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Mercedes-Benz GLA Concept gets mobbed in China

If the reception it received at the Shanghai Motor Show is any judge of marketplace acceptance, Mercedes-Benz has a hit on its hands in the form of the GLA Concept. And we can understand why - we're quickly becoming fans of Mercedes' recent styling language, as defined by new models like the CLA and this GLA Concept.
The big news on the exterior front are the headlamp clusters, which have frickin' laser beams attached to their foreheads embedded inside that are capable of projecting videos and images on a screen. Plus, a pair of video cameras are mounted on the roof that can be used to capture driving excitement or removed and taken with you. How cool is that? We just hope they have a substantial locking mechanism to prevent would-be thievery...
If the exterior is mostly ready for production, with a few of the more outlandish elements moved to the trash bin - like, for instance, laser-beam headlamps and removable action cams - the interior is a true custom job that screams concept loud and clear. There are all kinds of jewel-like finishes inside, along with transparent surfaces showing what looks like metal latticework underneath and some awfully thick looking leather with massive exterior stitching done by hand similar to what you'd find on a baseball glove.

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.

Mercedes-AMG chairman shoots down notion of LaFerrari-fighter

Mercedes-AMG chairman Tobias Moers took a sip of water and pondered the question. It was a loaded one: Would his company consider building a hyper car to rival extreme machines like the Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari? The short answer: not right now. "Unfortunately, if we find we should do something like that, there's no capacity – there's no engineering capacity to do that – in the near future. So there's no chance for us [to do that]," he told Autoblog in an interview at the Los Angeles Auto Show. AMG has capitalized on the rebounding global economy and strong demand for performance cars in the United States, China, and Europe, its most critical markets. It employs about 1,400 people, an astronomical leap from the 120 people who worked at AMG when Moers started in 1994. AMG also announced plans this week to increase V12 engine production due to high demand. Production will move from the AMG base in Affalterbach to another Daimler site in Mannheim, Germany. The switch will free up capacity for AMG to build more V8 engines in Affalterbach. Despite all of this growth, Moers said the company has priorities more pressing than a hypercar, like adding more extreme variants of its existing models. It also revealed the SL63 and SL65 AMG models this week in Los Angeles. "We're going to increase the family of the GT (shown above)," he said. "We're really busy with the next-generation E-Class, which will be the biggest step we've ever made from one generation E-Class to the next one regarding driving dynamics." Moers also says a supercar doesn't make financial sense for AMG, though halo cars are traditionally done for brand building, rather than the bottom line. "We're not coming to that point. I think a hypercar is always bad on a business case," he said. An AMG supercar is one of the industry's favorite rumors, and Moers admitted his customers are interested in the proposition. "In the recent past, I always thought like AMG ... is not in that level to be accepted in a hypercar, super, super, super sports car segment," he said. Talking with customers in all of our main markets, give[s] me a different view to that." Related Video: