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Weekly Recap: Mercedes, Volkswagen spend big as import automakers invest in North America

Import automakers are on a building frenzy in North America as resurgent car sales have prompted companies to expand their manufacturing footprints to meet rising demand. That was evidenced this week when Mercedes-Benz announced plans to build a $500-million factory to produce the Sprinter commercial van, and Volkswagen confirmed a whopping $1-billion investment to expand its massive plant in Mexico. Meanwhile Jaguar Land Rover reportedly wants to build a factory in North America, but not for at least three years, and Hyundai is said to be expanding in the southern United States. The common thread in all of this expansion? Trucks, time and money. Mercedes wants to capitalize on the burgeoning work van segment in the United States and will break ground in 2016 on a 200-acre site in Charleston, SC, to build the next-generation Sprinter. The site will have a paint shop, body shop and an assembly line, and 1,300 people will be employed when production ramps up. Why do this, when Mercedes has immense van operations in Germany? It's cheaper to build in the US for the US market. Building locally allows Mercedes to avoid import taxes, forego a complex shipping process that involves partially disassembling German-built Sprinters and naturally, reduces the time it takes to deliver finished trucks to their buyers. "This plant is key to our future growth in the very dynamic North American van market," Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said in a statement. He was speaking about Mercedes and vans, but another German automotive giant, Volkswagen, had similar motives for its mammoth expansion plans in Puebla, Mexico. The added space and production capacity will allow VW to build a three-row version of the Tiguan, and provide another crossover for its US lineup that's light on SUVs. The current Tiguan has two rows. The factory will be able to churn out 500 units daily of the larger variant, and they will be sold in North and South America. It will arrive in the US in mid-2017, a spokesman told Autoblog. VW also plans to build another crossover, a midsize seven-passenger vehicle, at its growing Chattanooga, TN, site. "Localization has become key to safeguarding our competitive position on the global market, and manufacturing the Tiguan in Mexico will bring production closer to the US market," Michael Horn, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement.

Next Mercedes E-Class to get quad-turbo inline-six, augmented reality

It's been 10 years since an inline six-cylinder engine sat up front in a Mercedes-Benz road car, but the straight-six shooter returns with the 2016 E-Class. According to a report in Car we'll see a modular family in gasoline and diesel versions, and Auto Evolution adds that the bore and stroke will be shared by both fuel types. Car says a 2.9-liter diesel variant arrives first in global markets, putting out 313 horsepower when twin-turbocharged and "over 400bhp" when fitted with two more battery-powered turbos. Auto Evolution's numbers match those and add torque figures, with 516 pound-feet for the former and 627 lb-ft for the latter - but it makes no mention of the two extra turbos. AE believes the gas versions will ring in at 367 hp and 479 lb-ft, and 435 hp and 553 lb-ft. Keep in mind that until we hear it from Stuttgart, this is all (exciting) speculation. Elsewhere in E-ville, more aluminum and that scalable MRA platform mean a weight loss of somewhere between 154 and 330 pounds compared to today's car. Seven bodystyles (including the CLS-Class) will continue to make up the range, with the coupe and convertible growing a bit to provide proper four-seater comfort. It will bear the new standard for Daimler technology, showcasing the next step in the company's Intelligent Drive with features like phone-controlled self-parking in confined spaces and augmented reality in the heads-up display. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz E-Class Spy Shots View 12 Photos News Source: Car, Auto Evolution Rumormill Mercedes-Benz Technology Diesel Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Performance Sedan augmented reality

Petrolicious shows Mercedes 280SL as architecture in motion

While still an absolute beauty today, the design of the pagoda-roof W113 Mercedes-Benz SL was revolutionary when it debuted. Moving away from the soft curves of the previous SL models, the all-new generation brought an upright, angular shape that was as much architectural as automotive. In the latest video from Petrolicious, owner and architect Daniel Monti expounds on the inspiration that he gets from his 1969 280SL's fantastic styling. The roof is the most famous design feature of this generation of SL. Look at the top from the front or back, and you can see a gentle, downward arc that evokes the look of a pagoda. That one styling element is also a fabulous counterpoint to a vehicle that is largely more angular than curvaceous. Petrolicious wonderfully illustrates how some of the SL's form-follows-function design aesthetic can be found in the architect's work in this video's heaping helping of mid-century modern goodness.