http://www.benzworld.org/forums This section contains news articles related to Mercedes-Benz. All site related news articles of importance will be posted here as well. Articles posted in this section appear on the front page. Only Administrators and Moderators may start new threads in this area. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:32:44 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.benzworld.org/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.benzworld.org/forums http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1484005-2010-mercedes-benz-e350-coupe-review.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:30:24 GMT

There's only one thing the Mercedes E350 is missing – about 100-hp. We hate to start off on a bad note with this car, but the base 3.5-liter V6 makes just 268-hp and an equally mediocre 258 ft-lbs of torque. It's not a bad amount of output, but hardly what you might expect from a Mercedes and definitely less than you should get for your $48,925.

Now anyone from Mercedes would tell you the E-Class Coupe isn't about raw horsepower or 0-60 mph times – the E350 Coupe taking around 6.5 seconds to get up to speed. And to a certain extend, they'd be right. Which is convenient, if you happen to be selling a car like this.

The decision to drop the immensely successful CLK from the Mercedes lineup seemed like foolishness, until the E-Class Coupe was announced. Set to take the CLK's place in Merc's lineup, this new car is still very much its successor, even riding on the C-Class's smaller and lighter platform.

The E-Class name, however, is important to Mercedes, as it allows them to do so much more with the car – for the company and for the consumer. With the sport coupe market growing in horsepower and size, many of those vehicles (BMW 3 Series, we're looking at you) have started to encroach on the old CLK's territory. So along comes the E-Class Coupe, to straddle the line between the sport coupe and full-sized luxury coupe territory. But make no mistake, in true Mercedes tradition; the E Coupe is luxury first.

More: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe Review on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1484005-2010-mercedes-benz-e350-coupe-review.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483507-report-mercedes-bringing-small-car-u.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:53:50 GMT Image: http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/d/114588-4/645658_1156724_4252_2832_08C366_027.JPG Mercedes will introduce at least one small car to the...

Mercedes will introduce at least one small car to the U.S. in 2012, doing a 180 on a past decision to stick to larger vehicles in order to enforce the brand's high-end image. The news comes directly from CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche, in an interview in the Wall Street Journal. The car would compete with vehicles like the BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, Volvo C30 and MINI Cooper – as well as a possible compact luxury vehicle from Lexus based on the LF-Ch concept.

Analysts have suggested the move is the result of lessons learned from the recent economic downturn, with sales of larger luxury vehicles and SUVs taking a significant hit, while the share of the market made up by compact and subcompact vehicles has grown. The introduction of a smaller and more fuel efficient model in the Mercedes lineup in the U.S. would also help the manufacturer meet increasingly strict CAFE regulations.

In the past Mercedes had decided to introduce the B-Class to the U.S. market but canceled plans when an unfavorable Euro-to-dollar exchange rate made the car's business plan unsound. (The B-Class was, however, introduced in Canada, where vehicles are sold for significantly more).

The new Mercedes small car will be based on an all new platform that Mercedes says is much cheaper to manufacture, making the Euro-to-dollar exchange rate less of a factor. It is not yet known if the car will follow in the B-Class's layout of being a premium-people mover or if Mercedes will opt to build a more sporty offering to better compete with cars like the 1 Series or MINI Cooper.

Over the past two years, Mercedes has introduced three concepts based on the B-Class architecture, including a hydrogen fuel-cell concept, a hybrid concept and an electric car concept. It's likely that the future Mercedes small car platform will bring one of more of these concept car technologies into production.

More: Report: Mercedes Bringing Small Car to U.S. in 2012 on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483507-report-mercedes-bringing-small-car-u.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483295-la-preview-mercedes-sls-amg-flagship.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:12:32 GMT

For the first time since the car's world premiere at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes is getting ready to display its new supercar. This time, however, it will be on U.S. soil at the LA Auto Show.

Inspired by the 300SL Gullwing, the new SLS AMG is the first ground-up car to be built by Merc's high-performance AMG division and uses AMG's first "from scratch" engine. That engine, a 6.2-liter mill, makes 563-hp and 479 ft-lbs of torque in the SLS – enough to propel the company's new flagship sports car all the way to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 196 mph. Helping achieve that low sprint time is a sophisticated double-clutch automatic transmission, that can be operated via paddle shifters. The SLS is the first production Mercedes to get double-clutch technology.

