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Mercedes-Benz S500 Plug-in Hybrid ready for 'major role' in urban areas

We finally got a clear look at the Mercedes-Benz S500 Plug-in Hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall, but it took until this week to learn what the vision (see what we did there) is that Mercedes-Benz has for the PHEV. Despite it's generous size, Mercedes thinks this is a vehicle that will work well in urban areas. Speaking to members of the media during the Detroit Auto Show, Thomas Weber, Daimler AG management board member and research and development chief for Mercedes-Benz cars, said that the S500 PHEV, "will play a major role in congested areas" and that it will offer "a lot of driving pleasure." Part of that pleasure will come from a 0-62 mile-per-hour time of around 5.5 seconds thanks to a turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 and an 80-kilowatt electric motor. The PHEV also has a 19-mile EV range, which will put it at the bottom end of the Three-Pointed star plug-in lineup. The upcoming C-Class plug-in, for example, will likely go, "closer to 50 km [31 miles]," Weber said, according to Green Car Reports. The S500 PHEV will go on sale in Europe later this year and will come to the US in early 2015 but there is no timeline, yet, for the C-Class plug-in (and the standard gas-electric hybrid version) or the even-more-future E-Class hybrids. Featured Gallery 2014 Mercedes-Benz S500 Plug-in Hybrid: Frankfurt 2013 View 22 Photos News Source: Green Car ReportsImage Credit: 2014 Jonathon Ramsey / AOL Green Detroit Auto Show Mercedes-Benz Electric Hybrid PHEV s500

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla firmware update videos, Mercedes S500 Plug-In Hybrid

See the Tesla Model S with Firmware 6.0 in action in new videos from Teslarati. The large software update includes improved traffic-based navigation, a calendar function, updated power management, "Location-Based Smart Air Suspension" as well as other improvements. Drivers get more route options to save energy, and more control over how the car saves energy. The car can also remember ride height settings when driving in those same locations again. Additionally, you can start and drive the car without a key, just using the smartphone app. See how it all works in the videos below, the second of which focuses on pairing with the updated phone app. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has deemed ride-hailing app Uber's carpooling service illegal. The way the UberPool service is categorized by the CPUC, charging multiple riders separate fares for a single ride runs afoul of the law. The technical details are a bit convoluted, and what supporters could deem arbitrary, but Forbes delves into the details a bit further to try to make sense of California's intentions (even considering the possibility of other ride services, such as airport shuttle companies, fueling the fire). Lyft - which operates a similar service called LyftLine - and Sidecar have also received notices from the CPUC. Read more at Forbes. China's recent enthusiasm for electric vehicles could be largely attributed to a single person, Ma Kai. After the Politburo member was named vice premier, he encouraged maintaining and increasing EV subsidies when China sought to decrease them. He also seems ready to fight for more EV deregulation to encourage more clean vehicles. Read more about Ma Kai and what he's done for China's EV legislation at Automotive News. Mercedes-Benz begins deliveries of the S500 Plug-In Hybrid this month. The high-tech luxury PHEV features energy saving modes based on driver, route and traffic, and features a haptic accelerator that can signal when the driver should ease off to save power. It's powered by a biturbocharged V6 and 85-kW electric motor. Its 8.7-kWh battery offers about 20 miles of electric driving. The S500 plug-in starts at about $146,000. Read more in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Autoblog drives to the Arctic Circle

In Which Mercedes' Sprinter Becomes A Long-Distance Sherpa
In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.
As I am about to nod off on my long leg flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage ahead of driving to the Arctic Circle, the friendly twenty-something Alaskan knitting furiously in the seat next to me pauses and says, "When you're driving up there, don't open your windows." In the dead of winter? I hadn't planned on cruising alfresco, but her warning to keep the glazing snugged against the weatherstripping is one I would take to heart. She continues: "If you leave 'em open, a fox is liable to jump right in. There are lots of rabid foxes up there, and they leap into your car and just Go. To. Town." And here I was, thinking that a curious bear or maybe an ill-placed moose in the road was going to be my biggest potential four-legged threat. In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.