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Mercedes spotted testing new S-Class cabrio in the snow

A fullsize luxury convertible is a rare species. There's the Bentley Continental GTC, maybe the Aston Martin DB9 or Vanquish Volante and the Maserati GranTurismo Convertible if you won't need those rear seats too often, but that's about it. The segment seems to be expanding, though, with the imminent arrival of the drop-head version of the Rolls-Royce Wraith and the new challenger you see here. Spied undergoing winter testing in Sweden, this prototype for the upcoming Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet is wearing barely any camouflage or body cladding whatsoever. In all likelihood that's largely because it's essentially the S-Class Coupe we already know, but with a folding fabric roof: Mercedes typically keeps the origami tin-tops to two-seaters like the SL and SLK. When the new S-Class cabrio is ready to launch – probably sometime between now and the summer – it'll join an expanding array of convertible Benzes that already includes the aforementioned SL and SLK and the E-Class Cabriolet, and will soon adopt the AMG GT roadster as well. Featured Gallery 2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet: Spy Shots View 12 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Mercedes-Benz Convertible Luxury mercedes s-class cabriolet

Mercedes invests $1.3 billion to expand Alabama factory

Mercedes-Benz announced a $1.3-billion investment Friday in its Tuscaloosa, AL, factory to increase SUV production capacity. The move comes on the heels of Autoblog's exclusive report that the GLC Coupe Concept will enter production as the German luxury marque continues to push for increased SUV sales. The investment will add 300 jobs to the approximately 3,500-strong workforce. The facility will be responsible for what Mercedes calls "the next SUV generations," which makes it sound like the plant will continue to assemble the GLE-Class and GL-Class SUVs, as well as the C-Class sedan. The next-gen SUVs built in Alabama will include hybrid variants, Mercedes said. Upgrades to the sprawling 5-million-square-foot facility include a new 1.3-million-square-foot body shop that will implement modular construction techniques. As for the current body shop, it will be expanded by nearly 140,000 square feet and will receive a larger "marriage" station, for pairing bodies and powertrains. Finally, the entire facility will receive a major IT upgrade. "In the next years we invest $1.3 billion in the expansion of our SUV production and turn the Mercedes-Benz plant Tuscaloosa into a high-tech location," Mercedes' Markus Schafer said in the attached release. "In this way we can produce the next SUV generations even more flexibly, efficiently and in proven top quality." If you're interested in the nitty gritty particulars of the announcement, you can read all about them in the official press release. Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa Plant: Mercedes-Benz invests $1.3 Billion in the expansion of its SUV production Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA / Stuttgart, Germany, Sep 18, 2015 MBUSI (Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc.) to produce future SUV generations including hybrid versions SUV production to be expanded – 300 new jobs New Body Shop, major enhancements to SUV Assembly Shop and upgraded logistics and IT systems Implementation of state-of-the-art technologies and end-to-end digitization of production processes in line with the smart factory approach Markus Schafer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: "In the next years we invest $1.3 billion in the expansion of our SUV production and turn the Mercedes-Benz plant Tuscaloosa into a high-tech location.

Here's what Jay Leno will be working on in 2016

Jay Leno always has a project or five underway in his garage, and since 2015 is practically over, his latest video offers a glimpse at some of the amazing vehicles we might see his team complete in the coming year. Leno's crew certainly has a lot to do next year. Leno's most impressive current undertaking is an effort to modernize a 1914 Detroit Electric with about ten times its original power output. He showed off the vintage EV as just a shell in his last tour of the garage, but his team has now recreated the wood body. They also started the project's bigger challenge of installing a new electric motor and lithium-ion batteries from a Nissan Leaf. If EVs don't interest you, Leno has plenty of other irons in the fire, too. There's a 1971 Porsche 911 that's under restoration to turn it into a solid driver and several motorcycles in various states of repair. Leno even welcomes viewers into his dyno room to check out the work on the Chrysler V8 for his Cunningham. The results of this wrenching and welding on these projects should make for even more compelling videos in 2016.