The engine uses a dry-sump lubrication system (great for serious abuse), as well as a transaxle. That transaxle layout means that the tranny is located out back (for an ideal weight balance of 48/52) and it attached to the engine by a carbon fiber driveshaft.

The curb weight is just 3,571 lbs, due mostly to the fact that this is the first model Mercedes has ever produced with an all aluminum chassis and body. Weight is also saved by using carbon ceramic brakes and light weight wheels, that measure 19×9.5-inches up front and 20×11-inches in the rear. Tires measure 265/35/19 front and 295/30/22 rear.

We'll be sure to bring you plenty of photos with live coverage of the LA Auto Show starting December 2nd

More: LA Preview: Mercedes SLS AMG Flagship to Make North American Debut in Los Angeles on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483295-la-preview-mercedes-sls-amg-flagship.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483267-report-mercedes-launches-lease-only-ml450.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:08:13 GMT Image: http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/d/113675-4/2009-ml550_ml450hybrid_103a_large.jpg Mercedes has just announced announced the ML450 Hybrid...

Mercedes has just announced announced the ML450 Hybrid 4MATIC model is ready for purchase… sort of. The first complete product to use the two-mode hybrid system built by the joint General Motors, Daimler, BMW and Chrysler hybrid technology group will only be offered as a lease.

The ML450 Hybrid will be made available for either 36 or 60 months, at either $659 or $549 per month. Mercedes says this is due to a limited supply of batteries.

Mercedes appears to be following the Lexus hybrid plan, using hybrid-electric technology to achieve the power of a larger engine with the fuel consumption of a smaller one. The ML450 uses a 3.5-liter V6 engine and two electric motors to make 335-hp and 381 ft-lbs of torque. Unlike the S400 Hybrid, it will be able to operate exclusively on electric power for short periods of time. Its fuel economy is rated at 21/24 mpg (city/highway), which is roughly the same as the ML350 Bluetec diesel at 18/25 mpg. This is also a 46 percent improvement over the fuel economy rating of the similarly-powerful ML550.

More: Report: Mercedes Launches Lease-Only ML450 Hybrid on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483267-report-mercedes-launches-lease-only-ml450.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483118-report-mercedes-dumps-mclaren-buys-brawn.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:19:13 GMT Image: http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/d/113528-4/getimage.jpg As rumored, Mercedes-Benz has decided to part ways with McLaren after 15 years as...

As rumored, Mercedes-Benz has decided to part ways with McLaren after 15 years as partners in Formula 1, opting instead to buy a majority stake in the Brawn GP team. The new team, named Mercedes Grand Prix, will run in the 2010 F1 season, keeping much of the Brawn team, including team principal Ross Brawn.

The Brawn GP team entered the 2009 Formula One World Championship as serious underdogs, using the underperforming Honda cars. And yet, the team managed to clinch both the Constructors' and Drivers' World Championships.

"We look back on 15 successful years of great collaboration with McLaren; in that time, we won four world-championship titles and finished ten times as runner-up in the drivers' and constructors' rankings," siad Norbert Haug, VP of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "Since the first victory in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, the modern Silver Arrows have achieved a total of 60 victories in 223 races to ensure that our brand symbol, the star, stands for the greatest successes in Formula 1. We thank our partner and will continue to work with McLaren based on an excellent partnership."

Daimler AG boss Dr. Dieter Zetsche thanked McLaren stating that, "For the benefit of both Mercedes and McLaren, we will continue our partnership cooperation in future. We will be rivals on-track but, off-track, we will cooperate with McLaren and the other teams in order to create the best possible product for spectators worldwide."

The partnership between the two companies is much more strained than that, however, as Mercedes has also announced it will let McLaren buy back the 40 percent stake it now holds. That transaction should be completed by 2011, fully dissolving the Mercedes McLaren business relationship.

More: Report: Mercedes Dumps McLaren, Buys Brawn on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1483118-report-mercedes-dumps-mclaren-buys-brawn.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1482323-report-mercedes-sls-amg-black-series.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:09:05 GMT Image: http://www.autoguide.com/gallery/d/68261-4/5947.jpg If the new 563-hp SLS exotic from AMG already sounds like your cup of Red Bull, then...

