2004 Mercedes-benz Cl600 Base Coupe 2-door 5.5l on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Mercedes continues the pseudo-coupe craze with AMG-tuned CUV

But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. BMW proved there is a market for crossover utility vehicles designed to look like coupes – as much as a vehicle with four doors and noticeable ground clearance can look like a coupe, anyway. Now comes the reply from Mercedes-Benz: the GLE Coupe. The rakish crossover is a harbinger of things to come from Mercedes, as it begins the company's transition to a new nomenclature and marks the debut of the AMG Sport line. It also continues the recent coupe craze. Designers from many automakers, like Nissan and Volkswagen, have increasingly turned to swoopy, dramatic styling to make utility vehicles and sedans seem more desirable. By revealing the GLE 450 AMG Sport model first, Mercedes is clearly hoping to cast the GLE Coupe as a sportier, lifestyle-oriented alternative in its lineup of beefy crossovers and SUVs. Mercedes used the word "sport," or a variation of it, 53 times in its press release, so uh yeah, it's sporty. It's not an empty promise: Benz means business with the AMG Sport line. This GLE Coupe gets a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 rated at 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque paired with Mercedes' new nine-speed automatic transmission, and it runs with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Specs on the other GLE Coupe models were not disclosed. But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. After all, more than 260,000 people have bought X6s since 2008, and Mercedes wants a piece of that. From certain angles, the GLE Coupe even looks vaguely like an X6. "This is really a vehicle that is all about status," said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager for research firm AutoPacific. "You can buy a SUV that doesn't have the inherent qualities of a SUV, such as cargo hauling. People will likely be drawn to the looks. Coupes are all the rage." BMW, however, isn't running from the fight, and the updated 2015 X6 is arriving in showrooms this month. It also added a smaller sibling, the X4, to its coupe-crossover stable in July. The GLE Coupe arrives next year, though Mercedes hasn't specified exactly when it will hit showrooms from the factory in Alabama, or specified details on the rest of the non-AMG Sport models. In 2008, it was surprising the X6 was a hit. In 2015, it will be even more surprising if the GLE Coupe isn't.

Chris Harris falls in love with Mercedes-AMG GT at Laguna Seca

It's not every day that an automaker goes down a market segment and still comes off as even more ambitious, but that's exactly what Mercedes has done with the new AMG GT. While the SLS was bigger and more expensive, with the new GT, Mercedes has set its sights on one of the most iconic sports cars of all time. That, of course, would be the Porsche 911, and the big question is whether Benz has achieved its target. For the answer, we turn to none other than the Monkey himself – the inimitable Chris Harris, who recently went solo with his own YouTube channel. And for his latest segment, he took the latest German sports car around no less suitable a track than Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Editors’ Picks April 2023 | New X1, a Bentley and some luxury EVs

This month of Editors' Picks features a smattering of luxury vehicles in both sedan and SUV body styles. The new BMW i7 was a big surprise, and the Mercedes-Benz EQE is a lovely enough electric sedan to get our recommendation, too. We've given every other Bentley model an Editors' Pick before, and the Bentayga follows suit. Lastly, BMW nabs a second in April with the newly redesigned X1 subcompact crossover. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, here’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get an EditorsÂ’ Pick designation. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in January that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick.   2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE View 38 Photos Quick take: The EQE offers all the niceties of a traditional E-Class in an electric form. Its design is simplistic and bland to a fault, but everything else about it is executed well. Score: 7.5 What it competes with: Porsche Taycan, Audi E-Tron GT, Tesla Model S, BMW i4 Pros: Gorgeous interior, big backseat, advanced tech, excellent driving AMG variant Cons: Bland design, average range/charging speed, questionable value From the editors: Road Test Editor Zac Palmer — "I drove the AMG version of the EQE, and while it's a rocketship of an EV, it lacked the ne'er-do-well nature of the gasoline-powered AMG versions of the E-Class. The interior is beautiful, but I can't say the same for the exterior, even with the AMG add-ons. The AMG EQE is a perfect Benz, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it the perfect AMG product." In-depth analysis: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE Sedan Review: A smaller, less expensive EQS   2023 BMW X1 2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i 03 View 31 Photos Quick take: The BMW X1 is the driver's choice in the subcompact luxury SUV segment. Its size and abundance of tech makes it a great all-rounder for anybody's taste, though. Score: 8.0 What it competes with: Volvo XC40, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLB, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Jaguar E-Pace, Lexus UX, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Pros: Fun to drive, great utility, traditional and handsome design Cons: Interior feels spartan, value is questionable From the editors: Senior Editor, Green John Beltz Snyder — "This segment is a competitive one, but the X1 sets itself apart as the driverÂ’s car.