Autoblog

Mercedes-Benz may decide to call a coupe a coupe starting next year. If you want a CLK after 2009, you might have to settle for an E-Class Coupe or E-Class Convertible. Want a 2-door S-Class around the same time? Then you're after the S-Class Coupe. We don't know the reason for the potential name changes, especially since the cars have such great equity -- and taking eight minutes to say E-Class Coupe Black Series doesn't have nearly the to-the-point hotness of CLK Black Series, even though it's the same number of "syllables". The CL change might make more sense as the car wasn't a huge sales success, but drop those letters in conversation and you still get a forceful point across. We can only hope that the bard was right, and that a rose by any other name...

[Source: Benz Insider]

The 2009 Mercedes CLK has been spotted out on the roads, getting ready for its debut at October's Paris Motor Show. The lines, cladding, and peeking swage lines would appear to indicate that it will indeed look quite a bit like recent renderings. If the flowing glasshouse is to be believed, the car will sport only the merest flick of a trunk.

Presafe braking, night vision, and the updated COMAND system will mark some of the interior changes. Engines will run along C-Class lines, but the CLK 63AMG will get a bump of six HP to 481. We would like to know, though, if the seriously low profile rubber is just for the mule. The current, softer CLK has managed to mostly avoid the worst wheel transgressions, but this harder version seems like it will be a much more popular candidate for the stop, drop, and roll routine. We'll find out in a few months in Paris.

[Source: Motor Authority]

If this is an accurate depiction of the 2009 Mercedes CLK, all we can say is, well, we're disappointed. Not because it's a bad looking car, because it isn't. But was it Aston Martin or VW that started this trend of creating the same car in different sizes? If it was Aston, they've only got three models (for now), and they're playing in a smaller, hand-stitched leather arena, so we'll let them go. But for the mass market folks -- where did design differentiation disappear to?

This could be a much smaller CL. Or a slightly smaller 2-door E-Class. Or a larger, 2-door C-Class. BMW appears to be doing the same thing with the 2009 7-Series, the renderings of which look like a massive and slightly bloated 3-Series. We have no doubt this will sell well, if it is indeed the new CLK, especially as it gives the coupe a much-needed sharpening. The creases do this car a far better service than they do the current S-Class. Still, we wouldn't mind a little more imagination being applied across the drawing boards.

[Source: The Hollywood Extra]

The VW Passat is a good-looking sedan that hasn't exactly set the world on fire since its redesign for the 2006 model year. In fact, July sales of VW's biggest car were down a staggering 34% from July 2006. It doesn't help that the Passat carries a hefty premium vs. other midsize sedans, costing over $30,000 for the base V6, which is $7,000 more than a V6 Accord.

To further spur Passat sales, VW is in the final stages of testing a four-door coupe variant. Shy photographer Hans G Lehmann caught the sleek, Mercedes Benz CLK-like coupe in testing, and from the looks of the nearly undisguised pics, VW has a good looking vehicle on its hands. Our problem with said coupe is the premium position VW is planning, with prices starting somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000. For those of you scoring at home, that's base 5-Series money. For $40k, VW had better be planning on adding AWD and a turbo 3.6, or sales will be less than stellar. We'd be interested to hear whether you feel America is ready for a $40,000 Passat, or is the luxurious four-door coupe destined to be the next Phaeton?

[Source: Inside Line]

Yet another week passes by, and all we have to remember it are the pictures. This week on Autoblog we reviewed the Nissan G35 Sedan and we got in a first drive with the Saleen S331 sport truck. Ford revealed the limited-edition Shelby GT500 KR, and GM came in with two V8-powered Buick Super-edition vehicles. One of the most significant vehicles being unveiled in New York, the RWD Hyundai Genesis concept, was also shown on Autoblog for the first time. We've captured some of the best photos of each and placed them in this video. For your enjoyment, a few of the related galleries are included below.

Music for this piece comes from Bob Kirkpatrick with "Drive Across Texas"

Mercedes' competition in the showcase DTM (German touring car) racing series gave the world the CLK DTM...but not the whole world, as the very limited-edition special was not certified for use in the United States. But that could change, according to Mercedes-AMG sales guru Mario Spitzner.