If the new 563-hp SLS exotic from AMG already sounds like your cup of Red Bull, then you're absolutely going to love the upcoming Black Series. That's right, according to recent reports, AMG will offer a limited edition hardest-core version of the new Gullwing exotic.

Total output for the new Mercedes halo car will be in excess of 600-hp, with roughly 500 ft-lbs of torque, thanks to updates to the 6.2-liter V8 engine including new cams and higher compression pistons. Additional modifications will include some aerodynamic tweaks, suspension upgrades and a weight reduction of around 110 lbs. The new 0-60 speed is expected to drop from 3.8 seconds to 3.5 seconds, with a new to speed in excess of 200 mph.

"We're not at the limit with what's out there the moment. There's still a good deal more to come from the engine," says AMG engine boss Friedrich Eichler. "We're saving the best until last."

The new SLS AMG Black Series is also expected to cost a good chunk more than the standard car, with a 50% premium bringing the $270,000 exotic up to a stratospheric $405,000.

In addition t the Black Series model, AMG also has plans to produce a cabriolet version of the SLS, as well as a GT racer.

More: Report: Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series Set to Launch in 2013 on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1482323-report-mercedes-sls-amg-black-series.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1482321-report-mercedes-considering-expanding-amg-ranks.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:07:37 GMT

There's no official word yet, but Mercedes' high-performance AMG division is looking to expand and may do so by adding a baby SLS to the lineup. As the new sports car flagship for the Mercedes brand, the 563-hp SLS has just launched in the U.S. and is the first-ever ground up vehicle to be built by AMG.

A new, smaller version of the SLS would reportedly use the new car's chassis, but with smaller dimensions, which is certainly possible as the SLS, with its front/mid engine configuration already has plenty of space up front that can be cut. A new V8 engine would be built for the car with a displacement under the current car's 6.2-liters. It would get direct-injection as well as a new cylinder cut-off technology (using just four-cylinders when all eight aren't needed), which is currently being developed for the next generation SLS.

This new AMG model would ideally be a shopping alternative for those in the market for a Porsche 911.

More: Report: Mercedes Considering Expanding AMG Ranks With Baby SLS on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1482321-report-mercedes-considering-expanding-amg-ranks.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1479644-sema-show-preview-2009-a.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:46:55 GMT Image: http://www.autoguide.com/images/content/SEMA2009p-main_rdax_334x238.jpg *Held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SEMA Show is an industry...

Held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SEMA Show is an industry event for the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Tuners and parts suppliers from across the industry and even from the realm of motorsports come to show off their wares, usually displayed on some sort of eye-catching highly-modified vehicle - be it a muscle car, hot rod or sport compact car.

And let's not forget the increasing presence of mainstream manufacturers like Hyundai, Scion, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler and Dodge. Major areas of interest at SEMA include Racing and Performance, Wheels and Tires, as well as Trucks, SUVs and Off-Road vehicles.

More: SEMA Show Preview 2009 on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1479644-sema-show-preview-2009-a.html http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1478004-report-mercedes-c63-gets-487-hp.html Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:31:30 GMT

With Mercedes' 6.2-liter V8 making as much as 518-hp in car's like the S63, the same engine in the performance-oriented C63 makes "just" 451-hp. There are numerous reasons for this, but it does seem like those who pony-up for an AMG-spec C-Class are getting the shaft. In an attempt to remedy this Mercedes is now offering a "Performance Package Plus," which pumps up output to 487-hp, just 13 shy of the C-Class DTM race car. Torque is rated at 442 ft-lbs.

Mercedes says this new package will help shave a tenth of a second off the car's 0-62 mph time, bringing it down to 4.4 seconds.

The improvements were made thanks to the use of several parts from the Mercedes SLS, including forged pistons, con rods and a new lightweight crankshaft, combined with a new engine program. Mercedes says the lighter engine components also help to make the V8 more responsive.

Other modifications in the package include a carbon fiber rear spoiler, carbon ceramic brakes, a new AMG steering wheel and Alcantara seats (yummy!).

Mercedes will offer the Performance Package Plus on both the C63 sedan and wagon, but there is no word if the German automaker will bring this new kit to the U.S.

More: Report: Mercedes C63 Gets 487-hp Performance Package Plus on AutoGuide.com ]]> Mercedes-Benz News administrator http://www.benzworld.org/forums/mercedes-benz-news/1478004-report-mercedes-c63-gets-487-hp.html