2010 Mercedes-benz C300 Sport Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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2015 Italian Grand Prix is smoke, mirrors, stalls, and stewards

For the first day-and-a-half of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix weekend, everything went to blueprint: Mercedes in front, Ferrari lurking, everyone else scrambling in their usual orders behind. Then qualifying came, and someone stirred the pot. About the only thing we expected was for Lewis Hamilton to put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position, the 11th time he's done it this year. He did it with a brand-new specification engine, one that represents not only an evolution in components, but also in power unit philosophy. Kimi Raikkonen lines up in second. It's been a long time since we read those words; the Iceman hasn't been on the first row since the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix, when he put his Lotus second on the grid behind... Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen lined up just ahead of a Ferrari at that China race, then driven by Fernando Alonso. In Italy this weekend, he lined up in front of the Ferrari driven by his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who qualified third. Both Ferraris benefitted from an upgraded power unit, ending a front-row drought for the scuderia that goes all the way back to Monaco in 2009 Germany in 2012. Nico Rosberg has a lot of work to do from fourth in the second Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Mercedes discovered a problem with Rosberg's engine but couldn't figure out the cause, so he reverted to the previous-spec engine he used in Belgium, one that's six races old. The lack of power hurt. Williams teammates Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas took fifth and sixth, with Massa seemingly given a team-ordered helping hand. Williams told Bottas to tow Massa down the front straight, giving Massa a blistering time in the first sector. Then Bottas did it again, ensuring he would line up behind Massa. The first Sahara Force India of Sergio Perez nabbed seventh, three places ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in tenth, with Romain Grosjean in the Lotus behind Perez in eighth. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber qualified ninth, but some clumsy driving saw him impede Hulkenberg twice. The stewards penalized Ericsson with a three-place grid penalty and two points on his superlicense, so Hulkenberg inherited ninth and Pastor Maldonado in the second Lotus inherited tenth. We hardly saw Hamilton during the race, because he led from the start, worked up a larger gap to second place on every lap, and didn't give up the lead for the whole event.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe looks just as banging as big brother

When Mercedes-Benz redesigned the C-Class, the new sedan was crafted as a sort of baby S-Class, both inside and out. So is it really any surprise that with the 2017 C-Class Coupe, MB has once again looked to its flagship model for inspiration? The new C Coupe is, for all intents and purposes, a scaled-down S-Class Coupe, featuring many of the same styling cues that make that big two-door such a stunner. The pert tail is set off by the same kind of duck-bill spoiler integrated into the rear decklid and horizontal taillights. A strong shoulder line emphasizes the aggressive slope of the roof and the high beltline, which if anything is more aggressive than what Mercedes penned for the S-Class Coupe. Up front, a strong grille is flanked by scale model's of the S Coupe's headlights, complete with LED lighting accents. It's a similar story in the cabin, where Mercedes scaled things down but really didn't skimp on style or materials. Expect the C Coupe's mechanicals to mirror those of its four-door counterpart. The C300, the only version of the new two-door to be announced so far, will use the same 241-horsepower, 273-pound-foot, 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder as the C300 sedan. We'd expect the rest of the engine range to get fleshed out over time, with the more potent C400, C450 AMG Sport, and C63 AMG coming online. While not specified, a seven-speed automatic should be on hand to funnel power to either the back wheels or to a 4Matic all-wheel-drive system, here in the C300. As for optional extras, Mercedes specifically mentions an Airmatic suspension, a vast suite of safety systems, and a 360-degree camera, to name just a few. As with the engine lineup, expect the options sheet to mimic the C-Class Sedan. You can read more about the new C-Class Coupe in the attached press release. We've also embedded a hefty gallery of images at the top of the page. The new C Coupe will make its auto show debut at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, and will hit dealers in the US next this spring. Related Video: The all-new MY2017 C300 and C300 4MATIC Coupe Seduction of the heart and mind Stuttgart – Athletic and sporty, the vivid, sensual design of the new C-Class Coupe cuts a fine figure on the road and embodies modern luxury. At the same time, its interior raises elegance and style to a sporty level.

Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.