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Mercedes' CEO says Google should study car use, not car building

Google is rapidly throwing its massive weight into many facets of the auto business. Not only does the search behemoth want to take on Uber, offer car insurance quotes and run a specific version of Android on future infotainment systems, but the company is also at least toying with the idea of constructing its own completely autonomous vehicles. Such a powerful corporation entering the industry could frighten some automakers, but Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche isn't worried. The mustachioed executive doesn't believe that Google actually means to become an automaker but is instead just studying how people use cars. "Google and the likes want to get involved, I don't think in the first place to build vehicles," he told analysts, according to Reuters. Zetsche sees future collaboration with the technology giant in a quite nuanced way in that there are some things they can be partners on and other places where the two corporations might be competitors. One area where Zetsche potentially predicts an antagonistic relationship with Google regards data privacy, a concern is becoming a hot topic in the auto industry at the moment. Zetsche foresees the future of safety in Mercedes-Benz vehicles as protecting occupants not just physically but also safeguarding their personal information. "To be able to provide that, we have to keep control, and we can't do that when it is collected by Google," Zetsche said to Reuters. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Gero Breloer / AP Photo Mercedes-Benz Technology Emerging Technologies Infotainment Autonomous Vehicles

Mercedes teases a new Maybach concept convertible

Once again, Mercedes is taking a Vision concept to the Pebble Beach Concours this year. To start generating excitement, the company has released a teaser trailer for the car, and effectively no other information. But we think we've pieced together what the car is. Let's look at the video first. It shows a voluptuous blue body. It's all curves and clean lines inside and out. It also has an impressively prodigious prow with a proud three-pointed star at the front. The interior is all white with very little detail, and in addition to chrome, there are many copper trim pieces. There appear to be only two seats, too. Toward the end, we see a strip of copper trim on the outside as well, and just before the shot changes, we can see a bit of white interior that indicates this is a convertible. So we know this is an elegant, luxurious roadster. Is there anything else we can discern? Well, it seems Mercedes may have accidentally revealed the name of the car, or at least what it's based on. The video's file name includes the words "Maybach six." That happens to be the name of last year's Mercedes-Maybach coupe concept. On top of that, there's a striking resemblance between the long, flowing hoods of both cars. So it seems like a pretty safe bet that Mercedes will show the convertible version of that car, which was 18 feet long, and produced 738 horsepower from a quartet of electric motors. We'll find out if we're right when the car is revealed at Pebble Beach. Related Video: Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz Design/Style Maybach Mercedes-Benz Technology Emerging Technologies Convertible Concept Cars Electric Luxury Pebble Beach

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: