2008 Mercedes-benz G500 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Mercedes G-Class 'Designo Manufaktur' even more upscale

Catering to customers who want the brand to provide more customization instead of having to confer with aftermarket tuners, Mercedes-Benz has added a new design book of options to the G-Class called Designo Manufaktur. Developed to offer a range of personalizing choice, a studio in Graz, Austria where the G-Class is built adds exclusive colors and hand-finished touches for buyers, some of them reserved only for the AMG models. New exterior colors include a roof that can be drenched in obsidian black and sheetmetal dressed in non-metallic fire opal, metallic designo mauritius blue metallic, and matte hues like designo yellow olive magno. The wheel selection has grown, with alloys available in black, and the spare wheel cover - normally in a polished finish - can be painted body color. The side strips can be all black instead of black and chrome, or carbon fiber-look for AMG models. Throw the Night package on top of all that and you get more black touches in places like the mirror housings and dark-tint windows. The interior options add saddle brown, deep-sea blue, silk beige, and mocha brown to the collection of swatches, with coordinating topstitching. AMG models can be decked out in red, with red seat belts, and Dinamica microfiber accents. The press release below tells the whole story. Even more individuality ex factory: "designo manufaktur" for the G-ClassStuttgart, Dec 04, 2015 - The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been writing an incomparable success story since 1979. "designo manufaktur" is now making the classic cross-country vehicle even more individual ex factory. Customers can now tailor the off-road icon to their personal style.The name says it all: "designo manufaktur" captures customers' imagination with individual equipment and appointments features, traditional craftsmanship and the highest quality. The new individualisation programme fulfils the wishes of numerous G-Class customers for their own personal, tailor-made cross-country vehicle. "designo manufaktur" offers exclusive, unique colour and material compositions inside and out. With a host of combination options, the off-roader develops its very special character and unmistakable style.The Manufaktur hand-finishing section, which turns a G-Class into a unique "G", is located in Graz. Be it exterior or interior, topstitching or model badge, virtually every detail is lovingly crafted by hand.

Consumer Reports selling its road-tested roadsters [w/video]

Here's a chance to acquire a celebrity-owned vehicles, and this time at a discount instead of a premium. So the celebrity in this case is Consumer Reports, that magazine that could be equally adored and abhored by car enthusiasts. CR buys all of its test vehicles and usually finds willing second owners within its own ranks, but its opening its small used-car lot to the public. On the forecourt are four roadsters: an automatic 2012 Audi TT 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic with 6,600 miles for $36,500, a manual 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i with 8,400 miles for $45,000, a manual 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 for $39,500 and a manual 2013 Porsche Boxster with 7,000 miles for $48,000.
Those numbers mean a savings of $9,000 to $10,000 before haggling - each car is listed with an "Asking price" so there could be some wiggle room if you show up with pockets full of dough and eyes full of serious intent. Since the money CR earns from the sales go back into the magazine's budget to buy more test cars, however, it probably won't take any oddball trades, so you can forget about getting any purchasing help from that track-day AMC Javelin project on blocks in the back yard.
The vehicles have been taken care of and spiffed up for sale; buyers will take delivery at the CR test track in East Haddam, Connecticut and get a tour of the facilities. While you're there they'll even take you on a lap around the track so you can feel how your car handles when driven by one of its testers. They will probably not help you with advice on which toaster and dehumidifier to buy - you'll still need to get a subscription for that. Have a look at the video below to see a day in the life of a CR test car.

Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole position for British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton took pole position for his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with a sensational lap that left him one step away from Michael Schumacher's Formula One record. Hamilton's championship-leading Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, who has a 20-point advantage after nine of 20 races, qualified third. The Mercedes driver was half a second quicker than Ferrari's second placed Kimi Raikkonen and his time of one minute 26.600 seconds was so outrageously quick there were gasps before the crowd erupted. "I always try to leave the best to last," the Briton told retired champion Jenson Button in post-qualifying interviews on the grid. "I had to make sure I got that lap in. I couldn't do it last weekend (in Austria) so I made sure I could here." Hamilton still faced a nervous wait after race stewards announced they were investigating an incident involving French driver Romain Grosjean, who complained he had been blocked earlier in the session. They swiftly decided to take no further action. The Briton's mastery of a damp but drying track lit up an overcast afternoon and the pole was the 67th of his career, sixth of the season, and gave him every chance of equalling Schumacher's record 68 before the August break. The triple world champion has won the last three British Grands Prix and can equal the late Jim Clark's feat of four home wins in a row, and five in total, on Sunday. Saturday ensured he has already matched Clark's 50-year-old record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. "I feel amazing in front of a great crowd like this. I hope you liked the lap," Hamilton told the grandstands full of cheering fans. "I generally like it to be dry, but I like it when the conditions are tricky." Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, winner in Austria, was fourth fastest but has a five-place penalty following a gearbox change. That promoted Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who has suffered five retirements in the last seven races, to the second row. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and his former Force India team mate Sergio Perez filled the third row. There was good news for beleaguered McLaren, who raised a cheer when Fernando Alonso made the most of improving conditions to set the fastest time in the first phase of qualifying, with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne qualifying ninth.