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Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.

Hybrids to slowly replace diesels at Mercedes

German automakers have had some success bringing diesel-powered vehicles in America in recent years, but that may not last much longer. A product planner from Mercedes-Benz we spoke to in Austria apparently believes hybrid setups may be more favorable in the long run, and electrified hybrids will eventually replace oil burners. That's why most every concept car we've seen in the last few years features some sort of hybrid or plug-in hybrid setup while there have been very few diesels. "Yes, diesel is technically complex, and very expensive. The additives to reduce particulate matter are very costly. You'll see more hybrids to meet the changing regulations," according to our source. We've seen this exact scenario play out with Mazda, which has struggled to bring its 2.2-liter diesel engine to America, citing the costly process to reduce emissions in order to meet California-level standards while still maintaining suitable performance for the US market. It's certainly interesting that this news comes hot on the heels of revelations that VW, the automaker that offers the most diesel-powered models in the US, was found in violation of emissions rules on its popular 2.0-liter TDI engine. New Mercedes GLE Will Have An Active Chassis Mercedes has launched an all-out product offensive in the last two years, but the product planning think tanks in Stuttgart have a few surprises in store, too. While Benz has just launched its new GLE SUV family, GLE product planners are already hard at work on the next-generation – yes, a good 5-6 years away – and tell us it will evolve to boast new chassis technology, "something that doesn't exist today." The next-GLE is codenamed 167 – the previous ML (now replaced by the GLE) was internally referred to as 166 – and the GLE planner we recently talked to calls the platform an "active chassis." He further alluded that the next version could be electrified. Currently, the only aspect of the GLE's chassis that is 'active' today are the hydraulic pumps on the roll bars, he said. Many of Mercedes' models can already be had with an adaptive air suspension, multiple selectable driving modes, and other features that were rare or nonexistent just a couple generations ago. One More Compact Crossover On The Way The planner said we can also at least one more all-new, forthcoming compact crossover to be built on the GLA platform. In addition to the GLA, that architecture is currently shared by the A-Class, B-Class, and CLA-Class models.

2017 Infiniti QX30 First Drive

If you've heard anything before about this car, the 2017 Infiniti QX30, it probably has to do with its corporate parents, an odd couple if there ever was one. Renault-Nissan, Infiniti's corporate overlords, inked a deal with Mercedes-Benz to share some mechanical components and platforms. That deal put a new, very modern 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four under the hood of the Q50 and was the genesis of what you're looking at here. What are you looking at here? We drove this car in 2015, when it was called a Q30 – originally it was going to be the lower-riding counterpart to the slightly jacked-up QX30. Then Infiniti decided it'd make more sense to sell all variants of this vehicle as CUVs in the US, so we have three slightly different flavors of the QX30 instead. There's the normal version; the Sport, which is 0.6 inches lower; and the AWD, which is 1.2 inches higher. Infiniti brought us to Seattle to sample the Sport and AWD flavors on a semi-circumnavigation of the Puget Sound. It didn't rain a drop, thanks for asking, and instead was sunny and mild the whole time. It's easy to make the QX30 sound more confusing than it actually is. This is essentially a Mercedes-Benz GLA250 with full exterior styling and partial interior design by Infiniti, built in the UK alongside several other Nissans. The powertrain and chassis, including the optional AWD system, were all "co-developed" with partner Daimler, with final calibration and tuning by Infiniti engineers. Here's another way of explaining it: Infiniti needs an entry-level car to appeal to new premium car shoppers, and the QX30 is the prescription. It's a hatchback that's been given the mildest of CUV treatments and a lot of marketing descriptors. That's because hatchbacks are sales death in America. In Europe, they'll see right through the CUV posturing and realize it's just a hatchback offered in three different suspension heights. Whatever you call it to make it palatable to Americans, it's a useful little vehicle. This car is mechanically identical to the Q30, so there are some things we can gloss over. Both are powered by a transverse-mounted 2.0-liter Mercedes inline-four. It's a turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engine, and it sure feels like one. It sounds like a rock tumbler full of nickels and runs out of breath at about 5,000 rpm. All versions make 208 hp at 5,500 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque between 1,200 and 4,400 rpm – more than adequate but less than thrilling.