2012 Mercedes-benz Amg C63 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW, Mercedes ponder challengers to Uber

With autonomous vehicles seemingly just on the horizon of actually arriving to consumers, companies in the auto industry are already thinking about how the innovations could radically change how they do business. For example, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are considering a time where they might transform into ridesharing companies, according to Reuters. It almost sounds like the sci-fi motoring world Bob Lutz is predicting. The German brands foresee a future where some people hail their driverless cars like taxis and use them for short trips. The automakers could run those fleets, essentially making them Uber competitors. In fact, Tesla is reportedly mulling the idea, and Google might be, too. Alternatively, ridesharing services could buy the companies' models directly. "New mobility concepts will emerge with autonomous vehicles, which are robot cars. Fleet management will become a much more significant business," Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW board of management member in charge of Mini, said to Reuters. With BMW's DriveNow and Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing services, both automakers are already experimenting with alternative ways to get their vehicles on the road. It's not too hard to imagine one of the brand's peppering a few autonomous cars into those fleets someday to test these new theories in the real world. "The ability to use a car, and then walk away is a serious business," Ian Robertson, BMW's head of sales and marketing, said about the future of driverless tech to Reuters. Related Video:

Pondering the 2018 Dodge Demon and 2018 Honda Accord | Autoblog Podcast #521

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts and, for the first time, Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. We discuss the new 2018 Honda Accord dropping the V6, what the Dodge Demon means for FCA's future, and if Mercedes-Benz could sell a pickup truck in the US. Spend my money (your money, everyone's money) will be back next week. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #521Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown 00:00:00 - Intro + Demon 00:15:48 - Accord 00:28:48 - X-Class 00:43:10 - Outro Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes

Mercedes picks Gensler to design new Atlanta HQ

Mercedes is planning to move of its US headquarters from Montvale, NJ, to Atlanta, GA – and with over a thousand employees to house, the project will surely be massive. In order to pull it off, the automaker is going to need the right architects. And Mercedes seems convinced that Gensler is the way to go. Never heard of Gensler? The San Francisco-based architectural giant (incorporated as M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc.) has done the headquarters for Facebook, Coca-Cola and General Electric. It designed the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China, and crafted the master plan for the Olympic Games set to take place in Rio de Janeiro next year. It's done hotels, sports arenas, military facilities, airport terminals... the works. It also redesigned Cadillac's showrooms and Hyundai's new US headquarters, and among the many offices it operates in 46 cities and 16 countries around the world, it has a branch in Atlanta. So of the dozen firms Mercedes considered for the task, Gensler got the nod. The 250,000-square-foot facility is earmarked for completion in 2018, occupying a 12-acre plot at the corner of Abernathy and Barfield roads in Sandy Springs, Georgia. In the meantime, MBUSA is preparing to move temporarily from its current offices (pictured here) in Jersey down to another facility in the Atlanta area, also being set up by Gensler, in nearby Dunwoody – just a couple of miles down the road from where the permanent site will be. Mercedes-Benz USA Selects Gensler As Architect For New Atlanta Headquarters Facility Award-winning global firm to design 250,000-sq-ft office building in Sandy Springs, GA April 30, 2015 - MONTVALE, N.J. Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today announced it has selected Gensler as the architecture firm for its new headquarters facility in metro Atlanta. Gensler will design an approximately 250,000-square-foot office building that will house around 1,000 MBUSA employees upon its completion in 2018. "We talked to many, many firms and saw some amazing designs, but Gensler was the one that stood out for us," said MBUSA President and CEO Stephen Cannon. "They understood our brand and our culture, along with the ambitious goals we have for the next chapter of Mercedes-Benz in this market, and they were able bring that to life in their designs." MBUSA selected Gensler from a dozen global design firms for its creative building concept, which seamlessly integrates functionality and the beautiful surrounding landscape.