2012 C250 Luxury Used Turbo 1.8l I4 16v Automatic Rwd Sedan Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Mercedes stationary batteries, 2015 E-Mazing Race

Mercedes-Benz is following Tesla's Powerwall in selling stationary batteries for home, business, and industrial solar energy storage. The lithium-ion batteries will come in 2.5- and 5.9-kWh capacities, and can be linked together. Daimler's vehicle battery technology, "has proven to work for millions of driven kilometers in the toughest environments of heat and cold, which makes it the best candidate also for stationary use," says Harald Kroeger of Mercedes-Benz. Pricing is unavailable as of yet, but Mercedes promises "competitive" pricing when the batteries go on sale at the Intersolar trade fair (June 10 through 12) in Munich, Germany. Read more at Automotive News, or in the press release below. The third running of the E-Mazing Race competition for electric vehicles is underway in Canada. The race challenges drivers to earn the most points by charging at Sun Country Highway charging stations in a month. Contestants needn't have been at the official starting point nor cross the finish line; they just needed to sign up and download the race app to participate. More remote charging stations offer more points when charging, and participants can also win prizes for photos and using social media. The 2015 E-Mazing Race, which began May 27 and ends June 24, is meant to raise awareness of electric vehicles. Sun Country is working on expanding its EV charging infrastructure in the US, so don't be surprised to see the race encompassing most of North America in the future. Read more at Green Car Reports. Linde has opened a new hydrogen fueling station in Innsbruck, Austria. The station, located in the popular destination city that has twice hosted the Winter Olympics, will allow hydrogen-powered vehicles to cross the Alps and travel between Italy and Germany. The station is capable of 700-bar refueling and can fuel six cars per hour. It was built as part of the HyFive project to create hydrogen fueling infrastructure across Europe to facilitate the rollout of fuel cell vehicles. It is the second public hydrogen station in Austria. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below from Linde.

Germany says nein to EU ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government will not agree to European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday. In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035. That means it would be impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then. European Parliament lawmakers backed the proposals this month, before negotiations with EU countries on the final law take place. Speaking at an event hosted by Germany's BDI industry association, Lindner said there would continue to be niches for combustion engines so a ban was wrong and said the government would not agree to this European legislation. Lindner, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, which shares power with the Social Democrats and Greens, said Germany would still be a leading market for electric vehicles. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Miranda Murray and Edmund Blair) Green Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Opel SEAT Skoda

Daimler ponders partnerships with Apple, Google

Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche is willing to consider joint ventures with tech giants like Apple and Google. Don't expect the automaker's vehicles to become just another platform for their software, though. In an interview with a German magazine, the chairman admits "different types" of partnerships could be possible, according to Reuters. As vehicles become increasingly connected, greater expertise is necessary in creating their software. The changing market is an opportunity for tech companies to enter the auto industry. "Google and Apple want to provide system software for cars and bring this entire ecosystem around Apple and Google into the vehicle," Zetsche said, according to Reuters. "That can be interesting for both sides." Although, he was clear no deals had happened, yet. For automakers, the danger of this cooperation is for a vehicle to be just a physical device that runs the software. "We don't want to become contractors who have no direct content with customers any more and supply hardware to third parties," he said in the interview. Zetsche has been working out how to create this balance for a while. Earlier this year, he said that some partnerships with Silicon Valley firms could be helpful. However, data privacy remains a major concern, especially in the wake of multiple vehicle hacks in recent months. In the chairman's opinion, a Mercedes-Benz shouldn't just protect its occupants physically but also their personal information. Related Video: