2002 Mercedes-benz Cl600 Base Coupe 2-door 5.8l. Very Clean. 1 Owner. No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Here's today's round of auto plant closures in response to coronavirus

More automakers have shuttered factories, as businesses everywhere work to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus — and as the pandemic slows sales and disrupts parts supply chains. On Friday, the following closures were announced: • Volvo will close its factories in Sweden and the United States from March 26 to April 14. Volvo's U.S. facility, in Charleston, South Carolina, makes the S60 sedan. Its assembly plant in Torslanda, Sweden, turns out the XC90, SC60, and V90. Other Swedish facilities make engines and component parts. A Volvo factory in Ghent, Belgium, that builds the XC40 and V60 closed earlier this week and is expected to remain offline until April 6. Volvo's four factories in China have been reopened after a shutdown earlier this year. • Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will suspend production at its assembly plants in the UK over the coming week. The shutdown is expected to last until April 20. Elsewhere, production continues at the company's factories in India and Brazil, and JLR's joint-venture plant in China reopened at the end of February. • Bentley is closing its factory in Crewe, England, for four weeks, effective today. • Bugatti has put its atelier in Molsheim, France, on hiatus. No date was given for when assembly of its supercars might resume. • Mercedes-Benz on Monday will shut down its SUV factory in Alabama and its van assembly plant in South Carolina. Both will remain closed for a minimum of two weeks. Tesla yesterday revealed that it will suspend operations at its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant next week, on order from local officials there. Yesterday's factory closure announcements also included the U.S. assembly plants for Toyota (until April 6), Volkswagen (through March 29), Subaru (through March 29), and Hyundai (no time period specified). They join GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and Harley-Davidson, which earlier this week announced the suspension of production at their facilities. Plants/Manufacturing Bentley Bugatti Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Volvo coronavirus

China's BAIC looks to invest in Daimler

Daimler and Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) are already intertwined in China. Daimler is a 12-percent shareholder in BAIC Motor, the third largest shareholder in the passenger-car division of BAIC. They have a joint manufacturing venture Beijing Benz in which BAIC is the majority partner by one percent, a sales joint venture Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co. in which Daimler is the majority partner by one percent, and Daimer says, "BAIC is our most important partner in China." Beijing Benz is ten years old this year. They'll become even closer if talks between the two concerning BAIC taking "a major stake" in the German conglomerate come to anything. Reuters reports that the two are in talks now, with BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi saying it should be resolved one way or another by the end of this year. If they agree, the China-based, Hong Kong-listed company will join Renault-Nissan and the Kuwait Investment Authority as Daimler's top shareholders. Some China analysts see a potential Daimler investment as a coup for BAIC, similar to BAIC's 2009 purchase of old Saab platform, engine, and transmission technologies, that would give it access to technologies it wouldn't have to develop on its own and hastening the development of its own cars. A deal is also seen as potentially opening up export possibilities for the Chinese company. Other analysts aren't sure that BAIC would get any useful technology, noting that that last deal between the two gave BAIC the outdated E-Class platform, but none of Mercedes' headline tech. If a deal is done, BAIC will join Dongfeng Group and SAIC as Chinese automaker investors in western automotive companies.

Next Mercedes-Benz C-Class spotted in the snow

The entry-level Mercedes-Benz C-Class has long felt like nothing more than, well, just that. Aside from the potent and delicious C63 AMG models, there hasn't been much to set the C-Class apart in the entry-level luxury/sport segment, leading to the model being regarded by many as "The Cheap Mercedes." No, it's certainly not a bad car, but for our money, it hasn't stood up particularly well to competitors like the BMW 3 Series or Audi A4.
So with the handsome new CLA-Class coming to round off the entry-level end for Mercedes-Benz, big plans are in store for the C-Class. We can see some evidence of that in this latest set of spy shots from our friends at CarPix. According to earlier reports, the new C-Class will be "far more dramatic" in the visuals department, and while the sedan's sculpting is still covered by camo, the much sleeker headlamp design we see here is, at the very least, a good start. The car's overall size is expected to grow a bit to further distance itself from the CLA, though thanks to lightweight materials, curb weight isn't expected to increase.
Just like the current model, the new C-Class is expected to use four- and six-cylinder engines, both gas- and diesel-fed, and overall power output for the global engine range should span from 120-ish on the low end to as much as 330. These new engines are expected to be mounted lower and farther rearward than before, offering better balance for both rear- and 4Matic all-wheel drive configurations. And as for that AMG? Rumors suggest a turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 will fall underhood.