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Mercedes-Benz USA considering moving south

Mercedes-Benz may be a German automaker first and foremost, but it's a global operation. Among its many offices around the world, the company employs some 800 staffers at its US headquarters in New Jersey. But that office could be moving down South in the near future. According to reports in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal and Automotive News, Mercedes is looking into relocating its American head office from Montvale, NJ, where it's been based since 1972, to one of several locations under consideration below the Mason-Dixon line. Among the front-runners is Atlanta, where Porsche bases its North American operations. The presence of a trained workforce, necessary infrastructure, compliant officials and proximity to a major hub for international air traffic could make the Georgian metropolis an attractive proposition for Mercedes. Several locations in North Carolina are also said to be under consideration, as well. Either way, MBUSA's relocation to the South would put it closer to its assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, AL, and to the Port of Brunswick near Savannah from which it ships out those vehicles made in Alabama to points overseas. The relocation project is reportedly being handled by commercial real-estate firm JLL Inc, which is helping Toyota handle its relocation from southern California and Ohio to Texas. Sources don't expect, however, for New Jersey to let Mercedes go without a fight. The state's Grow NJ Assistance Program could offer MBUSA an attractive incentives package to stay in Montvale. The company previously planned in 1998 to relocate to Pearl River, NY, but ultimately ended up staying in Jersey. News Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle, Wall Street Journal via Automotive News - sub. req. Mercedes-Benz north carolina mbusa

Race recap: 2016 Monaco Grand Prix gets very wet, a little wild

More than at any other race, the Monaco Grand Prix question is: which combination of demolition derby, Safety Cars, and bad pit strategy will decide the podium? Last year Lewis Hamilton's late, confounding pit stop cost him victory. The year before, Nico Rosberg's qualifying "mistake" put him on pole and Mercedes-AMG Petronas' pit strategy sealed his win – good for Nico, bad for Hamilton and the rest of the field. In 2013 Hamilton dropped from second to fourth when he lollygagged in the pits. In all three years, Rosberg won. The new X factor for 2016: a Red Bull resurgence that helped Daniel Ricciardo clinch his first career pole. Nevertheless, bad pit strategy had its say in the results. Ricciardo built up a 13-second lead by Lap 15 in spite of heavy rains that forced the Safety Car to lead the first eight laps of the race. Ricciardo stopped on Lap 23 to switch to intermediate tires for the drying track, ceding the lead to Hamilton. Hamilton pitted from the lead on Lap 31 for softs, then Red Bull pulled Ricciardo in again on Lap 32 and made a snap decision to put him on ultra softs, but the tires weren't ready when Ricciardo reached his pit box. What should have been a three-second pit stop turned into a 13.6-second pit stop. Ricciardo left the pits as Hamilton came down the straight and the Aussie lost the lead into the first corner. Despite two attempts to pass later in the race, Hamilton finished first, the Aussie second. It's the second race in a row where pit strategy cost Ricciardo a near-certain win. Conversely, Force India nailed both tire strategy and pit timing with Sergio Perez. The Mexican started in eighth but got into third before half the race was done, passing four cars in the pits, and finished on the podium's final step. Otherwise the order barely changed from about half distance, with Ferrari driver Sebatian Vettel in fourth, followed by Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India, Rosberg in the second Mercedes, Carlos Sainz for Toro Rosso, Jenson Button in the second McLaren, and Felipe Massa taking the final point for tenth for Williams. Storms didn't only hover over the area, though – dark clouds hung around several teams and drivers. Mercedes' reliability is no longer so reliable. The Silver Arrows suffered engine issues on both cars in qualifying, and Hamilton's problem almost kept him from setting a time in Q3.

Mercedes unveils GLC350e 4Matic PHEV

Mercedes-Benz intends to introduce at least 10 plug-in hybrid models to the market by 2017, and the the Mercedes GLC350e 4Matic is the latest one to show its electrified face. It's also the second crossover from the company to offer a PHEV version following the GLE550e 4Matic. Mercedes isn't releasing all of the details about the plug-in GLC yet, but it combines an internal combustion engine making 208 horsepower and a 114 hp electric motor with a seven-speed gearbox. Total torque is 413 pound-feet. The combo is enough to get the all-wheel drive crossover to 62 miles per hour in a purported 5.9 seconds and a claimed top speed of 146 mph. Fuel economy in the European cycle is estimated at the equivalent of about 90 miles per gallon, and there's a 21-mile pure electric range for zero-emissions cruising. Based around the newly introduced GLC-Class, buyers can still order a plethora of luxurious amenities, but the plug-in powertrain also comes with a few tweaks to help drivers maximize fuel economy. There's a haptic accelerator with a resistance point to indicate the switch between electric and combustion power. In addition, the hybrid system can anticipate the road ahead through radar and GPS to manage things as efficiently as possible. One of the GLC hybrid's biggest advantages when it arrives is the small field of competitors. Neither BMW nor Audi currently have a compact luxury crossover of this size with a hybrid option in the US. That really only leaves the Mercedes to take on the Lexus NX300h with total system output of 194 hp, and that's not even a plug-in. The GLC350e 4Matic isn't part of the new model's initial launch lineup in the US. It should be coming along later, though. Key topic: Energy efficiency - Economy on four wheels A revised all-wheel-drive powertrain, the outstanding aerodynamics and the intelligent lightweight design are the primary reasons for the high energy efficiency of all the new GLC models. The conventional diesel and petrol models boast significant reductions of up to 19 percent in both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in comparison to the previous generation, while at the same time improving performance. GLC 220 d 4MATIC GLC 250 d 4MATIC GLC 250 4MATIC Output, kW/hp 125/170 150/204 155/211 Torque, Nm 400 500 350 Fuel consumption (l/100 km) 5.0 - 5.5 (6.1 - 6.5) 5.0 - 5.5 (6.1 - 6.6) 6.5 - 7.1 (7.5 - 7.9) ? Consumption % -19 -19 -12 CO2 g/km 129 - 143 (159 - 169) 129 - 143 (159 - 169) 152 - 166 (173 - 180) ?