1975 Mercedes Benz 450 Sl Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

France formally moves to ban Mercedes vehicles using contested refrigerant

That didn't take long. Shortly after a French administrative court gave the French government a ten-day window to reconsider its ban on registrations of Mercedes-Benz A-, B- and CLA-Class cars using the prohibited R134a refrigerant, the government cited an EU directive to formalize banning the sale of the cars. The country's environmental ministry said that registrations "will remain forbidden in France as long as the company does not to conform to European regulations," meaning so long as they do not use the approved R1234yf refrigerant.
Daimler had won the administrative court decision by challenging France's application of a "safeguard" provision in which the EU allows a country to block sales of cars that would "seriously harm the environment." In spite of Daimler's victory, France has cited that very provision as basis for the continuation of the ban.
Daimler got permission from Germany's KBA federal motor authority to keep selling cars with the coolant banned by EU politicians, and is using that national permission as the right to sell the cars throughout Europe. Meanwhile, above that battle, German politicians are asking the EU to let Mercedes sell the cars in France while the KBA does more testing, at the same time as the EU is threatening Germany with repercussions if it doesn't bring the KBA and Daimler into line.

Mercedes SL backs into Ferrari 458 Speciale while parking

There are a lot of people with the money to buy nice cars, but an absolute inability to drive them. And that's how this Mercedes-Benz SL ended up beached on the nose of a Ferrari 458 Speciale. It happened at a Virginia cars and coffee event, and that inability to drive we mention doesn't refer to the poor Ferrari owner. According to the YouTube description, the driver of the 380SL was attempting to parallel park when she landed on top of the hot 458. But since the video doesn't start until the Benz has landed, we only have the video uploader's word. But don't click away yet – the Ferrari's owner returned to the scene. Despite a hint of adult language, he's far more calm than we would be in that situation. That doesn't mean he's not angry, decrying the crash as "the dumbest thing I've ever seen." We agree, especially when you notice space between the 458 Speciale and the Nissan 300ZX in front of it. This was by no means a tight or difficult place to park, even without George Constanza's god-given parallel parking skills. Even a semi-competent driver could have maneuvered a vehicle far larger than a 15-foot-long roadster between the two cars with room to spare. Related Video: News Source: Media Gamut Motoring via YouTube Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Convertible Coupe Luxury Performance Videos mercedes sl-class cars and coffee

Five B-Class F-Cells go from SF-LA using public hydrogen stations

California's hydrogen islands in Los Angeles and San Francisco finally got the bridge they needed to become the "Hydrogen Highway." With the completion of a permanent public station in Coalinga built by FirstElement Fuel, 205 miles north of LA, 183 miles south of SF, fuel-cell-vehicle owners can complete the road trip without worry. Mercedes-Benz did just that with five B-Class F-Cell customers, spending three days covering 1,000 miles and filling up only at public permanent stations in Burbank, Coalinga, West Sacramento, and Emeryville. Mercedes says there are ten stations in California now, but more than 40 are scheduled to open in 2016, and about ten more every year after that through 2023, when there should be 123 open stations. The company's US fuel-cell fleet is 70 strong and has covered more than two million miles in the five years they've been on the roads here. On average that means each car has driven just 5,714 miles per year, but that number should go up now that they can stretch their hydrogen stacks. The press release below has more information. Nearly 1,000 fuel cell electric miles: Crossing California on Hydrogen - Five Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL complete emission-free drive from Los Angeles to Northern California while only filling up at public hydrogen stations - "California Hydrogen Highway" is connecting the dots - U.S. F-CELL customers have accumulated over 2 million miles since 2010 Stuttgart, Oct 27, 2015 - Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL customers ventured beyond Southern California last week for the very first time, while only filling up at existing public hydrogen stations along the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The opening of a new hydrogen station in Coalinga along the I-5 corridor made this opportunity possible. A team driving five B-Class F-CELL refilled at four permanent hydrogen fueling stations located in Burbank, Coalinga, West Sacramento and Emeryville, accumulating nearly 1,000 miles over the course of their three day trip. Three F-CELL customers were accompanied by a team from Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America based in Long Beach. The purpose of this unique road trip was to highlight the growing hydrogen station network and to show that the vision of the California Hydrogen Highway is becoming reality. Early adopter Loki Efaw who has been an F-CELL driver since 2011 believes fuel cells are the future: "I don't want a car that only takes me to work and back before I have to plug it in.