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2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec gets 33 mpg, priced from $38,950*

It's been more than a year since we first saw the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec unveiled at the 2012 New York Auto Show, but it looks like the compact diesel crossover is finally starting to roll into dealerships. Those wanting to buy a diesel GLK will only have to pony up an extra $1,500 over a base, gas-powered GLK350, as the GLK250's starting price is listed at $38,590 (*not including $905 destination charge).
The turbocharged 2.1-liter four-cylinder diesel produces 200 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and Mercedes-Benz has also provided some fuel economy numbers for this model, with claimed EPA estimates of 24 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway. There is no listing for the GLK250 on the EPA's website yet, but the figures represent significant increase over the GLK350's lackluster 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway figures, which are for the rear-wheel drive model. The GLK250 comes standard with the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system - a $2,000 option on GLK350 - meaning that if you want an all-wheel-drive version of the 2013 GLK, it's actually cheaper to opt for the diesel model. Head over to the Mercedes-Benz site for the full 2013 GLK-Class configurator.

2015 Mercedes C-Class owners reporting bleeding seats [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Daimler AG became aware that, in a small number of individual cases, it is possible for temporary spots and/or shiny patches to form on the man-made leather surfaces of the 2015 C-Class in sub-freezing temperatures. No accidents or injuries have been reported, and we have no reason to believe that there are any hazards to customers. Replacement parts are expected to start shipping to dealers by next week. Owners of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class are learning the hard way that you don't necessarily want to buy a new vehicle in its first model year. Besides reports of poorly fitting taillights and faulty infotainment touchpads, a number of reports are popping up on the forums of MBWorld.org claiming that the compact luxury sedan's seats are, for lack of a better term, bleeding. Owners of US-built, 2015 C-Classes fitted with MB Tex vinyl interiors are reporting a white, oily, shiny residue discoloring their seats that shows up, often after cold cars are quickly heated. It's important to note that this residue is not necessarily staining the seats permanently – warm, soapy water is often all that's needed to restore the original finish. In other cases, the residue disappears of its own accord, only to reappear in an entirely different pattern. That doesn't make things any more acceptable to owners, many of whom have reached out to Mercedes with complaints. It's not clear how many vehicles are affected, but there are a sizable number of forum threads on the issue on MBWorld alone, and the problem is prevalent enough that Mercedes has issued a technical service bulletin to its dealers. According to the forum postings, the TSB instructs service technicians to replace the headrest and seat cover (except for the front, passenger-side seat bottom because of "factory calibration issues") in affected customer vehicles. New C-Class models in dealer inventories, meanwhile, are to get the soapy water treatment if they're showing signs of the residue. Neither one of those moves seems to represent a long-term fix, though. Black MB Tex seats – both the standard and sport variety – seem to be particularly susceptible to the residue, although we stumbled across at least one image of what looks like Silk Beige MB Tex with speckles of residue.

Red Bull may seek engines from Ferrari after Mercedes snub

Red Bull and Renault's fractured relationship is pushing the Austrian F1 team to find a new engine provider. But after a trip across the German border to chat with Mercedes-Benz proved fruitless, the team is apparently set to head across its home country's southern border, and into Italy. Yep, Red Bull Ferrari could be a thing next season. According to RBR boss Christian Horner, the company is just doing "necessary due diligence" in contacting other engine suppliers, although he's willfully admitted to Germany's Bild newspaper that the "idea of Mercedes is finished," BBC Sport reports. It wasn't so much that Mercedes and Red Bull couldn't come to financial agreement – Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz views throwing money into F1 in much the same way you or I toss pennies into the mall fountain – but rather that the Germans had no interest in supplying the best engines on the grid to the factory team's perennial rival. BBC Sport seems to think that fact, along with what the outlet calls Red Bull's "antagonistic" relationship with engine suppliers, killed the Mercedes deal. Honda and RBR aren't likely to happen either, thanks to McLaren (not that we think Red Bull would approach the Japanese, which have struggled mightily all season long). By process of elimination, that just leaves Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed that his team can accommodate Red Bull's engine needs, and that he wasn't concerned with the idea of a Ferrari engine in an Adrian Newey-designed body. "In theory they have big names, with Newey as chief designer and it is easy to think that if you give them the engine they will build a scary chassis, which means they will be really competitive," Arrivabene told BBC Sport. "Concerning my team, my engineers and aerodynamicists know their own jobs. For that reason I don't have a problem, and competition is nice when you have a stronger competitor." "This doesn't mean tomorrow morning we will give our engines to Red Bull or Toro Rosso," Arrivabene added. And it's that statement we'd suggest remembering. There are, after all, still seven races left in the 2015 season, which is quite a lot of time for new and different developments within the sport's notoriously gruesome political process. In other words, don't count on an announcement from any team or manufacturer for at least a few more races. Related Video: