2008 Mercedes-benz Slk350 3.5l, 49k Miles, Power Hard Top, Leather, Nav, 2 Keys on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Brabus Mercedes-AMG GT is a 600-hp exercise in restraint

Big, wild, crazy vehicles from local tuners are one of the highlights of all European auto shows, where even high-performance cars get ludicrous amounts of horsepower and questionable body mods. Occasionally, though, one tuning shop comes out with something that is actually pretty reasonable in both departments. At the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, that vehicle comes from Brabus and its take on the Mercedes-AMG GT, simply called the Brabus GT. Sure, it has 600 horsepower, which is a lot, but it's only 97 hp more than stock. Asking a European tuner to increase a car's horsepower by just 97 ponies is like asking a six-pack-a-day smoker to quite cold turkey – it requires a tremendous amount of self-control. It's a similar story on the body, where we get a new body kit, new wheels, and a slightly tweaked interior. Now, to be fair, the body kit is made from carbon fiber and the wheels are staggered, multi-spoke alloys, but neither mod is too garish. The cabin gets new black leather, which comes from cows and not some other typical Euro tuner hide, like whale foreskin. The steering wheel gets an Alcantara wrap, and there's some carbon-fiber and wood trim added as well. It's all very, very simple, and not just for a European tuner – we could picture Mercedes itself coming up with a very similar treatment if/when it does an AMG GT Black Series. We've got a wide array of live photos of the new Brabus GT from its Frankfurt debut. Scroll up and check them out. Related Video:

Mercedes G 500 4x4 is mighty mean and bright lime green

The Mercedes-Benz G500 4x42, finally ready to meet the crowds at the Geneva Motor Show, might just be the best factory-prepped expedition off-roader on the market, should Mercedes choose to build it. The short story is that some well-heeled admirers of the G63 AMG 6x6 said, "It's nice, but can you take it down a notch?" And by "notch" they meant "an axle." So the G500 4x42 gets just two portal axles instead of three, and a slew of other features. The 4x4 squared offers up a standard G-wagen body, but instead of the 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 from the G63, there's a new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 422 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. Compared to the standard G500, the track is 11.8 inches wider, the street-cred rims being 22-inchers on 325/55 R-series tires. When it's time to get dirty, they can be swapped for an optional set of 18-inch wheels with 37-inch beadlock tires. With that setup and the same wheelbase as the G500 LWB, ground clearance and fording depth are more than doubled to 17.7 inches and 39 inches respectively, the angle of approach goes from 36 degrees to 52 degrees and the angle of departure leaps from 27 degrees to 54 degrees. Breakover angle is bumped from 21 degrees to 47 degrees, a two-piece stainless steel undertray protecting the sensitive bits when you push it. The only parts that get a raised eyebrow are the carbon fiber wheel arches and bumpers, which might behave badly when they meet an immovable granite object. To escape the sensation of driving the Taj Mahal in urban environments, there's a twin spring-and-damper setup at each wheel. One of the spring-damper combos is electronically controlled and adjustable, and when called into action via the Comfort or Sport mode, takes control of wheel action; even when passive, it will kick in to automatically to stiffen the body if it detects evasive maneuvers. On top of all that, to remind you that you're in a Mercedes the interior is fitted out with Designo leather trim and diamond-quilted microfiber. Mercedes is going to gauge its Geneva reception before deciding to build it, a hurdle we're sure will be overcome. Car and Driver drove it and verified it's the real deal, with pricing - if it's built - speculated to land between the G63 AMG and G65 AMG. The press release below has all the details. Related Video: Near-series show car G 500 4x42: The G-Class Squared Stuttgart, Feb 21, 2015 -- Only a G-Class can be better than a G-Class.

Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.