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Weekly Recap: Mercedes, Volkswagen spend big as import automakers invest in North America

Import automakers are on a building frenzy in North America as resurgent car sales have prompted companies to expand their manufacturing footprints to meet rising demand. That was evidenced this week when Mercedes-Benz announced plans to build a $500-million factory to produce the Sprinter commercial van, and Volkswagen confirmed a whopping $1-billion investment to expand its massive plant in Mexico. Meanwhile Jaguar Land Rover reportedly wants to build a factory in North America, but not for at least three years, and Hyundai is said to be expanding in the southern United States. The common thread in all of this expansion? Trucks, time and money. Mercedes wants to capitalize on the burgeoning work van segment in the United States and will break ground in 2016 on a 200-acre site in Charleston, SC, to build the next-generation Sprinter. The site will have a paint shop, body shop and an assembly line, and 1,300 people will be employed when production ramps up. Why do this, when Mercedes has immense van operations in Germany? It's cheaper to build in the US for the US market. Building locally allows Mercedes to avoid import taxes, forego a complex shipping process that involves partially disassembling German-built Sprinters and naturally, reduces the time it takes to deliver finished trucks to their buyers. "This plant is key to our future growth in the very dynamic North American van market," Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said in a statement. He was speaking about Mercedes and vans, but another German automotive giant, Volkswagen, had similar motives for its mammoth expansion plans in Puebla, Mexico. The added space and production capacity will allow VW to build a three-row version of the Tiguan, and provide another crossover for its US lineup that's light on SUVs. The current Tiguan has two rows. The factory will be able to churn out 500 units daily of the larger variant, and they will be sold in North and South America. It will arrive in the US in mid-2017, a spokesman told Autoblog. VW also plans to build another crossover, a midsize seven-passenger vehicle, at its growing Chattanooga, TN, site. "Localization has become key to safeguarding our competitive position on the global market, and manufacturing the Tiguan in Mexico will bring production closer to the US market," Michael Horn, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement.

Mercedes' CEO says Google should study car use, not car building

Google is rapidly throwing its massive weight into many facets of the auto business. Not only does the search behemoth want to take on Uber, offer car insurance quotes and run a specific version of Android on future infotainment systems, but the company is also at least toying with the idea of constructing its own completely autonomous vehicles. Such a powerful corporation entering the industry could frighten some automakers, but Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche isn't worried. The mustachioed executive doesn't believe that Google actually means to become an automaker but is instead just studying how people use cars. "Google and the likes want to get involved, I don't think in the first place to build vehicles," he told analysts, according to Reuters. Zetsche sees future collaboration with the technology giant in a quite nuanced way in that there are some things they can be partners on and other places where the two corporations might be competitors. One area where Zetsche potentially predicts an antagonistic relationship with Google regards data privacy, a concern is becoming a hot topic in the auto industry at the moment. Zetsche foresees the future of safety in Mercedes-Benz vehicles as protecting occupants not just physically but also safeguarding their personal information. "To be able to provide that, we have to keep control, and we can't do that when it is collected by Google," Zetsche said to Reuters. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Gero Breloer / AP Photo Mercedes-Benz Technology Emerging Technologies Infotainment Autonomous Vehicles

2016 Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG Sport First Drive

A. M. G. Those three letters carry a lot of weight, especially to those who firmly believe that AMG is the hallowed performance pinnacle of the Mercedes-Benz brand. Those purists probably lifted an eyebrow at the front-drive platforms behind the CLA45 AMG and GLA45 AMG, and virtually every AMG-branded SUV that has hailed from the tuner-focused nameplate. But they might want to consider a second look at the 2016 Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG Sport. No, it's not a full-blown, fire-breathing AMG like the C63, and it doesn't get the newfangled "Mercedes-AMG" nomenclature. But after spending some seat time in the C450 AMG Sport, there's a decent chance you'll be quite alright with that. Inside and out, the C450 bears a strong visual resemblance to the mean looking, V8-powered, 469-horsepower C63 and its even fiercer, 503-hp, C63 S variant. The C-Class cockpit feels a bit snugger than you might expect considering its exterior proportions, particularly from the passenger seat. On the other hand, the new C-Class is also quite a bit more nicely appointed than its predecessor, which has inspired more than a few comparisons to the super posh S-Class. As for the C450 AMG, its more purposeful design cues and sportier details lend it a buttoned-down, modern feel. The biggest differentiator between the C and CLA class, however, is the rear of the cabin: the C's back seats are considerably roomier than the entry-level CLA's posterior perches. In place of V8 power, the modest 450 AMG packs a more reasonably endowed twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 that pushes 362 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque through a 7G-Tronic Plus automatic gearbox (in place of the the C63's dual-clutch seven-speed). Power is routed through all four wheels with a 66-percent rear, 33-percent front torque split. For some numerical context, the C450 AMG exceeds the C400 by 33 hp and the C300 by 121 hp, while it lags behind the C63 by a rather significant 107 hp. Crucially, the six-banger helps shed between 231 and 242 pounds compared the C63 models – this, despite a heavier all-wheel-drive arrangement, as opposed to the C63's rear-drive configuration. The C450 AMG shares a few pieces of hardware with its big brother AMG sibling, including the front axle, electromechanical steering, and upgraded brake setup (though you can't get carbon ceramic stoppers like you can in the C63 S).