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Mercedes-Benz previews its curvy sports-car and design future

Suggesting creases are passe for automotive design, Mercedes showed off ideas for its future styling directions this week at a forum in Germany, including previews of upcoming sports cars and sedans. We see images of a curvy sports car study (the silver car) with huge wheel arches flared out almost like pontoons. There's also what appears to be a rear-engine hypercar (white car); we've been reading reports about it for months. Additionally, there's a red sporty saloon, as Mercedes calls it, also among the photos. It features prominent rounded fenders and a bold horizontal grille. Mercedes also previewed its upcoming A-Class, in what it calls the Aesthetics A sculpture, which looks like a car covered in a red sheet. Though Mercedes says this is its next step to a purer design, creases and strong lines are still evident on the sides. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche 911 hybrid possible, Ecocruise EVs coming soon

The next-generation Porsche 911 could use hybrid power, according to Porsche CEO Matthias Muller. "There is no reason against it and we will see if we have some reasons to do it," Muller says of the model due around 2018. He also suggests that hybrid technology could eventually make its way into all Porsche model lines, but that the Boxster and Cayman would first get four-cylinder versions. Muller cites carbon emissions and "sportiness" as reasons to use hybrid power, pointing to the 918 Spyder as a good example of both. Read more at Car Advice. A B-Class F-Cell from the Mercedes-Benz fleet has hit a benchmark of 300,000 kilometers (about 186,411 miles) in everyday use. The achievement won Daimler an "f-cell award" for hydrogen fuel cell technology and innovation. The 300+ fuel cell cars in the Daimler fleet have driven a collective 9 million-plus kilometers (more than 5.5 million miles). The information gathered from this testing is being used to improve development as the company looks toward expanding commercialization of fuel cell cars. "We have clearly demonstrated that the fuel cell electric drive is ready for the road," says Professor Herbert Kohler of Daimler. "The last hurdles we will overcome in intensive cross-industry and cross-border teamwork." Read more in the press release below. A company called Ecocruise has new EVs coming out soon. Along with electric scooters and service vehicles, Ecocruise develops street-legal neighborhood electric vehicles like the three-wheeled EZip-3, the four-wheeled EZip-4, and the fun looking Cruser Sport (see a prototype in the video below). The EVs are scheduled to go on sale in January of 2015, which is right around the corner. Ecocruise was started after the founder of Kasea Motorsports decided to switch to electric vehicles with the goal of offering providing affordable emissions-free driving. Learn more about Ecocruise and its vehicles at the company's website. The new EU Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) does little to discourage dirty fuels like tar sands and coal-to-liquid, says Transport & Environment (T&E). The FQD requires suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas intensity for transport fuel in the EU by six percent by 2020. The much-delayed FQD doesn't do as much as it could, though, say critics, and it doesn't label dirtier fuel sources as such despite the urging of scientists. T&E, an organization focused on cleaning up EU transport, blames Canada, the US and Big Oil.

2014 Mercedes SL and SLK add small expansion to Takata airbag recall

Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to be affected by Takata's massive airbag recall. The company has announced a voluntary recall campaign on a small number of model-year 2014 SLK- and SL-Class roadsters.
In Mercedes' case, 300 vehicles are affected, 200 of which are in the hands of customers. According to spokesperson Donna Boland, the affected roadsters were built between March and April of this year.
The issue, which is apparently the fault of one of Takata's subcontractors, rests with some improperly installed fasteners, which could keep the airbag from performing the way it's supposed to. According to Boland, Mercedes isn't sure what, if any, injuries the recalled airbags could cause, but simply claims there's an increased risk in these particular vehicles. There's been no reported instances of the faulty airbags deploying on a customer and the original issue was found in a production test.