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Daimler and Volvo could jointly develop internal combustion engines

BERLIN — Luxury German carmaker Daimler and Volvo, owned by China's Geely, are considering cooperating to cut the costs of developing combustion engines, a magazine reported on Sunday, citing unnamed company sources. The Automobilwoche weekly cited a Volvo manager as saying there were initial talks with Daimler, but no concrete plans, while a company spokesman said it was too early to talk about firm projects, although it was not excluding anybody. A Daimler spokesman said the company's cooperation with Geely, which owns a 10% stake in the German carmaker, was developing in a positive way, but declined to comment further. Global tariffs, accelerated by a trade war between China and the United States, as well as higher investment requirements for electric and autonomous vehicles, are forcing carmakers to seek new ways to cut and share costs. In October, Volvo said it would merge its engine development and manufacturing assets with those of Geely, creating a division to supply in-house brands and also potentially others with next-generation combustion and hybrid engines. Automobilwoche said this new division would start operating by the end of March, which could be a possible starting point for cooperation with Daimler, while a further step could be a partnership to develop electric power trains. Geely and Daimler have said they plan to build the next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture and the two companies are also cooperating on a premium ride-hailing service in China. Geely bought Volvo Cars in 2010 from Ford, allowing the Swedish brand to operate on an arms-length basis. But in recent years, it has deepened cooperation between the two brands. Volvo already supplies engines to some Geely-branded vehicles, sharing technology through Geely's Lynk brand. Both companies share and develop common vehicle platforms. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mercedes recalling 33k C-Class and CLS-Class models in separate campaigns

Mercedes-Benz is recalling over 33,000 vehicles in the US in separate actions affecting two of its model lines. The larger campaign covers 30,141 examples of the 2015 CLS400 and CLS400 4Matic; 2012-2015 CLS550 and CLS550 4Matic; 2012-2014 CLS63 AMG and 2014-2015 CLS63P AMG. On these vehicles, the LED taillights do not sufficiently illuminate around the sides, and therefore they run afoul of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. According to documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (as a PDF, here), "this is due to a software coding issue which leads to the non-activation of a certain LED in both taillamp units." An update of the programming by the dealer fixes the problem. The other recall covers 3,039 units of the 2015 C300 4Matic and C400 4Matic for two possible problems with the fuel delivery module of the fuel tank. First, the locking plate for the part might loosen on some of these vehicles, and that can cause a fuel leak, which is obviously dangerous. Also, the electric wires going into the component might be pinched, which can lead to failure of the fuel pump. Dealers will inspect the models for both issues and will repair any faults they find. Mercedes did not tell NHTSA when owners would receive notification about either of these campaigns when the company submitted the documentation to the agency on March 10. Autoblog reached out to company spokesperson Christian Bokich via email for more information. "We currently expect to be in touch with customers by late March. Customers may continue to drive their vehicles until the recall is performed," he said. Related Video: RECALL Subject : Rear Side Marker Illumination/FMVSS 108 Report Receipt Date: MAR 10, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V137000 Component(s): EXTERIOR LIGHTING Potential Number of Units Affected: 30,141 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) MERCEDES BENZ CLS400 2015 MERCEDES BENZ CLS550 2012-2015 MERCEDES BENZ CLS63 2012-2015 Details Manufacturer: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. SUMMARY: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. (MBUSA) is recalling certain model year 2015 CLS 400 and CLS 400 4matic, 2012-2015 CLS 550 and CLS 550 4matic, 2012-2013 CLS 63, 2014 CLS 63, and 2014-2015 CLS 63P. The affected vehicles have LED tail lights that may not light on the sides, reducing the rear side visibility of the vehicle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.

Range Rover versus Mercedes-Benz: Which makes a more appealing SUV?

From time to time — truth be told, all the time — the Autoblog staff enjoys a good debate on the merits and demerits of the cars and trucks we drive each week. This week, we spent some time in a brand-new Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged SUV, a model some of us think sits at the pinnacle of the luxury utility vehicle segment. Others disagree. The following is a real-life online debate that took place over the course of a few hours. Have a read, and feel free to take sides. There's a poll at the end so you can make your voice heard. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Strange as it may sound, Jeremy Clarkson and I have a few things in common, most obvious of which is that we share a given name. But we also both love cars so much that we decided to turn our automotive passion into a career — with varying degrees of success, of course — and we both have come to realize over time that there's no point in trying to topple the Land Rover Range Rover as the world's best luxury off-road utility vehicle. Thing is, this universal truth isn't quite as universally shared as I think it should be. In fact, my esteemed colleague Alex Kierstein believes that Mercedes-Benz makes the most desirable four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles. He's clearly wrong, but I feel obligated to let him explain his choice, though it won't go without a rebuttal. Senior Editor Alex Kierstein: That's correct, and so am I in this regard. I'm sorry, Jeremy, but it's an irrefutable fact that Mercedes-Benz is doing the best interiors in the business now. And the interior is where you're going to spend most of your time, at least when the thing's running. The Range Rover's interior simply isn't as special, and frankly it'll be in the shop enough that you won't enjoy it. Now, stepping into pretty much any contemporary Mercedes sedan interior is a "wow" moment. They seem special — posh, exclusive, luxurious. The SUVs, all older vehicles coming due for total redesigns at some point in the future, are lagging a bit, but it's still a premium and upscale experience. Especially since performance is almost academic at this point. Anything in this class is going to be powerful, almost absurdly so. So why not go for the one that makes you feel like royalty, rather than your mechanic? JK: I just want to point out that it was you who brought reliability into this discussion.