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Mercedes wants to be the luxury car for women

Mercedes-Benz wants to bring more women into the the fold, and it's launching a very different type of online vehicle configurator in Germany by the end of the year in hopes of growing appeal among female buyers. The new website is just one part of the company's new advertising campaign called "She's Mercedes" that launches at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It's set to appear in other markets around the world in 2016. Although according to company spokesperson Tobias Mueller to Autoblog, "MBUSA has no immediate plans to extend this strategy in the US." Mercedes believes the huge number of options on its models can be overwhelming, and the company's new "lifestyle configurator" is supposed to offer an alternative. With this solution customers select their preferences to questions about travel, music, activities, and more. The automaker then uses an algorithm to offer several pre-equipped vehicles that meet those criteria best. Although, obviously the traditional configurator is still available for women wanting the more direct approach. "In future we want to win them over for our brand to an even greater extent than before – with tailor-made measures, developed especially for women," said Dr. Jens Thiemer, Mercedes' head of marketing. In addition to the lifestyle configurator, Mercedes is hoping to grow its female buyers in other ways. It's launching a She's Mercedes magazine and website in Germany in September to further get the message out about the campaign. Beyond just a tweaked marketing message, the company wants to hire more women for the sales staff at dealers, too. "Best Customer Experience" – She's Mercedes and lifestyle configurator: Mercedes-Benz – individual and up close and personal to female and male customers alike Stuttgart, Sep 12, 2015 Stuttgart. In keeping with the sales and marketing strategy "Best Customer Experience", Mercedes-Benz is bringing the needs and wishes of women even more sharply into focus. The inspiration platform "She's Mercedes", which is starting in parallel with the International Motor Show in Frankfurt (IAA), is at the heart of the new, holistic initiative. With innovative event and information offers, Mercedes-Benz wants to enter a more intensive dialogue with women and significantly increase the brand's attractiveness for this target group.

Daimler, Qualcomm working on wireless EVs

Despite not being available on any mass-produced electric vehicle, wireless charging is not new. In fact, Qualcomm is an old name in the business and has announced partnerships with major automakers before. In 2011, for example, Qualcomm and Renault said they would work together on wireless electric vehicle charging technology. Just something to keep in mind when you read about this past weekend's announcement that Qualcomm and Daimler are going to work together on wireless charging. To be fair, the announcement goes beyond just integrating wireless charging technology into new EVs. Qualcomm has a lot of future tech work going on that connect your car to other systems, like the 3G/4G cell network. These are the sorts of things that the two companies are going to work on first, but Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) is on the To Do list. Qualcomm has said its Halo wireless charging parking spot technology, originally developed at the University of Auckland, could also be used in roadways at some point, so keep an eye out for Daimler test vehicles repeatedly driving over the same patch of asphalt. Daimler and Qualcomm Announce Strategic Collaboration on Connected Car Technologies MONACO – May 23, 2015 – Today, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Daimler AG announced a strategic collaboration focused on pioneering innovation in the connected car. In the first phase of the collaboration, the companies will focus on transforming future vehicles with mobile technologies that enhance in-car experiences and vehicle performance such as 3G/4G connectivity, wireless charging technology for in-vehicle use and implementation of the Qualcomm Halo™ Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology. In addition, the companies are jointly assessing the application of Qualcomm Technology's newly developed Automotive Solutions. Qualcomm Technologies is collaborating with Daimler on its Wireless Power Transfer 2.0 high performance program for electric vehicles. The Qualcomm Halo™ WEVC technology provides high performance and high power in a small vehicle package that could allow Daimler customers to charge their electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid EVs without ever having to plug them in. In addition, Qualcomm® WiPower™ technology enables consumer electronics to charge wirelessly in-vehicle.

2019 BMW M850i xDrive: How it compares on paper with other GT coupes

Although the hot new vehicles for the rich seem to mainly comprise SUVs and supercars, the neglected luxury GT coupe segment is starting to see some life again. The latest to add a spark to this set is the 2019 BMW M850i xDrive. It goes on sale later this year, and revives the 8 Series that's been dead since the 1990s. The first version available to Americans will be one with a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8, with other versions likely following. Before it launches, we wanted to get a lay of the grand-touring land and see how the new BMW stacks up to the competition in performance, practicality and price. While some of these models have higher-performance or more-affordable iterations, we picked the versions that would be the closest match to this 8 Series model. They include the 2019 Lexus LC 500, 2018 Mercedes-Benz SL 550, 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 560 Coupe and the 2018 Maserati GranTurismo. We will also provide some short summaries on our experiences with these cars, but to get a full picture of each model, be sure to check out their full reviews. And if you want to compare any of these cars with models you don't see here, be sure to try out our car comparison tool. Engines, transmissions and performance On paper, the BMW M850i xDrive is clearly the performer of the group. It has the most power and torque at 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet. Coupled with all-wheel-drive and an eight-speed automatic, the car is able to overcome its relatively portly 4,478-pound curb weight to hit 60 mph in a scant 3.6 seconds. That's more than half a second quicker than the lightest car in the group, the Mercedes-Benz SL550, which weighs 4,012 pounds. The other three vehicles are in the low- to mid-4-second range to 60 mph. Though the Maserati is the slowest to 60 mph, it does boast the highest top speed of 186 mph. The M850i and SL 550 are electronically limited to 155 mph, while the Lexus is limited to 168 mph. The Mercedes S 560 has the lowest top speed at an electronically limited 130 mph. View 52 Photos Of interest is that there's a 50/50 split among these cars between using a pair of turbos, and having none at all. The BMW and Mercedes resort to forced induction, whereas the Lexus and Maserati choose to stay naturally aspirated. This is likely why the Germans break 500 pound-feet of torque, while the others don't make it to 400. Also interesting is the spread of gear quantity. The Maserati has just six ratios to choose from, and the Lexus has a whopping 10.