was recently sacked by Ferrari after years of service during which time Costa had ascended to the role of technical director – one step below team principal and in charge of pretty much everything this side of commercial and political aspects. Ferrari let him go out of dissatisfaction over its (and therefor his) performance in recent years, but his former boss Brawn was quick to scoop him up.
Costa will now be serving as engineering director, staying back at HQ to design and develop the cars, as part of a new team that also includes ex-Red Bull man Geoff Willis as technology director (aerodynamics and electronics) and Bob Bell, formerly of Renault, as technical director, overseeing both. Official announcement after the jump.
Continue reading Aldo Costa joins Brawn and Schumacher at Mercedes GP
Aldo Costa joins Brawn and Schumacher at Mercedes GP originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mercedes Benz buys naming rights for Superdome (AP)
Oct 5th
AP – The home of the New Orleans Saints and site of six Super Bowls will be renamed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome under a deal with the German automaker announced Tuesday.
Report: Ford Transit van coming to America as Kansas City-built T-Series
Oct 5th
Filed under: Minivan/Van, Plants/Manufacturing, Work, Ford, UAW/Unions
When Daimler started selling its Sprinter van in North America – first as a Freightliner, then as a Mercedes-Benz and even a Dodge – it found companies on this side of the Atlantic were as keen to get their hands on a European-style van as, well, European companies are. But the Sprinter is about to get some European competition from… an American automaker.
That Ford makes certain products for overseas markets is nothing new, but as part of its drive to standardize its lineup around the world, the Blue Oval automaker is apparently planning on bringing its full-size Transit van Stateside.
Not only is it bringing the Transit to the American market, but it will also be building it here, too. The news is confirmed by a recent United Auto Workers announcement that reveals that, with production of the next-generation Escape moving to Louisville, Kentucky, the Transit will be assembled for local consumption alongside the F-150 pickup truck at the Kansas City plant.
According to Car and Driver sources, in order to avoid confusion with the smaller Transit Connect, the big van will be badged as a T-Series in this market, with nameplates like T-250, T-450 and T-550 – similar to the F-Series trucks, and more pertinently, the E-Series vans that used to be known as the Econoline. They can call it whatever they want; we just hope we get a version of the UK-market limited-edition SportVan pictured above.
Ford Transit van coming to America as Kansas City-built T-Series originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Video: AMG Performance Media Telemetry display in action around Hockenheim
Oct 4th
Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Etc., Europe, Technology, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
At the heart of every dyed-in-the-wool car nut is someone who loves gadgetry. Lately, automakers like Mercedes-Benz have been fueling that symbiotic passion with a host of incredible on-board technology integrations. The SLS AMG Roadster is the latest model to flex its technical muscles with the AMG Performance Media telemetry system. The kit uses the central Command display to serve up a variety of information, from G-force load on the vehicle to power data and, most importantly, track times. It’s all very impressive, and Mercedes-Benz says that the tech will spread to the SLS AMG coupe for 2012. The rest of the AMG line won’t be far behind.
Now, as much as we like our toys, we have to say that the only thing we’re interested in on the instrument cluster while we’re banging out a few hard laps is whether or not the engine is going to vomit out its guts before we make it to pit lane. Anything beyond a quick glance at oil pressure and coolant temp is time we’re spending not lining up the next apex. Maybe things are different in a Mercedes-Benz supercar, but we doubt it. Hit the jump to check out the tech in action.
Continue reading AMG Performance Media Telemetry display in action around Hockenheim
AMG Performance Media Telemetry display in action around Hockenheim originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
