2008 Mercedes-benz Cl-class True Lorinser -edition(designo & Strut) on 2040-cars

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Mercedes-Benz may create electric-only brand

Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division may follow in fellow German automaker BMW's footsteps by launching its own separate brand for electric vehicles, Hybrid Cars says, citing German publication Handelsblatt, which quoted people familiar with the process. Daimler's board may make the decision to go ahead with the plan as early next month. And the brand may officially be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September. Unlike BMW and the i brand, Mercedes would use its existing factories to produce the newly-branded vehicles instead of operating out of a separate one as the i brand does. The first vehicle under the brand is likely to be an SUV model based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC crossover vehicle and would start sales next year. The product line would be broadened further in 2020. Daimler declined to comment, according to Handelsblatt. Mercedes-Benz and BMW wouldn't be the only two German automakers with plans for more electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen has a plan to unleash as many as 20 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to the public by 2020, including the Phaeton and the Audi A8. On that note, reports surfaced last month that VW may build its own "Gigafacory" as it prepares to widen its plug-in vehicle push and bring down their costs. As for US sales, Smart sold 313 ForTwo Electric vehicles, down 43 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, BMW's i sales in the US fell 40 percent from a year earlier to 2,723. Currently, Mercedes-Benz's only two electric vehicles are the Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive and the Smart ForTwo Electric two-seat vehicle. In the meantime, take a look at Autoblog's First Drive of the B-Class Electric. Related Video: News Source: Handelsblatt, Hybrid Cars Green Mercedes-Benz smart Electric

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class First Drive

I recently waxed poetic about the interior of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. In short, it's a class above the rest, simply because of the craftsmanship lessons Mercedes learned from its flagship S-Class. The new GLS-Class SUV doesn't have an interior like this. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal – adding "S" to the "GL" name is a marketing move to better tie Merc's largest SUV to its S-Class sedan. But it's more than just a letter; "S" adds a whole lot of responsibility in the world of Mercedes-Benz. Let me be clear: The GLS is a damn good product. It's supremely luxurious and immensely capable. An while it's not quite a luxury behemoth worthy of an S-Class name – that's probably in the works, by the way – it's still the best thing you can get this side of a Bentley Bentayga. And that's just fine with me. What you're looking at here is essentially a midcycle refresh of the existing GL, with some heavy massaging done to the exterior styling, interior design, and some mechanicals. Outside, the front fascia has a more upright appearance, with a wider grille that pushes the redesigned headlights farther out to the sides. Around back, there's a new bumper and LED taillamps. Otherwise, it's business as usual, though I do like the Sport exterior pictured here, only available on the GLS550. It comes with larger front air intakes and a tweaked rear apron, not to mention 21-inch AMG wheels. Certain elements like the mirrors and lower lip are blacked out with the addition of the Night pack, also seen here. "S" adds a whole lot of responsibility in the world of Mercedes-Benz. Because this isn't a clean-slate refresh, many of the SUV's interior bits carry over unchanged. No, it doesn't have the ultra-premium feel of an S-Class, but every surface is still wrapped in fine leather, the hard plastics genuinely feel premium, and on the go, road and wind noise are pretty much unnoticeable. Older bits like the HVAC controls at the bottom of the center stack and the old-style phone keypad above give away the GLS' age, but there's still plenty to boast about inside. The eight-inch infotainment screen houses all the latest COMAND features, controlled by the touchpad on the center console or redundant rotary knob. Compared to what you find in the Cadillac Escalade or Land Rover Range Rover, COMAND easily wins in terms of ease of use and the overall level of functionality.

2015 Japanese Grand Prix is a little Mercedes, a lot of zen

Just one week on from the issues in Singapore Mercedes-AMG Petronas appeared to have solved its clamp problems and everything else. Daniil Kvyat at Infiniti Red Bull Racing took the two Free Practice scalps on Friday, but when it came time for qualifying the front of the grid looked really familiar: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his second pole position of the season, Lewis Hamilton next to him in second. Kvyat had a hand in that, too, the Russian getting into a big accident in Q3 when he put two wheels on the grass heading into the hairpin and veered into the tire wall so hard that he flipped. That ended qualifying before a number of drivers had a chance to improve their times, Hamilton among them. That's how Valtteri Bottas got in third for Willliams ahead of Sebastian Vettel fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in fifth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo lined up sixth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, a team we're going to have to enjoy watching for the rest of the season since it might not exist come 2016. Romain Grosjean gave Lotus some good news by getting into eighth, the team so strapped for cash that it couldn't get into its hospitality area, so it held press conferences outside and ate at Bernie Ecclestone's Paddock Club. Sergio Perez took ninth for Sahara Force India, and Kvyat slotted into tenth after not setting a time. The Russsian's race would begin from the pit lane once his mechanics rebuilt his car. It wouldn't be a Formula One start lately without someone at the front having clutch problems. This time it was pole man Rosberg, whose power unit got too hot and put him a few horsepower down on Hamilton through Turns 1 and 2. That's half of how Hamilton took the lead from the lights going out, and the Brit kept it throughout the race. Rosberg, however, said his race was lost when Hamilton pushed him wide through Turn 2, a move Hamilton defended. Rosberg finished almost 19 seconds behind his teammate, a gap that probably isn't fully explained by that opening incident. Hamilton's race was so uneventful that we almost never saw him on camera – that is, we saw him so much less than we usually see him when he's out in front and unpressured that Nikki Lauda said he'd ask Ecclestone why the cameras avoided him. The conspiracy theory holds that FOM was punishing Mercedes for not supplying Red Bull with engines next year.