2011 Mb Gl450 4matic All Wheel Drive Navigation Carfax Certified Pre Owned on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Mercedes-Benz Metris First Drive

We're sitting 8,700 feet above sea level in the idyllic old mining town of Dunton Hot Springs, nestled deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We've come to drive the newest and cheapest Mercedes-Benz, a midsize work van called the Metris. As the day begins, Mercedes van boss Bernhard Glaser states the obvious, "We're setting up camp in the US." It's a good line, perhaps a little too fitting given our surroundings, but it's accurate. Though the US commercial van market is dominated by Ford and General Motors, Mercedes has staked out a competitive position and is digging for more. The tall, capable Sprinter relaunched with a Mercedes badge in the United States in 2010 and has grown into a $1-billion enterprise in America. Now comes Phase 2, dubbed "Mission Metris," starring a tweener van that's smaller than the towering Sprinter yet larger the Ford Transit Connect and Nissan NV200. The 2016 Metris enters a crowded and evolving segment that also includes the Ram ProMaster City and GM's super-old Chevy Express and GMC Savana. Mercedes will sell the Metris in cargo and passenger forms, meaning it will be outfitted for a range of roles, including taxi and limousine companies, delivery duties, service, and maintenance. Yes, your cable guy might show up in a Mercedes. That's part of the plan, actually. Though the Metris was engineered to be a pack-mule of a van, if the shine of the star on its grille helps attract new buyers – like a chain of upscale hotels that needs a fleet of shuttles – all the better. Our short test drive begins outside the small canyon town of Dolores, CO, as we haul four people and some luggage to the airport in a pre-production Metris. Normally test programs staged by automakers are a little contrived – many feature an off-road course or track time for even the most mundane vehicles – but our stint behind the wheel of the Metris is almost exactly how the van could be used in real life. We make our way along Colorado's winding highways, cruising around 60 miles per hour for much of it. The Metris offers an excellent view of the road and the snow-capped mountains that rise in the distance. It's an easy van to drive. We don't feel like we're piloting a U-Haul or something else cumbersome. Mercedes is billing this as the 'right-sized' option, and our initial impressions support that sentiment as we navigate the curves flanked by steep drop-offs.

Here's what Jay Leno will be working on in 2016

Jay Leno always has a project or five underway in his garage, and since 2015 is practically over, his latest video offers a glimpse at some of the amazing vehicles we might see his team complete in the coming year. Leno's crew certainly has a lot to do next year. Leno's most impressive current undertaking is an effort to modernize a 1914 Detroit Electric with about ten times its original power output. He showed off the vintage EV as just a shell in his last tour of the garage, but his team has now recreated the wood body. They also started the project's bigger challenge of installing a new electric motor and lithium-ion batteries from a Nissan Leaf. If EVs don't interest you, Leno has plenty of other irons in the fire, too. There's a 1971 Porsche 911 that's under restoration to turn it into a solid driver and several motorcycles in various states of repair. Leno even welcomes viewers into his dyno room to check out the work on the Chrysler V8 for his Cunningham. The results of this wrenching and welding on these projects should make for even more compelling videos in 2016.

Mercedes CLA a sub-$30k car no more

To be honest, the sub-$30,000 Mercedes-Benz CLA was more a theoretical than a real thing. Squeaking in at $100 below that magical threshold, not counting a $925 destination charge, snagging a CLA anywhere near $30k meant exercising extreme self-control with the options catalog. Perhaps with that thinking in mind, Mercedes is set to effectively scrap the entire idea, with Cars Direct claiming the price on a new CLA is set to increase by about five percent, to $31,500. Adding 4Matic all-wheel drive brings the starting price to $33,500. Even the hot CLA45 AMG is getting a price bump, from $47,450 to $48,500. Frankly, it's impossible to miss where Mercedes is coming from with this move, if it actually happens. The CLA has been one of 2014's unmitigated success stories, selling so well that Mercedes has struggled to keep up with demand. Considering that, a modest price hike is to be expected.