Daimler Puts a Third Option on the Table: Turn Maybach into a Sub-Brand for Mercedes

The future of the ailing Maybach brand will be decided, according to reports, until the end of July. Up until now, the German firm’s parent company, Daimler, was faced with two options: either axe the brand entirely, or work with another carmaker, preferably Aston Martin, to share the development and manufacturing costs to the successors of to its not-so-well received uber-sedans.

Now, according to Automotive News, it seems that a third option is on the table: that Maybach will become a sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz.

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Mercedes Drifter Sets New Guinness World Record for the Longest Powerslide [with Videos]

A Mercedes-Benz driver has smashed the world record for the longest car drift at a company event in Surrey, UK. Mauro Calo, who works at the Mercedes-Benz World venue providing driving experiences to guests and entertaining crowds with precision driving skills, powerslided a C63 AMG sports sedan for a distance of 2,308 metres or 1.44 miles, beating the previous record by 394 metres or a quarter of a mile. Read more »

European Automakers Demand a Fair Deal in Emerging Auto Markets

At a recent meeting of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), industry leaders voiced their concerns over government assistance, high import tariffs and other trade barriers in newly minted auto markets such as China, India and South Korea. It’s a situation that’s made it very difficult, if not impossible, for the Euros to compete.

Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler and the President of ACEA puts it well: “We are asking for a level playing field.”

Paul Everitt, CEO of the UK’S SMMT motor industry group echoes those remarks: “Our vision is for us to design, develop and manufacture high-value vehicles to export around the world. That is difficult if we don't get access.”

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Mercedes-Benz’s Parent Company Nearing a Decision on the Fate of Maybach

It’s no secret that for quite some time now, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has just about had it with Maybach and is looking to either shut down the über luxury car brand and call it a day or partner up with British sports carmaker Aston Martin on the development of a new model.

According to a report from Autoweek, the time has come for the German carmaker to make a final decision with the fate of Maybach to be decided by July 1. At a recent press event in Stuttgart, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told journalist that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for Maybach if the company can find a partner. Up until now, the only automaker that has showed interest in working with Daimler on Maybach is Aston Martin.

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Mercedes Drops 72 High-Res Photos and More Info on 2012 ML-Class SUV

The new 2012 ML-Class has been making the rounds on the web-o-sphere for a couple of days now, and today Mercedes-Benz’ press department finally decided to share the details and a high-resolution photo gallery of its newcomer with the rest of the world. We have already voiced our thoughts about the ML-Class’ styling so on this post we’re going to concentrate on the available engine lineup and specifications.

Starting with the North American model, the third-generation ML-Class will make its U.S. retail debut in September 2011 with two available models at launch, the ML350 4MATIC and the ML350 BlueTEC. More engines will be added down the road.

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Mercedes-Benz Shows Off its New 2012 ML-Class SUV on Film

By now, you know that Mercedes-Benz has released the new 2012 ML-Class ahead of its world premiere at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. If you’re curious to see how the German firm’s American-made SUV looks on road, this is your lucky day as Mercedes has just published two official videos including a five-minute long film of its BMW X5 rival. You can watch both clips right after the break. Read more »

BMW Takes Top Spot Among Automakers and 4th Overall in New Study for the World’s Most Reputable Companies

A recently released study by research-based consulting firm Reputation Institute, found that BMW is considered the world’s most reputable company in the automotive sector and fourth overall behind Google, Apple and the Walt Disney Company. German automakers in general performed well in the study with Daimler, owner of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and Smart, ranking 7th overall, while Volkswagen finished in 10th place, followed by Honda (29), Toyota (60), Nissan (61) and Suzuki (63). Read more »

Fotos da Nova Mercedes-Benz Classe ML

Mostradas as imagens da nova Mercedes-Benz Classe ML. Mas sua apresentação oficial fica para o Salão de Frankfurt.

A terá Mercedes-Benz Classe ML seis tipos de motores de quatro cilindros. Na versão de entrada a ML 250 Bluetec, vem com motor 2.1 litros diesel com 204cv, na versão ML 350 Bluetec tem o motor 3.0 V6 diesel de 258cv. Na versão ML300 Hybrid, o motor diesel do ML250 será combinado com o elétrico de 20cv.

Por dentro ele vem em couro marrom e preto. E traz suspensão a ar Airmatic, controle de pressão dos pneus, luzes de freio adaptativas, sistema de visão noturna e reconhecimento de pedestres, detector de cansaço e de veículos no ponto cego, Park Assist, câmera traseira.

2012 Mercedes-Benz ML Class: First Official Photos hit the Web

A leaked brochure of the all-new 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML Class that was floating around the internet on Monday was followed up today with the release of the first official photos.
We are still waiting for Mercedes to come out with an announcement detailing the next iteration of its mid-size SUV, but aside from the evolved styling language, we learn that the ML also introduces a new engine lineup that will include a 2.1-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine with a little over 200-horses. A hybrid version based on the same turbocharged diesel powerplant will follow next year.
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Mercedes Celebrates Unimog’s 60th Birthday with Impressive Design Study

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the presentation of the Unimog, the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks (MBS) unit, which is responsible for the Unimog, Econic and Zetros range of models, created a special design concept that attempts to link the past and present together with the future.

Using the current Unimog U 5000’s chassis as a base, the German brand’s designers came up with a futuristic-looking yet distinctly retro-feeling styling for the body of their off-road workhouse. The concept vehicle features an open top design as a nod to the first Mercedes-Benz Unimog model that rolled off the assembly line on June 3, 1951.

