The Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 isn’t a dream car, because it’s obscurity and touring car blueprint is a relative buzzkill. But this Bauhaus-worthy super coupe is a homologated racer much like it’s 300 SL forefather. I’ll skip the basics to focus on unit #1576: a grey market import from a USAF officer stationed in Germany. The current owner, Leif Skare, let me drive this meticulously kept, nearly stock (period correct 15” wheels and AMG front spoiler aside) SLC 5.0 before it heads back to Europe. Perhaps the SLC 5.0 is a dream car, when viewed in the right light. In the right place.
Luxury means many things to many people, but nobody doubts luxury cars should be crammed full of the latest technology… and what says “technology” in today’s car market quite like “Hybrid”? In a strange inversion of history, Lexus created the world’s first hybrid luxury flagship from a vehicle that was clearly inspired by the Mercedes S-Class, and now Mercedes is fighting back with its first hybrid sedan, the S400 Hybrid. So, is Lexus’s hybrid head-start enough to fend off a challenge from the vehicle that inspired its birth over a twenty years ago? The only way to find out is in TTAC’s most expensive comparison test ever.
Remember 2009? Luxury vehicles were unsalable. People did not have to money to buy them. Those who did have the money did not want to be seen in one. Makers that were heavy on luxury were put on death watch. (Not by this site. It monitored the vital signs of more mundane makes and their makers.)
Daimler is unimpressed by Beijing’s plans to limit new vehicle license plates to 240,000 next year. Daimler still expects double-digit car sales growth in China in 2011.
Never say die: Daimler announced today that Mercedes-Benz production will reach a new record level of more than 1.2 million cars this year, exceeding the pre-carmageddon records of 1.19 million cars produced in 2008, Dow Jones Newswire reports. (Read More…)
In the thirties and forties, GM pioneered and brought to market some of the most innovative, successful and lasting new technologies: diesel-electric locomotives, the modern diesel bus, automatic transmissions, refrigeration and air conditioning systems, high compression engines, independent front suspension, and many more. But GM’s technology prowess was just one facet of its endlessly warring multiple personalities. Planned obsolescence, chrome, fins and financial rationalization were the real moneymakers, especially during the technically conservative fifties. But in the period from 1960 to 1966, GM built three production cars that tried to upend the traditional format: the rear engined 1960 Corvair, the front-wheel drive 1966 Toronado, and the 1961 Tempest. And although the Corvair and Toronado tend to get the bulk of the attention, the Tempest’s format was by far the most enduring one: it was a BMW before BMW built theirs. If only they had stuck with it. (Read More…)
We have said the race for who will be the #1 luxury brand in the U.S.A. is too close to call and that it will come down to the wire. Now, those weenies of Mercedes throw in the towel and concede defeat. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be No. 3,” Ernst Lieb, president of Mercedes-Benz’s U.S., told Bloomberg. Whatever happened to “we will never surrender?” (Sorry, that was a Brit.) But look at those numbers, and join us in shouting “boohoo” at Lieb. And Mercedes. No fight left in them no more? (Read More…)
You-know-what-eating grins in Munich: BMW outsold rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz around the world last month on strong sales of the new 5er and the new X1 SUV. (Read More…)
Thought the idea of a four-door coupe was confusing? How about a five-door coupe? Or, is that a four-door shooting break? While the debate rages on, Mercedes has announced that it will produce a wagon version of its CLS four-door coupe, because, as the video above states
Mercedes is committed to the development of the coupe.
To develop the coupe you must destroy the coupe… or at least the significance of the word “coupe.” By that measure, Mercedes has done quite nicely with this car, and it doesn’t look half bad either. We’re just starting to get a little worried about where all this coupe “development” is going to end up.
Worried about the Chinese grabbing a piece of GM while it’s cheap? Don’t feel like the lone ranger. China is joining an illustrious circle of investors from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and around the world and grabbed a “notable” stake in Daimler. An unnamed Chinese institutional investor has bought a chunk of Daimler, as their CFO Bodo Uebber told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which sent an advance copy to Reuters. (Read More…)
Daimler wants to drastically increase Chinese production, at the expense of their booming imports. Dr. Z. told China’s National Business Daily (via Gasgoo) that their joint venture with BAIC, Beijing Benz Automotive Co, will expand its production capacity to 200,000 units a year. What won’t make people back home happy: Daimler wants to reduce the proportion of imported Mercedes-Benz models in the Chinese market to 30 percent from 70 percent. (Read More…)
In 1977, GM offered the above two vehicles for sale. Squint a bit; can you see a certain fundamental similarity? Yes, their exterior skin and styling were somewhat different, but once you peel back the vinyl top and other superficialities, you’d find a lot in common, as is obvious from their basic shared architecture. They both rode on the same basic platform/suspension, although the bottom one did have its rear wheels extended three inches for a touch more leg room. They both sported GM’s fine 350 (5.7 L) V8 engines, the top one with 170 hp, the bottom with 180 hp. The Chevy Nova (top), with more than a hint of BMW in its styling, was perhaps the best handling American sedan of its time, given that it also shared its underpinnings with the Camaro. The Nova’s price started at $3500 ($12k adjusted). The Seville (bottom), was aimed at the Mercedes S Class, and went out the door for about $14k ($48k adjusted), or four times as much. Can you tell where this is going? (Read More…)
For all its size and big talk about technical excellence, Daimler doesn’t seem to be doing much of its advanced powertrain R&D itself. News that the firm’s future hybrids will be Toyota-developed is joined by the revelation that Mercedes, not GM, is the mystery OEM which has hired Amp Electric Vehicles to develop an EV SUV prototype. AutoSpies reports that
It seems when Mercedes representatives visited AMP a while back they were so impressed with the [Amp-electrified Chevy Equinox], that they quickly commissioned a ML-350 test mule for further evaluation. Our exclusive spy photos reveal that a previously unregistered 2009 Pearl White ML-350 bearing manufacturer plates has arrived at AMP’s facility and is currently in the process of electrification by their engineers. Upon completion this now all electric ML is slated to undergo testing later in the month.
Which is an interesting turn of events for Daimler’s EV partnership strategy. With a $50m stake in Tesla, one might assume that Daimler would turn to the California firm to electrify its ML. After all, Toyota also has also invested $50m in Tesla as well, and Tesla is electrifying a RAV-4 prototype for Toyota. On the other hand, Daimler has not had much luck with its Tesla-powered Smart EV, so perhaps the Germans are diversifying away from the hype-driven Silicon Valley startup. If so, that’s not a good sign for Tesla or Toyota. Watch this space…
If the German magazine Focus is informed correctly, then Dr. Z’s days at Mercedes are counted. Focus heard that Wolfgang Bernhard will run Mercedes, while Dr. Z. will run all of Daimler. „In a second step, Bernhard could succeed Zetsche 2012 as Daimler CEO,“ says FOCUS. Currently, Bernhard is responsible for production and purchasing of Mercedes. (Read More…)
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