1981 Mercedes 300 Sd Turbo Diesel on 2040-cars

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2015 Mexican Grand Prix is a lot like old times

The last time Formula One visited Mexico, in 1992, 26 cars powered by eight engine manufacturers (counting Honda and Mugen-Honda separately) lined up on the grid; it would have been nine engine makers but the Brabham-Judd cars failed to qualify. In 1992 Lewis Hamilton was seven years old, Sebastian Vettel was five, Max Verstappen was still five years away from being born. Two of the current Sky Sports F1 commentary team, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert, were drivers. The starting three were Nigel Mansell on pole – 39 years old, this the year he'd win his only World Championship – and Riccardo Patrese both driving Williams-Renault cars, followed by Michael Schumacher in a Benetton-Ford. Only 13 of the 26 starters would finish. The circuit is has been reworked to today's safer standards, the track surface is brand new and slippery, but the atmosphere and packed grandstands haven't changed. Nico Rosberg was another point of consistency, scoring pole position for the fourth race in a row to beat his now-World-Champion teammate Hamilton by almost two-tenths of a second. The last time Rosberg turned pole position into a victory? The Spanish Grand Prix back in May. Vettel locked up third for Ferrari, followed by the Infiniti Red Bull Racing duo of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Williams went two-up as well, Valtteri Bottas in sixth ahead of Felipe Massa in seventh. Max Verstappen turned in a great late lap to reserve eighth place, Sergio Perez did all he could in front of his home crowd to get ninth, teammate Nico Hulkenberg the caboose in the top ten. In that 1992 race the first three on the grid finished the race in the same order after Mansell dominated, and it was almost the same in 2015. If Rosberg had driven the whole season like he drove today the Driver's World Championship would still be up for grabs. He got a great start and held his line through the first corner, coming out ahead of Hamilton through the initial kinks, pulling away as soon as he got to the straight. Hamilton was never more than a few seconds behind, but every time the Brit inched closer the German found a few more tenths to keep his distance. The field got bunched up when the Safety Car came out on Lap 53 after Vettel spun and got stuck in the barriers, but Rosberg handled the restart perfectly. Both drivers made small mistakes in the last few laps while driving on the edge, but Rosberg earned a strong victory, crossing the line two seconds ahead of his teammate.

Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe caught on a presentation slide

The Internet can define the word "patience," but the Internet doesn't have any. The Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe is slated for reveal in just a few days and it's been teased by the company, but we now have our first look at the real thing thanks to some sneaky camera technique during a presentation. Someone photographed two slides showing the coming Affalterbach coupe from the front three-quarter view and the rear. The C-Class coupe was just officially unveiled several days ago and It's not like we don't know the formula for this, but we still think this is a good looking sharpening of the coupe shape. Assuming the usual AMG model bifurcation, there will be a standard AMG C63 Coupe with a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 putting out 469 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, and an S model with 503 hp and 516 lb-ft, both working through a seven-speed transmission. In addition to its greater power, the S gets a higher top speed. In a couple of days we'll have the rest of info and a lengthy press release.

2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class First Drive

The name has changed, but the song remains, well, mostly the same. The updated 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class (nee M-Class) is all about refinement and a new attitude. Further up the range things have gone all Daft Punk – harder, better, faster, stronger. Merc's bread-and-butter SUV was last revamped in 2012, and this redesign essentially grafts the company's new corporate face and tail onto the vehicle formerly known as ML. A two-bar grille runs the expanse between stretched headlights. Above them sits a more sculpted hood with dual power lines. Below all that is a bumper with three large intakes, similar to Mercedes' sedans. The sides are untouched, but in back you'll find a new LED taillight design and trapezoidal tailpipe finishers. On the AMG Line trim pictured here, the elements rendered in chrome on the base model – like the central guard in front and diffuser panel in back – are done in black. The interior changes start with the driver staring at a new three-spoke steering wheel front-and-center, and a larger, eight-inch infotainment display on the right. That screen stands proud of the instrument panel, with two vents flanking it to remind you this isn't a clean redesign. Compare that to the freestanding tablet look, like on the C-Class, and you'll get what we're talking about. Below the big screen are the infotainment and HVAC controls that we've been looking at since 2012. The center stack newness ends there. Below the big screen are the infotainment and HVAC controls that we've been looking at since 2012. They feel really old now – perhaps because these same dials and buttons were in the E-Class sedan in mid-2009. The controls on the console, however, are overhauled, with the glossy, swoosh-shaped COMAND controller taking up residence next to the driver's arm. Beside that are a few buttons controlling functions like ride height and hill descent control, as well as the new Dynamic Select knob. This dial controls up to six driving modes. There's Comfort, Sport, Slippery, Off-Road Light, and Individual. Buyers who opt for the Off-Road Package will get a sixth mode, Off-Road+. Mercedes expects only 10 percent of GLE customers will want that capability. Every GLE comes with the basic five-setting Dynamic Select knob, no matter which of the five engines are under the hood. Here's where things get tricky, so we'll list the details for the sake of clarity.