1957 Mercedes-benz Sl-class 190sl on 2040-cars

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Jay Leno listens to the people, shows off still-stock 1972 Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3

Let it be known, Jay Leno is a man of the people. Long-time viewers will recall the time he walked fans of his popular video series around the various projects going on in his eponymous garage. One such vehicle was his 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, which he'd planned on fitting with the powertrain from the awesome SLS AMG. But rather than just make the move and be done with it, Leno asked viewers whether he should restore the silver sedan or carry on with his plan to resto-mod. Well, the restoration team won, and the 6.3-liter sports sedan soldiers on unmolested. That is, of course, no bad thing, according to Leno. In his latest video, he revisits the 1972 luxury sedan, and takes it for a spin around Los Angeles. Fans of Mercedes' big-grilled 1970s styling won't want to miss this video.

Mercedes CLA45 AMG Racing is ready for a spot on the grid

Mercedes-Benz trotted out its CLA45 AMG-based racer at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. We first showed you the sedan in the deluge of news and reveals that precedes most good auto shows, and were blown away by the car, formally known as the CLA45 AMG Racing Series.
We were strolling by the Mercedes stand, and figured we'd pop in and take a look at the new racer and its carbon-fiber body panels, gutted interior, and race-sourced aero parts. It's a looker, both as a road car and a track weapon. It's not clear what series the CLA45 AMG will qualify for, although it does seem like a shoe-in for the World Touring Car Championship. Let us know what you think of the CLA racer down in the comments. In the meantime, we've got a full gallery of live images up top, along with the stock images that were posted last week on the Mercedes-Benz Facebook page.

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.