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Firing of M-B boss upheld

Ernst Lieb, the disgraced former CEO of American operations for Mercedes-Benz, will not be getting any more money from the Silver Arrow'd teat. His wrongful dismissal suit against MB's parent company, Daimler, was tossed out of a German appeals panel. This, followed the initial rejection by a lower court last year.
According to court documents acquired by Automotive News, Lieb was found to have "accepted payments of substantial value to which he - as he was aware - had no claim."
Lieb took over American operations from former CEO Paul Halata in September of 2006. Reports surfaced in October of 2011 that Lieb was dismissed from his posting at MB, with a variety of rumors swirling. Eventually, news broke that financial wrong doing was responsible for the German's firing.

Max Verstappen wins rain-soaked German Grand Prix

HOCKENHEIM, Germany — Max Verstappen won a chaotic and rain-soaked German Grand Prix on Sunday as championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished 11th and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed near the end. Verstappen kept his composure on a treacherous track to clinch his second victory this season and seventh of his Red Bull career, topping a surprise podium ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel — who started from last — and Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat. "It was amazing to win, it was really tricky out there, you had to be focused," Verstappen said. "It was about trying to not make too many mistakes. You learn over the years. I'm very happy with the result." Following this week's crushing heatwave, wet weather caused Hockenheimring havoc as drivers took up to six pit stops for new tires and several crashed at the same spot where a section of tarmac was notoriously slippery. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in contention for a podium, despite starting from 10th, but crashed after switching for quicker tires and slid off the track, over the gravel and into the barriers. Remarkably, Hamilton had the same mishap moments later, mangling his front wing after losing control at the same corner. He came in for a new wing and tires, but it took Mercedes by surprise and a painfully long stop cost him any chance of victory. For Vettel it was a remarkable turnaround, and almost the opposite to last year — when he crashed near the end after leading the race from pole position and Hamilton won, having qualified only 14th. "It was a lot of fun, it was very tough to read what the smartest move was in the conditions," Vettel said. "I stayed tidy in the whole race. Congratulations to Max, he was superb." The red-clothed Ferrari mechanics and engineers mobbed the four-time F1 champion, doubtless relieved after the team's botched qualifying on Saturday. Vettel could not even get out on track to set a time and Leclerc's qualifying bid was undone late in the session, forcing him to start 10th. For Kvyat it was a third career podium but, above all, a point proved. The 25-year-old Russian driver was ruthlessly replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen after just four races of the 2016 season, and could not even get a seat in F1 last year. "Amazing to be back on the podium," Kvyat said. "The race was crazy. Incredible roller-coaster, like my whole career." The track was drenched by the time the race started. For safety reasons, a safety car was deployed.

Aston wants to build DBX on its new platform, not Mercedes'

Aston Martin is proceeding with plans to launch the DBX as its first production crossover. It just can't say at this point what it will be based on. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Aston's new CEO Andy Palmer indicated that basing the DBX on a Mercedes SUV platform would not be its first choice because they "clearly sit in a very different space to the one we want to go" with the DBX. Instead, the company's first choice would be to build the crossover atop the new platform it's developing for its sports cars. "It just depends how high off the ground it could go," said Palmer. "I don't exclude the possibility of using some [Mercedes] parts, but I would say very much the primary route is our platform." The prospect of building an Aston SUV on Mercedes architecture – namely that of the GL-Class – has been on the table for some time now. The Lagonda SUV concept it showcased at the Geneva show in 2009 was based on the GL, and the two automakers have been forging a tightening alliance in the years since. The British automaker's next-generation engine is to be built by Mercedes-AMG, and it is expected to source other components from the German automaker as well. For its part, Mercedes has been taking a sportier approach with its latest crossovers, as demonstrated by the GLE Coupe that debuted before the more conventional version and the Concept GLC Coupe that previewed the GLK's replacement in Shanghai last month. Aston Martin, on the other hand, is building a new sports car platform that will underpin its next generation of luxury GTs, replacing the long-serving VH architecture that has served for decades as the basis for its entire model line. Perhaps the most surprising of ANE's report, though, is that Aston seems to be proceeding with plans to build the DBX apparently without even knowing what platform it will use.