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Mercedes investing $500 million for new Sprinter plant in SC

The commercial van segment is exploding in popularity in the US right now with a vast array of recent products from multiple marques, and there's even more on the way from automakers like Hyundai. Mercedes-Benz is trying to grab a bigger share of the expanding market, too, and is launching its smaller Metris here in the fall. Now comes word that Mercedes will construct a $500-million factory in Charleston, SC, that will build the next-gen Sprinter domestically. According to Mercedes, construction of the new plant will begin in 2016, and when complete, the site will cover around 200 acres, including a body shop, paint shop and assembly line. It will also employ 1,300 people who will be building Sprinters badged as both Mercedes and Freightliner models. Rumors about this new construction go back to late last year. Mercedes currently has to ship some partially disassembled Sprinters into the US from Germany, paying import duties on them, and then the company puts the vans back together at a site in Ladson, SC. The process obviously adds costs to the models, and the domestic factory should mean a more price-competitive vehicle. Plus, a local factory means quicker deliveries to dealers. Despite the laborious import process, the Sprinter is a hit in the US. Mercedes sold 25,745 of them in 2014, which made the country the van's second-largest market behind Germany. They were first launched here in 2001 and since then have gained a nine-percent market share in the segment, according to the company. Mercedes is on a construction boom at the moment. The company is building a new corporate headquarters for the US in Atlanta, GA, due to be complete in 2018. The German brand is also investing $2.4 billion to expand its Tuscaloosa, AL, factory to build models like the forthcoming GLE-Class. MERCEDES-BENZ VANS TO INVEST AROUND $500 MILLION IN NEW VAN PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, U.S. 09/03/15 from Mercedes-Benz New plant to be built in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in 2016 Next generation Sprinter also to be manufactured in the U.S. Expansion of the global production network as part of the "Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global" growth strategy Creation of more than 1,300 new jobs planned Volker Mornhinweg: "We are investing around half a billion dollars to create a top-notch Mercedes-Benz van plant here in South Carolina.

2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Review

"It's about great cars on great roads." The late David E. Davis, Jr., said this of Winding Road when he took the reins as editor-in-chief in 2006. Our mission at that magazine was to not just review cars, but to describe the emotional experience of piloting brilliant machines down beautiful roads. "The art of driving," per David E. This all comes flooding back into my mind as I pull out of a Shell station onto Angeles Crest Highway, just south of the 210 freeway in La Canada Flintridge, CA. I'm in the 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S. I've got a full tank of fuel, the whole day to myself, and I'm staring down one of the finest driving roads in the country. Prior to this moment, I spent two days bombing around the greater Los Angeles area in this sinister-looking C63 S. This car is a villain, and looks appropriately so in black paint with the $750 AMG Exterior Night Styling pack. The C-Class as a whole is far more upscale in this latest generation, with its long hood, cab-rearward design, and short rear deck. "Baby S-Class" is not an exaggeration. Thankfully, the addition of AMG bits don't detract from the new C's more premium aura. Where a BMW M3 just looks like a brash 3 Series, the C63 is more like a C400 with a trick up its sleeve. The 4.0-liter V8 is an exceptional engine. Start the engine, and there's no question you're blessed with the power of AMG. Any worries I had about the new, twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 not providing enough aural delight are gone, especially with the $1,250 AMG Performance Exhaust. At start-up there's a low, burbly sound quality, typical of a V8. At full throttle, it's loud, angry, and passionate. I will always miss the naturally aspirated, 6.2-liter M156 V8 from the last C63, not only for its noise, but for its character. That said, I eagerly welcome Mercedes' new turbocharged techniques. The 4.0-liter V8 is an exceptional engine. In C63 S guise, the M178 lump makes 503 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, the latter of which comes on in full force as low as 1,750 rpm. That's a ton of power for the 3,935-pound C63. But it never feels like there's too much to handle. Power comes on progressively, and when I mash the throttle on a straight stretch of pavement, the car is composed and controlled. And quick. Seriously quick. Zero-to-sixty-in-under-four-seconds quick. The balance between viciousness and grace is perfectly met in this new C63.

Lewis Hamilton signs another three years with Mercedes

Dominant. That's really the only term we could use to describe the marriage of Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes F1 team. And now they've signed a new contract. The subject of prolonged speculation, the reigning world champion and his team have announced a new three-year deal that will see Hamilton driving a Silver Arrow at least through the end of 2018. That's good news for Hamilton, who has only ever driven Mercedes-powered cars in Formula One, and for Mercedes, which has secured its star driver for years to come. Although details of the deal (as usual) were not disclosed, the BBC reports that it could be worth as much as $40 million each year. Hamilton's base salary is said to come in at $31 million per season, with extensive bonuses for winning races and championships – something at which Lewis and Benz have proven particularly adept. Racing fans will be well schooled in the trajectory of Hamilton's meteoric rise. He climbed the formula racing ladder with support from Mercedes and McLaren, winning the Formula 3 Euro Series and GP2 championships before hitting the F1 grid for McLaren in 2007 – and quite nearly locking the championship in his first season. He won his first F1 title in 2008, then struggled with the Woking team in subsequent seasons but kept winning races, switching to Mercedes in 2013 after Michael Schumacher re-retired. He won his second championship the following season on the back of 11 grand prix wins last year, and currently leads the standings ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg. "Mercedes is my home and I couldn't be happier to be staying here another three years," said Hamilton. "The Mercedes car I am driving right now is the best I have ever had in my career."