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2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe

Conventional wisdom would dictate that adding more power and several key performance enhancements to an already very good car, like the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 Coupe, will end up equaling an even better car. In the case of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe, conventional wisdom sort of applies, but perhaps not as much as we'd have initially guessed. We'll get into the nitty gritty details in just a moment, but here's the most immediate takeaway we had in our minds as we walked away from this super coupe: The S63 AMG is excellent, but so is the slightly more mundane S550 Coupe on which it is based, and which is priced some $41,000 less expensive than its more powerful sibling. Chew on those figures while we examine what differentiates the two S-Class Coupes. Drive Notes As expected, the single greatest highlight of the 2015 S63 Coupe is its engine. As a powerplant, it's a gem. As a hand-built engineering exercise, its 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque are just as impressive in real life as they sound when recited from stat sheets. Not that the old CL63 AMG was lacking in power, but the new S63 AMG Coupe boasts 41 more horses and 74 more lb-ft than the outgoing engine. The run to 60 miles per hour takes a scant 3.9 seconds, according to M-B, aided in no small part by the car's 4Matic all-wheel-drive system and other assorted electronic brains deciding where, exactly, all those ponies should be sent. The rear-biased system is tuned to send two-thirds of the engine's power to the rear wheels in a bid to make the car feel more like what performance-minded drivers expect. Top speed is electronically limited to 186 miles per hour, which is plenty fast enough, even in the days of 200-plus-mph sedans from M-B's former corporate cousin Dodge. We didn't get anywhere near the car's maximum velocity, but our brief trips into triple-digit territory were quiet, comfortable and completely free of drama. The seven-speed automatic gearbox responds quickly to requests of your right foot, but the steering wheel-mounted paddles don't change gears as quickly as we'd like when in Manual mode. Controlled Efficiency (which we'd call Comfort) maximizes efficiency, keeping the transmission in higher gears and shifting earlier than when in Sport mode, and we didn't find much fault with the computer's shifting algorithms in either setting.

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Silvretta E-Car Rally, Uber's autonomous Teslas

Daimler took part in the 2015 Silvretta E-Car Rally with seven electrified cars from Mercedes-Benz and Smart. It is the automakers' sixth year competing in the competition in the mountains of Austria's Montafon region. Mercedes fielded two B-Class Electric Drives, an SLS AMG Electric Drive, C350e, S500e and GLE500e 4Matic alongside a Smart Brabus Fortwo Electric Drive Cabriolet. The Silvretta Rally sees some 150 vintage cars and 30 electric vehicles take part in the event, which took place from July 2 through 5 this year. Read more in the press release from Daimler below. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that he'd want to buy all of Tesla's autonomous vehicles if they were available in 2020. Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson relayed Kalanick's comments from the Top 10 Tech Trends dinner in June. Jurvetson also praises self-driving cars, saying, "I believe they are already safer than my parents, and I would trust my kids with them. And they're just going to get better." Jurvetson also believes that taxi services will prosper from the use of autonomous cars in the future. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Michigan legislator has introduced a bill that would count burning industrial solids — such as tires and plastics — toward the state's renewable energy mandate. Aric Nesbitt's bill would "remove unnecessary burdens on the appropriate use of solid waste as a clean energy source" in order to meet the state's requirement that 10 percent of energy come from renewable sources. Critics argue that these materials are not truly renewable, and that burning them causes pollution and emits greenhouse gases. The proposed bill would also repeal a law requiring utilities to work toward reducing energy use by one percent per year. Read more at Treehugger. Will the cars National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) builds in China bear the Saab name? While NEVS is the newest parent company to Saab after being acquired in bankruptcy from Spyker, there's no confirmation that the electric vehicles it builds at its Tianjin plant will be sold as Saabs. Swedish defense firm Saab AB, which held the rights to the Saab name, withheld permission to use it after NEVS declared bankruptcy last year. "The exact models and brands are not finalized yet," says a NEVS spokesman. The company says it is spending $200 million to build the new factory in China, with an expected annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Read more at Automotive News Europe.

Mercedes to add 10 new plug-ins by 2017

The range of plug-in hybrid models available from Mercedes-Benz is about to see a massive expansion thanks to the German luxury brand's announcement to add 10 of them in the lineup by 2017. At the same time the company is rebranding its PHEV range to carry the simple letter "e." For example, the C-Class model previously known as the C350 Plug-in Hybrid is now renamed he C350e. Some of the models in Mercedes' PHEV range are already known, like the aforementioned C350e, and the luxury brand is hinting at two more. The GLE is confirmed to be the brand's first plug-in crossover at some point after the non-coupe version debuts. The company also seems to suggest the Concept V-ision E might see production. Shown in Geneva, the van is based on the V-Class, which is related to upcoming Metris in the US. Mercedes' lineup of diesel and gasoline-fueled hybrids has helped the brand reduce its fleet emissions in Europe by over 40 percent in the last two model generations. Not all of these new PHEVs might make it to the US, though. Mercedes spokesperson Michael Minielly tells Autoblog the company's confirmed plug-ins are the 2016 S550e and C350e that launches this fall. "We have no further announcements regarding what else will be coming to the US market at this time," he said. The rest of the electrified lineup here includes the E400 Hybrid, plus the B-Class Electric Drive and Smart Fortwo Electric Drive EVs. Strategic hybrid initiative from Mercedes-Benz: Ten new plug-in hybrids by 2017 Stuttgart/San Francisco. Extra impetus for the Mercedes-Benz strategic hybrid initiative: In the run-up to 2017 the company is bringing out a total of ten plug-in hybrid models, i.e. one new model with high-tech hybrid drive every four months on average. Following the successful launch of the S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID, this month will see the C 350 e, the second model to feature the progressive drive concept, find its way to dealerships. And what might happen next with the strategic hybrid initiative has just been demonstrated by the Concept V-ision e study at the Geneva Motor Show. Under the new Mercedes-Benz nomenclature, an "e" replaces the words PLUG-IN HYBRID. "Plug-in hybrids are a key technology on the road to the local emission-free future of the automobile," emphasises Prof Dr Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.