2013 Mercedes-benz Sls Amg Gt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes dropping Shooting Brake from next CLS-Class

If you've been admiring the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake from afar and held out hope that the next version might make it to over to our side of the pond, we've got bad news for you. Not only will the next rendition of Benz's sleek wagon not make it to North American showrooms, it won't be offered anywhere. According to Car, the German automaker has pulled the plug on the next CLS Shooting Brake. The five-door bodystyle was slated to form part of the third-generation CLS-Class lineup, whose design has already been finalized. But though there was reportedly great enthusiasm for the shooting brake within the company, lukewarm response from the vital North American and Chinese markets meant that plans for another wagon variant were scrapped altogether. Mercedes first rolled out the CLS four-door coupe in 2004, pioneering the popular new segment before BMW followed with its Gran Coupe models and Audi its Sportbacks. The second-generation model arrived in 2010, with a Shooting Brake following in 2012. Stuttgart even followed up with a smaller CLA Shooting Brake as well. With the third-generation model now on its way, however, the CLS is going back exclusively to four doors and a trunk. Of course that doesn't mean Mercedes won't be offering any oddball long-roofed models. It simply appears to be filling those niches with slant-backed versions of crossovers like the new GLC and GLE instead. So if you're looking for a vehicle with a Silver Star on the nose and an unconventional roofline at the back, you're going to have to settle on riding higher. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: 2015 Honda CR-Z now on sale, Daimler and Linde building hydrogen stations in Germany

The 2015 Honda CR-Z hybrid is now available at dealerships, for slightly more money. The CR-Z starts at an MSRP of $20,145 (plus $790 in destination charges), up from the $19,995 price of the 2014 model. For those who don't want to row their own gears with the six-speed manual transmission, the available CVT adds an extra $650 to the price, but also offers better fuel economy, especially in the city. The manual-equipped CR-Z gets 31 mpg city/38 highway/34 combined, while the CVT version is rated at 36/39/37 mpg. The 1.5-liter engine and electric motor provide a combined peak 130 horsepower. The manual CR-Z offers 140 pound-feet of torque, with the CVT version providing 127 pound-feet. Customers can also soup up their new CR-Z with upgrades (including a supercharger) from Honda Performance Development. Learn more in the press release below. Daimler and Linde are teaming up to build hydrogen fueling stations in Germany. The automaker and gases and engineering company, with the help of a few oil and gas companies, plan to install 13 new stations by the end of 2015. The installations precede a push by Daimler to get more fuel cell vehicles on the road. "From 2017, we are planning to bring competitively priced fuel-cell vehicles to market," says Daimler's Herbert Kohler. "So now is the time to build a nationwide fuelling infrastructure." Linde will supply the stations with fully renewable hydrogen. Read more in the press release below. In 1899, an EV set a world landspeed record, and Wired has revisited the story with a nice look back at the "La Jamais Contente" and its driver, Belgian engineer Camille Jenatzy. Jenatzy built an electric car to race in a hillclimb, which he won while clocking a top speed of 17 miles per hour (measured the old-timey way - without radar guns). Just a few weeks later, another man set a landspeed record of 32 miles per hour, beginning a back-and-forth series of setting new records. Then, on April 29, 1899, "The Red Devil," as Jenatzy became known as, surpassed 100 kph (62 mph) when his torpedo-shaped electric car set a record of 65.8 mph. It was powered by two 25-kilowatt electric motors. Read the whole story over at Wired.

Mercedes mulling Renault-based entry-level X-Class?

Somewhere in between the Smart brand and the all-new A-Class (pictured above), Daimler is said to be readying a smaller entry-level product for the Mercedes-Benz brand to compete with models like the Audi A1. According to AutoBild, Mercedes-Benz will get a new hatchback based on a platform from its recent partnership with Renault-Nissan, and it could be called the X-Class.
Expected to debut by 2018, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class could be offered in sedan, hatchback and crossover variants, and it would likely have a starting price below the $20,000-euro mark. Power would come from either a 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder engine or a 1.5-liter inline-four, and the car would likely be built in a low-cost nation in order to make the financials work. Wearing the Mercedes-Benz name, the X-Class would have to exhibit more distinguishable luxury and styling to set itself apart from the models that helped provide its underpinnings.