So make the assumption our revelation when we spotted one went our course additonally endeavoring to market crash the Ferrari-owners-invited-only North American debut of the Ferrari California in Monterey. We instantly forgot around struggling to catch a glimpse of the Ferrari and turned our lenses towards the Black Series. Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz had no challenge provided us producing photographs of the car, and we got able to get oodles of detailed pictures. Enjoy the elevated resolution gallery underneath and we will be going back then through greater number of out of Monterey!

The new front fascia is an interesting amalgamation of the C- and S-class’ front ends, surrounded by an upright grille framed by two-piece headlamps, a sculpted front bumper and LED indicators. The sides of the new E incorporate a C-class-inspired swage line, additonally the rear taillights wrap half-way virtually the fenders.

Autobild displays too the new C-class will be able to be unveiled in March, so imagine to get all the things based on what i read in Geneva upcoming year. Sales is able to possibly commence in Europe subsequently summer, surrounded by the U.S. ideal turning up shortly thereafter.

[Source: Autoblog.nl via BenzInsider]

The soft and ass design styling keeps on every where in going back in a matching lower end skid plate additonally integrated waste pipes dominating the general rear view. Although Lorinser leads no talk about of part skirts, we can see in the sketches, the portion skirts in detail resemble people at last found on the Freeside notion as well.

Lorinser suggests a decision to move offer on the present GLK design prediction has not continued provided evidence yet. So depending on the response, it am able to be going back to the drawing board.

SOURCE

Project Alligator. That’s the internal code-name for a probable collaboration between Mercedes and Aston Martin on anything and everything based on information from drivetrains to platforms. CAR’s September measure becomes to all the details, that includes this kind of tasty nuggest as the achievable use of AMG’s 6.2-liter V8 in the later Vantage, porting within Mercedes’ coming years eight-speed Automatic ‘box to Astons, sharing platforms between both automaker’s high-end patterns (think SL and beyond), cooperating on the development of diesels and hybrids, and utilizing Aston’s times ahead offerings to carry on Maybach alive and possibly still advantages the wayward ultra-luxury type thrive investing in up to four new models. But it becomes continuing to bigger. A collaboration between the two serves to place M-B in a smart position to buy Aston Martin if its new owners, and also Prodrive’s David Richards, find out to exit the automaking biz. As CAR points out, however, the easily impending loser according to Project Alligator imminent to fruition is Mercedes’ a great deal more partner, McLaren.

Naturally, some new rollers are part of the equation, with optional 17-, 18- or 19-inch wheels tucked into the fenders with a 30 mm drop provided by new Brabus sports springs. The visual mods are wrapped up with a wind tunnel-tested front spoiler, rear apron and trunk lid wing, while four chrome exhaust tips hint at the SLK’s new found power.
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As we’ve heard before, the next generation of AMG-massaged Mercs will have to balance high output with low emissions. That means more turbos, less displacement and (gasp) hybrids.

The big and bad 6.2-liter V8 won’t be around much longer. Instead, AMG is turning its focus towards a new, twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 that will produce 570 hp and 665 lb.-ft. of torque, with output possibly reaching 700 hp and 885 lb.-ft. to replace the outgoing 612-hp V12 mill.

Forced induction is only part of the equation, as AMG is looking to a new hybrid-equipped V8, dubbed BluePower, that will either come with the X-Trac Flybrid system or a 100-hp electric motor integrated into the transmission. There’s also talk that AMG will be releasing its own plug-in hybrid by 2012 and that diesels will continue to become an important part of the brand.

The other issue with which AMG has to contend is Mercedes’ own turbocharged offerings. Future M-Bs will be sporting turbo’d V8s displacing 4.0-, 4.6- and 5.5-liters, with outputs ranging from 355 to 544 hp.

And what of the upcoming AMG supercar? Car says that the gullwing super coupe, codenamed C197, will debut in March of 2010 and be powered by the same 6.2-liter V8 (likely the last application of that engine) while sending all that energy through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
[Source: Car]

Buying a luxury car or SUV is the dream of many readers, and while a BMW or Mercedes will buy you some instant street-cred, they’ll also cost you an arm and a leg if it ever needs fixing. A repair that may be no big deal for a Chevy Cobalt can cost much more in a luxury vehicle due to high-tech gadgets and more expensive materials. Forbes put together lists of the ten most expensive to repair luxury and non-luxury vehicles over a five year period.

The most costly vehicle to fix overall was the Dodge Viper, which came in at $1,641, and the most expensive luxury vehicle was the Audi A8 at $1,640. On the luxury list, every vehicle came from Europe, with zero entries from Detroit or Japan. The story was much different for the non-luxury vehicles, with heavy-duty trucks and SUVs making up the lion’s share of the list. The Subaru Impreza and Mini Cooper were the only imports to make Forbes’ dubious top ten. Hit the jump to view the most expensive luxury cars to repair, and click on the link below to view the priciest non-luxury list.

Forbes top-ten most expensive luxury cars to repair (over five years)

1. Audi A8: $1,640
1. Mercedes-Benz G Class: $1,640
3. Jaguar XK: $1,629
4. Land Rover Range Rover $1,600
5. Mercedes-Benz CL Class: $1,540
6. BMW 7 Series $1,529
7. Audi Q7: $1,400
8. Land Rover LR2/LR3 $1,360
9. BMW M6: $1,300
9. Porsche Cayman: $1,300

[Source: Forbes]

The terms “performance” and “diesel” used to be mutually exclusive, but times, they are a-changin’. Audi’s dominance of LeMans with its R10 TDI and the recent unveiling of the R8 V12 TDI concept might be giving Mercedes a reason to turn towards oilburners for some of its high-po offerings. AMG has made a name for itself by providing, among other things, torque-rich engines that sometimes have to be electronically limited due to their tire (and differential) decimating potential. AutoExpress supposedly has it on good authority that plans are in the works to offer diesel models with an AMG badge, but both Mercedes and AE failed to provide any details about what vehicles or engines would be used. It might be a forgone conclusion that new CAFE standards in the U.S. are causing automakers to rethink their performance offerings, but in the meantime, we’re going to throw this in the rumormill and see what comes out the other end.

[Source: AutoExpress]

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