05 Clk-class Clk55 Amg Convertible Low Miles Leather on 2040-cars

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Daimler: 2017 the right time to launch our hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle

Zero-emissions vehicle development has never focused purely on off-the-line acceleration. So when a research executive with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler says it's Okay that companies like Toyota and Hyundai will have a head start selling hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, it's somewhat believable. But is Daimler really fine with being two years behind? It appears so. Daimler plans on debuting its first fuel-cell vehicle in 2017, Automotive News says, citing an interview Automobilwoche had with Daimler's corporate research chief Herbert Kohler. The German automaker estimated about a decade ago that it would be able to get fuel-cell production costs down to an "acceptable" level in 2012, but it turns out that estimate was about five years too aggressive. Daimler originally started leasing out a limited number of its F-Cell hydrogen vehicles in the US for $849 a month, though later brought that down to $599 a month. Daimler says it received a boost in its effort to accelerate fuel-cell powertrain development when it reached an agreement early last year with Nissan and Ford to work together on speeding up relevant powertrain technology. While Toyota's first fuel-cell vehicle in Japan is priced at almost $70,000 (before big government incentives kick in), Kohler says Daimler's first fuel-cell vehicle will be priced similar to a hybrid vehicle. Of course, that's a Mercedes-Benz hybrid we're talking about here, but still. Related Gallery Mercedes-Benz F-Cell View 9 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen Cars h2

UK workers strand car on island of asphalt to keep working

Generally speaking, when you illegally park your car, you're likely to get ticketed and towed, but there is probably at least one motorist in Scotland who wishes that was the case. After workers had blocked off a portion of the parking lot for the Edinburgh Waverley railway station, the driver of this Mercedes-Benz S-Class reportedly moved some of the barriers to park in one of the empty spots.
Rather than having the vehicle towed, the work crew simply tore up the asphalt around the leaving just the one parking spot intact, and as you can see in the image above (posted to the Twitter account of Harold Norstad), the crew even built a small asphalt ramp so the car could get off its blacktop pedestal. Since this happened last week, there's no word as to whether the car was eventually moved or towed for the resurfacing work to continue.
Let this be a warning...

2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4x4 First Drive [w/videos]

On the flight out to Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4x4 launch. I figured I'd drive down gravel and dirt roads, and then I'd take a Sprinter on a brief, pre-planned, crawling off-road course with Mercedes guides helping me along, Perrier water and fresh pastries at every third checkpoint. I've done off-road drives before, and while they do a perfectly nice job of showing the capability of a vehicle and its four-wheel-drive system, they're usually somewhat predictable and, I guess, safe. I also knew I'd be going to the middle of nowhere, but I assumed that'd just be a small town nestled in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. You know, a city anchored by its ski resort, but with all the amenities of a fully functional community. Something like Revelstoke, BC, where I spent my first night on the trip – kind of out in the wilderness, but a place where my iPhone could still pick up a solid 4G signal. But 24 hours later I found myself in a truly remote, off-the-grid part of the world, faced with a route that was anything but pre-arranged. And I wasn't in a G-Wagen, or some other off-roader – I was going to do all of this in a Sprinter van. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time Autoblog has taken a Sprinter far, far off the beaten path, and isn't the first time we've driven this generation of Mercedes' van. Home base was the CMH Monashee Lodge in Mica Creek, BC – a location so out-there that, according to Wikipedia, it "is no longer incorporated as a village." I had lost cell signal some 50 miles back, and the lodge was the only thing around, with its small staff, my fellow journalists and the Mercedes handlers the only human beings inhabiting the area. (Wait, haven't I heard this one before?) The drive from Revelstoke to Mica Creek was easy – 56 miles, all on Canada Highway 23 that runs alongside the Columbia River. It was breathtaking, with mountain forests still covered in snow from the winter, and the (mostly) thawed river flowing peacefully to my left as I drove north. There were no telephone poles, no stoplights and no traffic save the occasional logging truck. The road signs didn't point to exits toward other towns, but instead warned of possible run-ins with moose or bears, and let me know not to stop on specific parts of the highway unless I wanted to experience an avalanche up close.