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SCOOP: 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class MPV is Same ol’ Same ol’…

Not too long ago, we brought you official design images of the brand new 2012 Mercedes-Benz A-Class sporting a five-door hatchback body styled after the impressive A-Class concept seen at the New York and Shanghai Auto Shows in April. Now we have some revealing spy shots of the upcoming 2012 B-Class minivan. Being that the next A-Class and its larger B-Class sibling belong to the same family, you would expect a similar design philosophy between the two models.

However, as these latest scoops demonstrate, that is not the case with the new 2012 B-Class. We had a very hard time telling the differences between the current B-Class and its successor, as the overall shape and styling of the small MPV have been kept intact. Nevertheless, the new B-Class is slightly taller and longer than the current model, with the front and rear ends influenced by the latest crop of Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs.

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster revelado oficialmente

A Mercedes divulgou fotos oficiais do SLS AMG Roadster. Sua aparição oficial fica para Setembro, no Salão de Frankfurt.

O roadster perde a principal característica do SLS AMG, as asas de gaivota. A capota pode ser retirada em 11s mesmo em uma velocidade de até 50 km/h.

Ele vem com o motor 6.2 V8 de 571 cv com velocidade de 317 km/h indo de 0 aos 100 km/h é cumprida em 3,8 segundos. E tem o consumo médio de 13,2 litros aos cem.

VÄTH’s €32,670 Tune Lifts Mercedes SLS AMG Coupe to 615HP

The star of the Mercedes-Benz range, the SLS AMG Coupe, has only a year under its belt but the V8-powered supercar has gained a lot of love from the tuning industry in the past 12 months. The newest performance and styling package for the ‘Gullwing door’ supercar to hit the tuning stage comes from Germany’s VÄTH with the introduction of the V63S kit.

The company’s first priority was to squeeze some more juice from the SLS AMG Coupe’s 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine through the use of a software upgrade and an in-house high-performance exhaust system that also allows drivers to adjust the tone of the eight-cylinder unit.

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2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster Officially Revealed : 68 High-Res Photos [Updated]

Little by little, Mercedes-Benz is releasing more photos and information on its 2012 SLS AMG Roadster ahead of the supercar’s world premiere at the forthcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Following the release of a barely disguised car earlier this month, the German company’s PR tease continues today with the first official photos of the roadster version of the SLS AMG without any kind of camouflage.

We also get to learn that the three-layered fabric soft top will not eat in the roadster model’s trunk area as its capacity remains at 6.1 cubic feet with the roof either open or closed, and is roughly the same to that of the SLS AMG Coupe, which stands at 6.2 cubic feet. The fully automatic top is available in three colors – black, beige and a classic red. It opens and closes in eleven seconds, and can be operated on the move at speeds up to 31 mph or 50km/h.

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New Mercedes-Benz GL-Class Grand Edition ups the Luxury Ante

While Mercedes-Benz’s GL-Class isn’t short of luxury, the automaker has presented a new variant called Grand Edition that caters to the needs of buyers desiring a little extra opulence. The packaged adds numerous features, including 20-inch special light-alloy wheels, two-tone leather seats with a new design and wood trim in black ash.

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Lexus Loses Big In the U.S.A.: Outpaced by Two of its German Rivals

It took eleven years for Lexus to earn the title of top dog of the U.S. luxury car market, and roughly the same amount of time for it to lose it. As a result of parent company Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall saga and the fifty percent drop in production capacity caused by the Tōhoku earthquake, old guard automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have left the Japanese upstart gasping for air in third place.

According to automotive forecaster IHS, Mercedes-Benz will most probably sell 254,100 cars and SUVs in the States topping BMW’s estimated deliveries of 250,400 units. Lexus is projected to drop to third place with 192,900 sales.

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Kubatech’s Chipped Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG with 583-horsepower

For some people, there is no such thing as too much horsepower. The more the better, even if we’re talking about a compact sedan like the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG that leaves Stuttgart’s factory with a 6.2-liter V8 engine cranking out 457-horsepower and 600 Nm (442 lb-ft)of peak torque.

In the case of German tuning firm Kubatech, the answer to the C63 AMG’s horsepower problem was a Stage 3 performance kit that includes a new ECU from Mcchip-dkr along with a complete sports exhaust system from Cargraphic, which help bump output to 583HP and 692 Nm (510 lb-ft).

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Audi Challenges BMW, Mercedes and Lexus with new Ad Campaign

Audi of America has launched a new advertising campaign that will most likely generate a similar response from the competition in the premium segment. Under the tagline “Car Carrier”, the two Audi commercials feature a BMW owner that goes nuts when he sees a truck full of brand new automotive metal from Ingolstadt.

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Eurocopter’s C145 Helicopter gets a Mercedes-Flavored Interior

Automakers' design departments have started to explore new areas beyond automobile styling, with the first two examples that come to mind being Porsche and BMW. Following in the footsteps of its local rivals is Daimler and its “Mercedes-Benz Style” venture that has just released its first project after announcing the launch of the division a year ago.

We're talking about the Eurocopter EC145, a business helicopter with an interior crafted by Mercedes-Benz’s newly formed styling division. Designed at the company's studio in Como, Italy, the interior of the EC145 “Mercedes-Benz Style” helicopter is inspired by the Stuttgart-based automaker’s executive saloons.

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Piecha Design Gives the new 2012 Mercedes SLK its First Tune

Not surprisingly, it didn’t take long for aftermarket specialists to get their hands on the new Mercedes-Benz SLK. Piecha Design is if not the first, one of the first tuners to release a package for the compact German roadster. Named “Accurian RS”, the kit focuses on exterior enhancements. Read more »