Diesel Sport Utility 4wd Automatic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Daimler rebuffs Geely offer to buy stake

HONG KONG/BEIJING - Daimler AG has turned down an offer from China's Geely to take a stake of up to 5 percent via a discounted share placement, as the German automaker has long been reluctant to see existing shareholdings diluted, sources with knowledge of the talks said. A stake of that size would be worth $4.5 billion at current market prices. Although Daimler declined the offer, it told Geely it was welcome to buy shares in the open market, the sources added. Carmakers in China have embarked on a flurry of dealmaking, as they scramble to boost production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles ahead of tough new quotas to be imposed by Beijing, which wants to reduce urban smog and lower the country's reliance on oil. People with knowledge of Geely's thinking said the company was keen to access Daimler's electric car battery technology and wanted to establish an electric car joint venture in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. Geely, which also owns Swedish car maker Volvo, is still hopeful it can secure a deal in some form over the coming weeks, they added. The two automakers met in Beijing in recent weeks at Geely's behest. There, the Chinese firm, formally known as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, offered to take a stake of between 3 percent and 5 percent if Daimler would issue new shares at a discount, the sources said. It was not immediately clear what kind of discount for the shares Geely had in mind or whether Geely was interested in buying the shares on the open market. A spokesman for Geely declined to comment. A spokesman for Daimler said the company was "very happy with our shareholder structure at present", but added that it would welcome new investors with a long-term interest in the company. Shares in Daimler were up 1 percent in early Wednesday trade, in line with the broader market.DAIMLER ALREADY TIED TO BAIC, BYD Geely, which has a market value of some $32 billion, is the leading domestic brand in China with a 5 percent market share, according to an analysis by Nomura Securities. A stake of 5 percent would establish it as Daimler's third-largest shareholder behind the Kuwait Investment Authority and BlackRock, who hold 6.8 percent and 6 percent respectively, according to Reuters data.

Roll like His Airness in this Mercedes SLR McLaren previously owned by Michael Jordan

Often called the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan also has an interest in fast machines, as evidenced by the recent announcement that he would be establishing a NASCAR team, 23XI Racing, together with Denny Hamlin and featuring Bubba Wallace behind the wheel. It's hardly surprising, then, that he would also be an owner of multiple supercars, many of which could be seen in the ESPN documentary The Last Dance. One of Jordan's previous supercars, this 2007 Mercedes SLR McLaren, is now up for sale on eBay Motors. Besides its celebrity provenance, this Mercedes SLR McLaren is special for another reason: It's the special 722 Edition, built to commemorate the 1955 Mercedes-Benz win at the Mille Miglia. That winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR racer, piloted by Sir Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson, was car #722 (so designated because of its 7:22 a.m. start time). The SLR McLaren 722 Edition features a 650-horsepower supercharged 5.5-liter V8 engine and is able to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. Top speed is 209 mph. Good thing the front splitter and rear diffuser are modified for increased downforce at high speeds. The ride height also is lowered and the suspension stiffened compared to the regular car, and larger brake rotors are fitted. The interior brings leather and Alcantara upholstery along with gloss-finished carbon fiber trim. Special black wheels and subtle red "722" badges complete the picture. This car has 1,038 miles on the clock, so it must not have been in heavy rotation with Jordan's many other rides. At this writing, the car has a bid of $35,100 with the reserve not met. We'd guess bidding has a way to go before someone has a realistic chance of driving this baby home, since the Buy-It-Now price is $695,750. Featured Gallery Mercedes SLR McLaren ex-Michael Jordan Auto News Celebrities McLaren Mercedes-Benz Auctions Coupe Supercars

A weird end to a weird F1 season | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix recap

The 2016 Formula 1 season ended with a bang that came from a direction no one expected. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position and then got away clean to start the race. Teammate Nico Rosberg did the next best thing, lining up in second and following right behind Hamilton for most of the race. Other than Rosberg's wicked pass on Red Bull's Max Verstappen to retake second place on Lap 20, things stayed all quiet at the front. Come Lap 32 of the 55-lap race, however, observers began to wonder why Hamilton was driving so slow. The Brit, working every trick he could think of to win the Driver's World Championship instead of just the race, dogged it out front trying to push Rosberg back into the chasing mix of Red Bulls and Ferraris. Over the next 15 laps Hamilton's race engineer repeatedly radioed ideal lap times. Hamilton only occasionally hit the times until finally saying, "I suggest you let us race." When the one-stopping Sebastian Vettel blasted his Ferrari from sixth to third, nosing up to Rosberg's gearbox, Mercedes team honcho Paddy Lowe got on the radio to instruct Hamilton to go faster. Hamilton replied that if he wasn't going to win the championship he didn't care about winning the race. Hamilton repeatedly zoomed through the first sector to keep everyone behind, then clogged up the works through Sectors 2 and 3. The problem with his plan was that the Red Bulls in fourth and fifth couldn't get close enough to threaten the trio at the front; even if Vettel had got by Rosberg, Rosberg would still win the Championship with a third-place finish. As it happened, Rosberg finished second behind the disconsolate Hamilton. Vettel took third, followed by Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, then the second Ferrari piloted by Kimi Raikkonen in sixth. Nico Hulkenberg took seventh, beating Force India teammate Sergio Perez for the last time as an intra-team rivalry. Felipe Massa closed his F1 career with ninth place in a Williams chassis that he got to take home as a gift from the team. Fernando Alonso scored the final point for McLaren, a touch of sweet for the team after the bitterness of Jenson Button retiring on Lap 12 with suspension damage. Rosberg's second place earned him 385 points for the season, enough to take the World Driver's Championship from Hamilton by just five points. Some have put the title down to Rosberg's consistency, others to his car's reliability.