2005 Mercedes-benz Cl-class Cl55amg Coupe on 2040-cars

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Clark Gable's 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing doesn't sell, then does sell for $1.85 million [UPDATE: w/video]

How much extra value does previous celebrity ownership add to of a car? Really, there's no way to know until the car in question hits the auction block and bidders start raising their hands. In the case of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing you see above, the celebrity owner is none other than Clark Gable, who purchased it new. After Gable's death in 1960, the car changed hands a few times before settling with Charles Wood in 1975.
A high-dollar restoration was performed in 1989, and period accessories added by Gable himself were kept in place, including the Rudge knock-off wheels and Nardi steering wheel. Any Mercedes-Benz 300SL is worth a big chunk of money. In the case of Clark Gable's old Gullwing, the bidding stalled at $1.9 million here at the 2013 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. As one of the 5000-series cars, this 300SL carried a reserve, and a bit of after-the-fact dealmaking saw the car change hands for $1.85 million.
You can see our high-res image gallery above, and the car's official auction description below.

Mercedes plans Audi TT fighter

With the growth in popularity of modular platforms in the auto industry, it's rapidly becoming commonplace to see a company with multiple models that look different but share a significant number of parts underneath. One such an example is Mercedes-Benz's line of compacts, including the A-Class hatchback, CLA-Class sedan, GLA-Class crossover. Two derivatives lacking from German brand's current, small-car range are a coupe and convertible, but that might be changing soon. Mercedes is hard at work on a coupe with 2+2 seating, a liftback roof and styling inspired by the AMG GT, according to Autocar. Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche reportedly supports the idea, too. The new two-door could be on the road as soon as 2019 to target models like the Audi TT and BMW 2 Series, and a convertible version might follow later. This little, luxury two-door would ride on Mercedes' next-gen, front-wheel-drive compact platform, according to Autocar. It reportedly allows the German company to vary a model's size more than the current version and can better adapt to hybrid powertrains. A previous report also suggested the coupe and convertible might use this improved chassis, if they got the green light. Of course, a Mercedes model is hardly complete without an AMG version, so that would also be a possibility. According to Autocar, the performance brand's 2.0-liter four-cylinder could see output pushed to 400 horsepower compared to the current 355-hp unit. Earlier rumors also indicated a more powerful version of the boosted mill might be on the way. With Autocar backing all this up only with unnamed sources, the rumors should probably be taken with a grain of salt at the moment. However, a small coupe from the brand doesn't seem entirely impossible. After all, after two-door versions of the C-,E-, and S-Class, why not a smaller one, too?

Recharge Wrap-up: new Gigafactory drone video, Mercedes valet

A new, Tesla-approved drone video shows the progress of the Gigafactory. Recently, a video surfaced showing what Elon Musk said was just the "pilot plant," which is only a quarter of the size of the final planned Gigafactory. This new video not only shows the structure, but also the site surrounding it. We see more steel beams waiting to be erected, suggesting that the footprint of the finished building will be even more massive than that of the current standing structure. And if what Musk says is accurate, we've got a lot more to look forward to. Have a look in the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Tesla is paying hackers to find bugs in its website and products. In a posting on Bugcrowd, the electric automaker calls on "security researchers" to find vulnerabilities in the site itself, any domains owned by Tesla, any Tesla apps as well as Tesla hardware owned by the hacker like a Model S or the Powerwall. In exchange for the hackers' service, Tesla is offering rewards ranging from $25 to $1,000 for reported vulnerabilities. Tesla also promises not to sic the law enforcement on hackers who step forward to help, as long as they follow the rules. Read more at Teslarati. Daimler and Bosch are working on automated parking for Mercedes-Benz. In a properly equipped parking garage, the car would find an empty space and park by itself, and return to the driver when called upon. The groups are starting a pilot project for the autonomous valet feature with carsharing service Car2go, where it works the other way around. Customers will be able to call a car to a pick-up zone using a mobile app. When finished, the customer leaves the car in the drop-off zone, and the car takes care of the rest on its own. "Fully automated parking will be ready for mass-production before fully automated driving," says Bosch's Dr. Dirk Hoheisel. "Low driving speeds and the information from the car park infrastructure enable a fast implementation." Read more in the press release from Daimler. Volta has raised $7.5 million in funding to expand its free EV charging network. To offer free charging, Volta's chargers essentially perform double duty as billboards for what Volta calls "companies with a vested interest in the community." "Early Internet pioneers like Google became industry titans by first offering free consumer services online paid for by companies that advertised on their platforms," says Volta CEO Scott Mercer.