1975 Mercedes 450 Slc 2 Door Coupe W107 Body W/27,194 On Clock! Needs Brain! on 2040-cars

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2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series [w/video]

The biggest misconception about the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series is that it's simply a higher-performing version of the SLS GT - a closer look, or better yet, a few hot laps on a high-speed racing circuit, reveals that is anything but the case.
Launched in the States in mid-2011, the standard SLS GT is a 583-horsepower, all-aluminum, gull-wing coupe with performance that positions it near the top of the exotic segment. While the AMG team at Mercedes-Benz could have left it alone, their experience with the SLS AMG GT3 race car said there was room for improvement, so they devised the SLS Black Series. The transformation from SLS GT to SLS Black Series is extensive, with no fewer than 17 different significant enhancements.
The engine mapping, crankshaft, connecting rods, valve-train, intake, exhaust and cooling are all modified and the engine's redline bumps up from 7,200 to 8,000 rpm, which pushes output of the hand-built 6.3-liter V8 to 622 horsepower. The power steering receives a new ratio, a coil-over AMG Adaptive Performance suspension is installed along with underbody braces, the track is widened, two-piece carbon-ceramic brakes replace iron rotors at each corner and a lightweight titanium exhaust is fitted beneath. The AMG Speedshift seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is modified and an electronically controlled AMG rear differential lock ensures the power goes to the pavement. Last on the mechanical upgrades are new lightweight forged wheels (10x19 inches front and 12x20 inches rear) wrapped in special R-compound Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires.

VW could look outside its own ranks for next CEO

Companies have two options when coming up with succession plans – hire within, or go outside its ranks. Either choice comes with advantages and disadvantages, to be sure. Hiring within means generally getting someone familiar with the company and its culture and traditions, while going outside is ideal if you're looking to shake things up and bring in fresh ideas. It's unclear which avenue the Volkswagen Group will go down when it comes time to replace its head man, Herr Professor Doctor Doctor Herr Martin Winterkorn, but he isn't ruling out a trip outside of Wolfsburg. Winterkorn has already given the reins of the VW brand to former BMW board member Herbert Diess, while Andreas Renschler, a former Daimler board member, is heading up VW's truck group. Now, Winterkorn has made some statements to a German weekly that indicate the most important thing about his successor isn't necessarily his (or her, though no women appear to be on the short-list) previous employer, Motoring.com.au is reporting, so much as his qualities as a leader and an engineering background. "A Volkswagen boss has to have a big affinity to our products. He needs to be close to customers and he needs to have a relationship with dealers," Winterkorn told Stern. "Like always, it depends on the personality and it also helps if the candidate is an engineer." Motoring throws out a couple of potential candidates from within, including Porsche boss Mathias Muller, Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler and engineering guru Ulrich Hackenberg, in addition to both Diess and Renschler. And while each candidate has a lot of potential, the only thing that's guaranteed right now is what Winterkorn has already said: "The decision about who will succeed me is not an easy one for the supervisory board."

When Android Automotive goes in the dash, Google wins — and automakers lose data

You've gotta hand it to Google for the way the Silicon Valley tech giant has made indelible inroads into the car on multiple fronts. The most obvious is with its pioneering self-driving car technology that's caused car companies to get their act together on autonomous vehicles — and also collaborate with Google. Google has more directly extended its influence and data-mining capabilities into the car with its Android Auto smartphone-projection platform that most major automakers have adopted along with Apple's CarPlay. And now it's preparing to dig even deeper into dashboards by deploying its open-source operating system, Android Automotive, beginning with Audi and Volvo. Volvo recently announced that its next-generation Sensus infotainment system will run Android Automotive as an OS and include Google's Play Store for cloud-based content, Maps for navigation and Google Assistant for voice recognition, which can even command a car's climate control. By embedding Google in the dash, Volvo says owners will get an improved connected experience. "Bringing Google services into Volvo cars will accelerate innovation in connectivity and boost our development in applications and connected services," Volvo senior vice president of R&D Henrik Green said in a statement. "Soon, Volvo drivers will have direct access to thousands of in-car apps that make daily life easier and the connected in-car experience more enjoyable." Having Android Automotive onboard could benefit drivers — and provide a big win for Google, since it opens a deep and lucrative new data-mining vein for the company. But it's a wave of a white flag for car companies when it comes to delivering their own cloud-based content and services. It also represents a massive data giveaway and, for Audi, a reversal of earlier reservations about letting Google get too much access to car data. Not long after Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were introduced in 2014 and most automakers eagerly embraced the technologies, several German automakers second-guessed their decision when they realized what was at stake: data. At a conference in Berlin in 2015, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said car owners "want to be in control of their data, and not subject to monitoring." A few months earlier, Stadler stated that "the data that we collect is our data and not Google's.