2011 Mercedes-benz R-class R350 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes SL backs into Ferrari 458 Speciale while parking

There are a lot of people with the money to buy nice cars, but an absolute inability to drive them. And that's how this Mercedes-Benz SL ended up beached on the nose of a Ferrari 458 Speciale. It happened at a Virginia cars and coffee event, and that inability to drive we mention doesn't refer to the poor Ferrari owner. According to the YouTube description, the driver of the 380SL was attempting to parallel park when she landed on top of the hot 458. But since the video doesn't start until the Benz has landed, we only have the video uploader's word. But don't click away yet – the Ferrari's owner returned to the scene. Despite a hint of adult language, he's far more calm than we would be in that situation. That doesn't mean he's not angry, decrying the crash as "the dumbest thing I've ever seen." We agree, especially when you notice space between the 458 Speciale and the Nissan 300ZX in front of it. This was by no means a tight or difficult place to park, even without George Constanza's god-given parallel parking skills. Even a semi-competent driver could have maneuvered a vehicle far larger than a 15-foot-long roadster between the two cars with room to spare. Related Video: News Source: Media Gamut Motoring via YouTube Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Convertible Coupe Luxury Performance Videos mercedes sl-class cars and coffee

2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is the same as it ever was

At this point, we hope Nico Rosberg is planning to carry his current qualifying form into the 2016 season and back it up with the same kind of race-day cojones he showed winning the race in Mexico City two weeks ago. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver got it right enough again on Saturday afternoon to take his fifth consecutive pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost a tenth of a second. It's the same one-two from Brazil last year. The bad news for the rest of the field is that the winner in Brazil the last seven years has been one of the two drivers on the front row. Last year it was the Williams duo that lined up behind Mercedes, this year it's Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel plays the stalking horse, securing third in his Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fourth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas actually qualified in fourth, but he had to serve a three-spot grid penalty for passing under red flags in Free Practice 2, so he started sixth. That promoted Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg up to fifth. Daniil Kvyat was the quickest representative from Infiniti Red Bull Racing, getting into seventh even with a Renault power unit that's weak on some of the key stretches at the Interlagos track. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in eighth, in front of the second Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo in ninth. Toro Rosso hasn't confirmed its drivers for next year but Max Verstappen keeps making it hard to look elsewhere, taking 10th. Rosberg is working nearly the same trick he pulled last year: drive like a second driver for most of the year, drive like a world champion for the last quarter of a season. He pulled away at the start and covered Hamilton just enough on the run to the first corner to keep Hamilton on the outside. By the end of Turn 1 the German had the lead and didn't give it up for the rest of the race outside of pit stops. Without overwhelming pace to pass and unable to follow closely, Hamilton could do nothing except ask his team for a different strategy to go for the win. When Mercedes told him "No," trying to protect Rosberg's second place in the championship ahead of Vettel, that was the race. Just like last year, Rosberg and Hamilton finished one-two. Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and Kvyat drove lonely races to finish in positions three through seven.

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.