Mercedes-Benz Straightline Archives

Remember the Mercedes-Benz B-Class? It's a tiny little hatchback thing that almost made it to the U.S. a few years ago. The prototype you see here is the next-generation version, and like its predecessor, it has a chance of coming to the U.S.

Not a very good one mind you, mostly because Mercedes-Benz is a little unsure whether Americans are ready for such a small vehicle with a three-pointed start on the back. Then again, it would be a big help in terms of lowering the company's fleet-wide fuel economy numbers, so that could convince Dieter that's its worth the trouble.

Categories: Future Vehicles,Hatchbacks,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,Spy Photos

When he's not telling Nico Rosberg what to do, Michael Schumacher likes to drive the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG through tunnels.

Categories: Celebrities,Coupes,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,Sports Cars

So what do you think Michael Schumacher is telling teammate Nico Rosberg? Words of advice? Warnings? Stock tips? 

Categories: Celebrities,Mercedes-Benz,Motorsports

He hasn't even started his comeback season yet and Michael Schumacher is already hinting that he may drive beyond his 3-year contract with Mercedes.

According to an article on ESPN, Schumacher told reporters, "It doesn't have to be the end after three years - the three-year deal was Mercedes' idea and it was a sign of confidence. I thought about everything very carefully: Am I just spontaneously high or will my enthusiasm last? I have been excited for quite some time and can imagine doing this for a few years."

Well, we can all imagine driving Formula One for years, whether or not he'll actually be able to pull it off is quite another matter.

ESPN

Categories: Celebrities,Mercedes-Benz,Motorsports

Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.

No one shed a tear when the CLK reverted back to the E-Class coupe for 2010. The last redesign didn't do the CLK any favors in the styling department, and then along came coupes like the Audi A5 and S5 that made the CLK look even worse.

The E-Class coupe is still not Mercedes' most inspired design, but it's no longer the midrange coupe with the C-Class underpinnings. At least that's what Mercedes says. So it looks the part, but how does it perform? Well, there's no doubt that the V8-powered E550 coupe is a capable coupe. And the V6-powered E350 coupe? You know, the one most people buy?

Turns out, not bad at all. In fact, we would venture to guess that most buyers probably wouldn't bother with the V8 if they seriously considered and drove the E350 first. Find out why in our latest test results from the track. 

Continue reading IL Track Tested: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe.

Categories: Coupes,IL Track Tested,Mercedes-Benz

Along with the SLK we spotted last week, our spy photographers captured another Mercedes-Benz vehicle headed for a redesign. The 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML is scheduled for release next year and it appears to be sticking to the same formula as the current model.

None of the styling cues visible here suggest anything more than a mild facelift. LED marker lights are visible up front while the rear is covered in the hard-shell camo favored by the Germans these days.

As we pointed out weeks ago, Mercedes-Benz is switching to a largely turbocharged lineup so expect to see the ML debut with both twin-turbo V6 and twin-turbo V8 engines. There weren't any signs of an AMG-tuned ML with the group, so it's unclear whether or not Mercedes plans to keep building AMG versions of its sport utility vehicles.

Categories: Future Vehicles,Mercedes-Benz,SUVs,Spy Photos

There's no getting through the Mercedes-Benz prototype armor. It's the defacto camouflage for almost all of the company's prototypes these days and it does a fine job of masking the true shape of its upcoming products.

Case in point, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK. It's getting a full redesign yet this prototype just looks like a mangled mess of sheetmetal. If anything, this test mule confirms that the retractable hardtop will remain.

Recent information on Mercedes' future product lineup obtained by Inside Line suggests that this SLK will debut sometime next year. The engine range in the U.S. will most likely feature a normally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 on base models and a smaller displacement, turbocharged V6 for the top-end version.

Mercedes-Benz Future Product Plans

Categories: Convertibles,Future Vehicles,Mercedes-Benz,Spy Photos

#NAIAS

A month ago Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the board at Daimler AG Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, told Inside Line that the current 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine that powers all AMG cars will be replaced by a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 starting late next year.

And that is still true, except in the case of the company's new SLS AMG supercar. In an interview yesterday during the Detroit auto show, Dr. Weber told Inside Line that the SLS will keep the naturally aspirated V8 for several more years.

According to Weber, the engine's packaging specs are so unique in the SLS that the switch doesn't make economic sense until the rest of the Mercedes fleet has switched to the turbo V8. The rollout of the new engine is expected to take at least two model years.

Categories: Detroit Auto Show,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,Sports Cars

#NAIAS Daimler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche opened the Mercedes-Benz press conference today by saying, "Every auto show is like American Idol. Everyone is looking for the brightest star."

Well, thanks for that insightful pop culture reference, Dr. Z.

Luckily, the 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet, making its world debut here in Detroit, is way cooler than Chairman Zetsche.

