Autoblog

Audi A7 3.0T takes on the Mercedes-Benz CLS550

Michael Harley — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury, Comparisons

Which Is Better Depends On Where You're Sitting

"This car has an identity crisis. The aggressive exterior, brash exhaust note and firm ride say 'sport,' but the interior screams 'grandma!'"

The decision was made to review these "four-door coupes" not only from the driver's perspective, but from all four seating positions.

Strong words, especially when they originate from a stranger named Stephen sitting in the back seat of the $80,995 Mercedes-Benz some 80 miles from where we picked him up. The 31-year-old real estate broker and five other industry outsiders were invited to spend the day with Autoblog to help us compare the 2012 Audi A7 3.0T to the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550.

These two vehicles have met head-to-head before, but not on these pages. To make things a bit more interesting, the decision was made to review these "four-door coupes" not only from the driver's perspective, but from all four seating positions. The unique comparison would require each of the vehicles to carry 700-plus pounds of passengers comfortably from the flatlands of the hot LA Basin up to the cool mile-high elevations of Big Bear Lake and back. The winner would be determined by a simple vote.

As this task called for six warm bodies willing to be chauffeured 160 miles over a long afternoon, Autoblog's Facebook page was enlisted to recruit. Within 24 hours, we had our six smiling volunteers fingered.

Continue reading Audi A7 3.0T takes on the Mercedes-Benz CLS550

Audi A7 3.0T takes on the Mercedes-Benz CLS550 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 [w/video]

John Neff — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Mercedes-Benz, New Car Reviews, Luxury

Are You Team First-Gen Or Team Second-Gen?

Mercedes-Benz has a long history of setting trends, which includes being the first company to develop technologies we take for granted today, like traction control systems, airbags and anti-lock brakes. It also kicked off the trend of propelling vehicles with motors, having built and sold the first automobile back in 1885. But it's not usually known for setting styling trends, which is exactly what the company did when it launched the CLS-Class back in 2004.

Despite four doors staring you right in the face, the CLS was officially dubbed a coupe by Mercedes because of the car's sleek coupe-like roofline. Semantics aside, it kicked off an entirely new segment of four-door coupes with its new, artful approach to transporting four people. Just like a fledgling industry followed the Benz Patent-Motorwagen's arrival in 1885, the arrival of the CLS created an entirely new class of vehicle.

Having started the trend, Mercedes gets to show us how it will evolve, and the 2012 CLS550 does just that. It's job isn't just to steer this trend away from becoming a fad, but also fend off a growing number of automakers who wish they had thought of it first.

Continue reading 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 [w/video]

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550

Damon Lavrinc — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Mercedes-Benz, First Drives, Luxury

Modern Art Meets Twin Turbochargers

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Any time a journalist starts waxing poetic about automotive styling, you can practically hear designers' eyes spinning in their sockets. I've met plenty of automotive scribes with a master's degree in mechanical engineering, but I've yet to shake hands with one packing a design sheepskin. Granted, the average car buyer is better served by someone with an intimate knowledge of liquid thermodynamics and the finer points of suspension geometry. But then along comes something like the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 and we simply don't have the vocabulary.

Stepping out for a smoke with the lead automotive artist from Mercedes' Advanced Design Studio, it's hard not to look at the second-generation CLS and start playing styling critic. The play between light and shadow; the sculpted rear haunches; the character line that rises then plummets from the headlamps, across the fenders and terminates in the rear doors. Who am I kidding? I'm of no station to make you endure endless, uneducated platitudes cribbed from the car-as-art schtick. I just know the new CLS looks damned good from any angle, particularly the the waning sunlight of California's Napa Valley.

But here's the kicker: The design is nearly seven years old.

Continue reading 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz officially prices CLS from $71,000*

Noah Joseph — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:58:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS - Click above for high-res image gallery

With such a broad (and ever-expanding) range of products, Mercedes-Benz is always bound to be introducing something new at any given moment. And in this case, the German automaker has officially confirmed pricing for its new CLS.

Joining the Three-Pointed Star is the swoopy new 2012 CLS. Mercedes will offer the second-generation four-door coupe as both the CLS550 (with 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8) and CLS63 AMG (with 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8) guise at $71,300 and $94,900, respectively (*plus $875 in destination charges). Follow the jump for the official announcement that also details how much cash you'll need to secure your own 2012 SLK roadster, whose pricing we revealed last week at the New York Auto Show.

Gallery: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz officially prices CLS from $71,000*

Mercedes-Benz officially prices CLS from $71,000* originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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