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2015 Malaysian F1 GP springs hot, humid surprises [spoilers]

In the two weeks since Australia both Mercedes and Ferrari spoke of the improved performance from their respective cars. In Malaysia, Ferrari showed it. Lewis Hamilton still put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position, but Sebastian Vettel got within two whiskers of the Brit, lining up second just 0.074 behind. Afterward, Vettel said Ferrari could win the race if everything went well. But in qualifying we didn't know how much of Ferrari's performance was truly down to the car and how much was down to the wet weather that struck near the beginning of Q2. The rain didn't hamper Nico Rosberg's run – the German said "I just didn't drive good enough" – and he took third spot in the second Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Showing what the Infiniti Red Bull Racing chassis can do when the power unit is working properly, teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat grabbed fourth and fifth. Whippersnapper Max Verstappen, in his second race, qualified in sixth with an excellent drive through the rain; just 0.030 behind Kvyat, he said he could have got fifth if he hadn't had a running problem with his brakes. Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley said he wouldn't complain about Mercedes' advantage, but Felipe Massa has spent the whole season so far banging the alarm about Ferrari's pace. He says Williams has lost its straight-line advantage, part of the reason the first Grove car is back in seventh, while Valtteri Bottas is in eighth. Between them was Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, but he got dropped two positions for a pit-lane infraction in Q2, so he'll be tenth. Ahead of him is Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber, who would lead the charge to turn in another surprise for the Swiss team. But the real surprise came from the Scuderia Ferrari, who, on a bright, sunny day proved that they don't need to add water for race-winning pace. While Hamilton got made usual awesome start at the lights, Vettel channeled that other famous German Ferrari driver and immediately cut across the track to intimidate Rosberg, maintaining his second place position into the first turn. Arguably the race-winning move came three laps later at that same turn, when Ericsson plunged in too fast and swapped ends, beaching the rear of his Sauber in the gravel trap. The safety car came out when the recovery truck emerged to retrieve the Sauber, and nearly all of the front-runners took to the pits to swap out of the medium tires. Vettel, however, didn't.

2016 Mercedes-Benz C350 Plug-In Hybrid on sale this fall

The Mercedes-Benz C350 Plug-In Hybrid can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds and can travel 20 miles in all-electric range. As for the more practical issues related to the new PHEV, well, those details will have to wait a bit longer. The C350 Plug-In Hybrid makes its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show this week. The electrified Mercedes will start US sales this fall as a 2016 model. The sedan's four-cylinder, 1.9-liter, turbocharged gasoline engine will be paired with an electric motor that will deliver a combined 275 horsepower. The car will also have such goodies as regenerative braking and collision-avoidance systems, not to mention a top speed of 130 mph. We're still waiting for the car's estimated fuel economy, of course. Not to mention its sticker price. Spy shots of the C-Class PHEV started popping up in May, as well as reports that the Daimler division was testing prototypes in Germany. Meanwhile, this past summer, Mercedes-Benz started taking payments for the S500 Plug-In Hybrid, the German automaker's first production plug-in vehicle. That model, which started European deliveries last September, can zip from 0 to 60 in about five seconds. It also costs about $146,000.

Mercedes calling in CLS, E-Class over rubber seal fire risk

Mercedes-Benz has discovered a problem with certain E-Class and CLS-Class models and has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of a recall it's undertaking to resolve the issue. The problem is with the rubber seal at the back of the engine bay, which according to the statement below "may temporarily stick to the hood when it is opened and then may fall into the engine bay when the hood is closed." If it then comes into contact with the exhaust system, it could start a fire. And fires in the engine bay are never a good thing, unless they're contained entirely within the combustion chamber. The issue affects an estimated total of 147,224 E-Class and CLS-Class vehicles, all told, across America – including four-doors, wagons, hybrids and AMG performance models (but no E-Class coupes or convertibles) from the 2013-15 model years. To fix the problem, Benz dealers will simply need to attach four additional clips to keep the seal in place, and will start doing so midway through next month. RECALL Subject : Rubber Seal may Dislodge and Contact Exhaust Report Receipt Date: FEB 13, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V088000 Component(s): STRUCTURE Potential Number of Units Affected: 147,224 Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. SUMMARY: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 E350 Sedan, E350 4Matic Sedan, E350 4Matic Station Wagon, E400 Hybrid Sedan, CLS 550 CGI, and CLS550 4Matic, 2013-2014 E550 4Matic Sedan, 2013 E63 Sedan, E63 Station Wagon and CLS63, 2014-2015 CLS63 4Matic, E63 4Matic Sedan, E63 4Matic Sedan "S", and E63 4Matic Station Wagon, 2015 CLS400, 2015 E400 Sedan, E400 4Matic Sedan and CLS400 4Matic and 2014 CLS63 "S". The affected vehicles have a rubber seal at the back of the engine bay that may temporarily stick to the hood when it is opened and then may fall into the engine bay when the hood is closed. CONSEQUENCE: If the rubber seal falls into the engine compartment, it may contact parts of the exhaust system, increasing the risk of a fire. REMEDY: MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will attach four additional retaining clips to the rubber seal, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by mid-March 2015. Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at 1-201-573-5339. MBUSA's number for this recall is 2015020001. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.