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X1, 3 Series power BMW back into global luxury autos sales lead

BMW managed to eke ahead of Audi for the global luxury sales crown in February. According to Bloomberg, BMW saw deliveries swell by 7 percent in February, besting the 3.2 percent jump enjoyed by Audi and giving BMW a 407-unit delivery lead over its rival last month. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, continued to falter, with the brand selling some 37,229 fewer machines than BMW, whose factories are running at full capacity to keep up with demand. Models like the X1 (shown above) enjoyed a sales increase of 40 percent in February while the company's bread-and-butter 3 Series jumped by 26 percent.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to stem its continued market share loss with the addition of the entry-level CLA sedan to its portfolio in April. The company is set to roll out an updated version of its cash-cow E-Class at the same time, and a new-generation S-Class will follow along shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the company is increasing production to meet demand for its A and B-Class models.

Mercedes-Maybach GLS prototype caught testing with its big new grille

The new Mercedes-Benz GLS is a massive tech fortress on wheels, so the Maybach GLS is bound to be a massive tech castle. Last we heard from the gigantic Benz SUV was that it was going to be built at Mercedes’ Alabama plant. With a starting price expected to be around $200,000, itÂ’ll probably be the most expensive vehicle produced in the U.S. These spy shots give us an idea of what weÂ’re going to be looking at when the production SUV is finally revealed. Our first hint that this prototype is a Maybach is the grille. It looks suspiciously similar to the grille on the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Concept with all the vertical slats running down the big maw. Minimal camouflage is disguising the exterior for the most part, but we imagine Mercedes is hiding any of the gaudier parts of the car itÂ’d like to save for a big reveal. The exhaust outlets sure do look a bit different than the regular GLS, but the outside is generally the same as what we see today. As for the interior, thatÂ’s where most of the magic is expected to happen. A significantly overhauled look is inevitable, with the focus on even more luxurious materials than the most expensive norm-core GLS. A rear seat that's fit for a king or two is likely, along with Maybach-exclusive tech to boot. For now, we canÂ’t see in the heavily camouflaged and taped-off windows, leaving us to wonder about the luxury within. This Mercedes-Maybach is expected to compete with other massively expensive SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga or a fully decked-out Range Rover.  Everything thatÂ’s optional on the GLS should come as standard here, including the trick E-Active Body Control suspension. Look for a reveal coming in the not-so-distant future, as this prototype doesnÂ’t look terribly far from production to us. Featured Gallery Mercedes-Maybach GLS View 12 Photos Spy Photos Maybach Mercedes-Benz SUV Luxury

Three automotive tech trends to watch in 2018 and beyond

Every year, technology plays a bigger and bigger role in the auto industry. To put things in perspective, 10 years ago iPod integration and Bluetooth were cutting-edge in-car innovations, and smartphones and apps weren't yet a thing since the first iPhone was only about six months old. And I can't recall anyone talking about autonomous cars. Compare that to today, with mainstream coverage of the auto industry dominated by autonomous technology, along with electrification and almost every move made by Tesla. These three topics were the most significant trends of car tech in 2017 and I believe they will continue to shape the auto industry in 2018 and beyond. Let's examine them. Full Autonomy Gets Closer to Reality While there were many developments this year that indicate we're inching closer to fully autonomous vehicles, I was behind the wheel for hours to witness one of them. In October I had the chance to test Cadillac Super Cruise on a 700-mile, 11-hour drive from Dallas to Santa Fe – and had my hands on the wheel for maybe 45 minutes max throughout the entire trip. Super Cruise is far from making the Cadillac CT6 or any GM vehicle fully autonomous, and has limitations such as functioning only on pre-mapped main highways. While it simply adds a layer of lane centering to adaptive cruise control, the technology will go a long way in making mainstream drivers more comfortable with letting machines take over. On a separate front, GM is pushing ahead with fully autonomous vehicles and announced last month that it plans to launch of fleets of self-driving robo-taxis in several urban areas in 2019. While most automakers are also in the race to make autonomous cars a reality, GM's turbocharging of its efforts appeared to be in response to Waymo, which announced just weeks earlier that its Early Rider Program in the Phoenix area would go completely driverless. The Early Rider Program launched last April, offering the public a chance to ride in Waymo's autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans. In this new phase of testing, Waymo is using its own employees as guinea pigs instead of the public while the vehicles operate without a human behind the wheel, and takes another giant step forward for fully autonomous driving.