The final addition to the E-Class lineup is a real beauty, and offers new features to make top-down driving even more enjoyable. The new AirCap consists of two components: a wind deflector that extends from the top of the windshield by 2.4 inches and a draft-stop between the rear seats. AirCap reduces the draft at speeds up to 100 mph, making passengers more comfortable and able to hear each other talk when the top is down.

Also present is Mercedes' Airscarf, a feature first introduced on the SL roadster, which shoots warm air around the neck through directable outlets in the front passengers' head restraints.

On sale this spring, the new cabrio will be offered as an E350 with a 3.5-liter V6 rated at 268 horsepower, and an E550 with a 382-hp 5.5-liter V8.

After reintroducing some previously unveiled Mercedes hybrid models, Zetsche closed the press conference by saying Mercedes is like one of his favorite comic characters, the Hulk: "Strong, green and ready to roll."

From AI to the Hulk. Way to bring it home, Dr. Z.

Categories: Detroit Auto Show,Mercedes-Benz

#NAIAS Mercedes is giving us a first glimpse of the second-generation CLS-Class coupe/sedan in sculpture form here at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. An actual car will debut as the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class at the end of this year.

You should also take this resin sculpture as a statement of design intent: All future Mercedes-Benz models will adopt this new design language, says Benz Chief of Design Gorden Wagener.

"We're changing attitude from a very wedge shape to the anti-wedge," he told journalists gulping down espresso and scones. To our eyes, this is a pretty definitive about-face from the excessively rectilinear E-Class.

The flowing character line that runs down the side of the car sculpture (and drops as it meets up with the exaggerated fenders) calls to mind Benzes of the 1930s like the 540K. Wagener regards this era as one of the "most beautiful times" in Benz design history. If you took art history classes in college, you're meant to pick up on the biomorphic forms and art deco influence in this CLS sculpture.

Apparently, the only rectilinear element that will remain on the next generation of Mercedes-Benzes is the upright grille. That's the heart of Benz brand identity so there's no doing away with that.

You'll see the next installment of Wagener's sculpture series at the Geneva auto show in March.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Coupes,Detroit Auto Show,Future Vehicles,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,Sedans

Yesterday we brought you semi-truck drifting. Today it's drifting in a Mercedes G55 AMG, and damn if it doesn't lift that inside wheel through the roundabout. This diversion comes to you courtesy of our vehicle testing assistant, Mike Magrath.

Categories: Mercedes-Benz,SUVs,Trends,Trucks

We knew it was only matter of time before a report surfaced that Mercedes-Benz, too, is working on a wagon-hatchback-crossover labradoodle creation. After all, it wouldn't be right if BMW (5 Series GT) and Audi (A7, A5 Sportback) had this strange market segment all to themselves.

Autoweek reports that the new wagon will draw design inspiration from the 2008 Paris Auto Show's ConceptFascination, which itself presaged the face of the current E-Class. Mechanicals will reportedly come straight from the E-Class, and a range of turbocharged and direct-injected V6 and V8 engines is expected. Apparently, you'll have the option of 4Matic all-wheel drive, too.

The AW report predicts an official unveiling at the 2010 Paris show and an early 2012 start of production.

Autoweek

Categories: Crossovers,Hatchbacks,Mercedes-Benz,Paris Auto Show,Wagons

In mid-December, Inside Line broke the story that Mercedes will start selling a true C-Class coupe in 2011, and now we have the first image of what that coupe might look like.

We expect the C-Class coupe to be a hardtop like Benz's CL- and E-Class coupes. But some feel a low $30Ks price point will force Mercedes to use fixed rear side glass as on the BMW 1 Series coupe, sure to be the Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe's chief rival.

Engines for the Benz coupe will include a direct-injected version of the company's 3.5-liter V6, along with a smaller-displacement V6 with twin turbochargers capable of over 300 horsepower. We've also heard a hybrid version with a smaller, normally aspirated V6. And there's no reason Benz's new 5.5-liter turbo V8 wouldn't fit in an AMG version.

Given these preliminary details, which will you take -- C-Class coupe or 1 Series coupe?

IL News: 2011 Mercedes C-Class Coupe Revealed

Categories: BMW,Coupes,Mercedes-Benz

Categories: Celebrities,Luxury Cars,Mercedes-Benz,Sports Cars

DTM may be the German equivalent of NASCAR today, but in the 1980s, the race cars competing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft were a lot closer to the production cars on which they were based.

If you like E30 BMWs and 190-series Benzes, you'll enjoy this well edited video, which has ample of footage of cars jumping and fenders rubbing in the pack.

Motor Mavens

Categories: Audi,BMW,Mercedes-Benz,Motorsports,Sedans,Volkswagen,Volvo