The CLK-DTM was first sold as a coupe, of which only 100 were made, followed by 80 convertibles. Both were powered by a 582-horsepower supercharged V8, with stiffened suspensions, beefed-up brakes and uber-aggressive bodywork that left no question these were very special vehicles, capable of rocketing to sixty in under four seconds. Mercedes even shifted the range-wide 155-mph electronic speed limiter to 200.

Like many limited-edition supercars, the original CLK DTM was not brought over to the US because of strict testing laws here. But Spitzner says they could make a second run of the cars just for the American market. And considering the investment, they'd be likely to make more than 100 this time.

So what's standing in their way? Although Spitzner says some of their best customers in the US have been begging Mercedes to bring the car over, they'd need to be sure there was enough demand to warrant the investment. And while touring cars generate a lot of enthusiasm in Europe, the same doesn't apply in the US, where (last we checked) Mercedes wasn't running in NASCAR. Another factor that could prohibitively limit the marketability stateside of the alphabet-soupercar is the upcoming CLK 63 AMG 'Black Series' that's expected to offer 530 horsepower, probably for a lot less than the quarter-million dollars the original CLK DTM went for.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Mercedes' in-house performance division AMG is working on a new CLK on 'roids, slotting in between the CLK63 and the homologation special CLK DTM. Called the Black Series, it is expected to be the first in a new line of über-AMGs.

The CLK Black Series, wrapped in a carbon-composite body with beefed up suspension, is expected to molest 530 horses to get it up to sixty in a scant four-and-a-half seconds.

Follow the link to our Dutch compatriots at Autovisie, who've snagged these video clips of the new Black Benz as it was undergoing testing on the vaunted Nordschleife track at the Nürburgring. Blitzschnell!

Related post:

• Spy photos: Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM actually CLK 63 'Black Series'

[Source: Autovisie via Jalopnik]

Normally, a single owner suing an automaker over a 'lemon' car would hardly qualify as a newsworthy item. But when the person in question is a car dealership owner, and the four-wheeled bit of citrus is one of five Mercedes Benz AMG CLK-GTR Roadsters, well, things get a little more interesting.

Mark Johnston of Grand Prix Motors of Los Angeles, California, is suing DaimlerChrysler and its Mercedes-Benz arm. The plaintiff maintans he bought the uber-Benz to sell in his dealership, but the car had issues beginning with its very first test drive, tripping the oil lamp within ten blocks. Johnston's complaint further alleges assorted transmission problems, hydraulic jack system failure, and 'unglued' windows. The vehicle was later diagnosed with total engine failure, a result of the oil-pressure issue.

Grand Prix Motors alleges that they area aware of other roadsters with similar problems. It has not been repaired.

No word on the damages Johnston seeks to recover, but figure on at least $1.7 million, plus whatever expenses were incurred for the repairs.

[Source: Auto Spectator]

(Top tip, anonymous!)

Perhaps Jeremy Clarkson is feeling the pinch of reaching 'middle age' status. Arguably fearing for the fate of his own curly locks, the host of the UK's wacky and wonderful Top Gear set out to determine the aerodynamic properties (or lack thereof) of three types of wigs, as realized in a convertible environment. Dubbed the "Top Gear Toupee Test," the show straps a bald man ("Barry") into a top-down TVR Tamora next to the Stig. Unusually, perhaps, the show takes the high road, passing over convertibles like the Mazda MX-5 or Citroen Pluriel and Mini Cooper Convertible, convertibles that have been pigeonholed by many as "hairdresser's cars." Regardless, the helmeted mystery driver drops the straight-line hammer in order to see what velocity will see the hapless Barry drop his top. They then trade in the British sportscar for a more sedate Mercedes-Benz CLK fitted with a wind deflector to see how much better/worse the poor man makes out.

Deeply unscientific and all in good fun, it's worth a quick watch.

[Source: Top Gear via YouTube]