Autoblog

As consumer demand for thirsty vehicles continues to wane, Mercedes-Benz is being forced to slow production at the Alabama plant which manufactures their GL- and ML-Class SUVs and the R-Class crossover. Sales of Mercedes domestic trucks fell to 5,090 vehicles in June, representing an 11.9 percent decline from the same period last year. The move marks the first time in more than a decade of U.S. production, that the German automaker has reduced output due to market and economic conditions. The cuts will affect more than 4,000 of the plant's employees, and unfortunately will trickle-down to hurt the countless other companies who provide just-in-time components to support Mercedes production.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Mercedes SLK55 AMG

It sits there, all tension and sinew, ready to pounce on lesser cars. Start it up and it barks with a clear V8 voice that thumps off the neighbor's house, setting them discreetly peeking from behind their lace curtains. This is an SLK? Oh yeah. No longer a blocky Benz with dwarfism, the SLK55 AMG ripples with muscle and delivers speed like a spin kick to the temple. A bad-ass Mercedes, indeed.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

When it comes to increasing fuel economy, turbochargers are the replacement for displacement. The combination of highly efficient snails and smaller engines provides the power people expect, while reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. Like other automakers that have realized that forced induction is a suitable stop-gap for improving fuel economy, Mercedes-Benz is in the process of developing turbo'd engines that will proliferate throughout its lineup in the next two and a half years.

Thomas Weber, a Daimler board member in charge of research and development told Automotive News, "All our vehicles will have turbocharged engines in series production by the end of 2010 at the latest."

Mercedes is joining BMW and Audi by investing heavily into forced induction, primarily to cope with new fuel economy standards in the U.S. and Europe. But turbos are only going to take them so far. Mercedes plans to introduce hybrids into its lineup towards the close of the decade, beginning with the S-class sedan in 2009. According to Weber, zero-emission vehicles are the automaker's long-term goal and Daimler intends to push heavily towards fuel-cells and electric-powered vehicle in the future, including an electric smart fortwo which will go into production sometime in 2010.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Big Merc gender-bending is coming to the small Benzes when the platform underneath the A- and B-Class vehicles is released for consumption. Amongst the van-like MPVs will come a "four door coupe" that Autozeitung predicts will be called the CLA. Picture a shrunken CLS and you get the idea, and that's what Autozeitung's digital artist went with when fashioning a rendering. The "sandwich structure" of the current A/B-Class Benzes allows crash safety with a short nose, as well as passenger cabin benefits, but is costly to build, so something else is being brewed up for the new smallest Mercedes. The front-drive, tall and stubby cars haven't been fawned over, so a platform swap to an FR layout may be in store, though that would seriously chew up space efficiency. A muscled-up Euro scuttled plans to bring the original B-class to the United States, though this new version might just make it onto the boat to do battle in the burgeoning small/flexible/fuel efficient end of the market.

[Source: Carscoop]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the SL65 AMG Black Series.

After months of spy shots and speculation, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series is finally out in the open. And with a $320,000 price tag, a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 and only 200 units on their way to the U.S., it's a serious stopgap between the deceased SLR and Mercedes' 2011 SLC gullwing supercar.

Mercedes' in-house tuners applied their tried and true philosophy to the SL65 AMG Black Series, beginning with a carbon fiber hood, fenders and trunk, along with nixing the retractable hard top in favor of a fixed carbon fiber roof with an integrated roll cage. As such, the Black is 550 pounds lighter than the stock SL65, coming in at 4,122 pounds.

Seven vents – three in the bumper, two on the hood and two in the fenders – feed copious quantities of air to the 6.0-liter V12, fitted with a duo of upgraded turbochargers. Power is up to 661 hp available at 5,400 rpm, while torque remains the same at 738 lb.-ft. With a five-speed automatic gearbox equipped with AMG's speedshift software, the Black can hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds on its way to a gearing-limited top speed of 199 mph.

Expect the SL65 AMG Black Series to debut in Paris, with sales beginning in the U.S. early next year.

UPDATE: Press release added after the jump.

Click on the above image for a Zetros photo gallery

Mercedes-Benz chose the International Defense Exhibition Eurosatory 2008 in Paris, a show we don't normally attend, to introduce their new Zetros truck. The model pictured above is the Zetros 2733 A 6x6, offering permanent all-wheel-drive to all three axles and the ability to haul nearly 10 tons of equipment and supplies. If you just don't have that much stuff, Mercedes also offers the Zetros 1833 A 4x4, a two-axle derivative with a reduced load capacity. Both versions offer go-anywhere capabilities with exemplary off-road manners and the ability to be upgraded with state-of-the art armor for protection against mine and ballistic attack. While you'd expect the Zetros to handle like a wet noodle, the German automaker insists the Zetros has been designed with the driver in mind, adding "...the ideal seating position behind the front axle delivers intuitive car-like handling." Since we don't have a Zetros planned for an "In the Autoblog Garage" review, we'll just have to take their word on that.

[Source: eMercedesBenz]

Mercedes-Benz has laid out a long Road to the Future, detailing its efforts to create "fuel-efficient and environmentally-sustainable premium automobiles without the need to forgo the characteristic brand features." That's fancy talk for having your German chocolate cake and eating it, too.

The three areas on which the tri-pointed star wants to focus are fitting vehicles with the latest internal combustion engine technology, including smaller engines, gasoline direct injection, turbocharging, and BlueTEC; improving vehicle aerodynamics, weight, and energy management (BlueEFFICIENCY); adding more "hybrid" technologies like start/stop functions and a fully-electric-capable 2-mode hybrid drive; and creating zero-emissions vehicles.

Mercedes wants diesels as clean as gas engines, gas engines as efficient as diesels, diesel hybrids, lighter cars, better gas mileage, leprechauns, unicorns, and rainbows for everyone. Well, not those last three, but you get the picture. To understand the full sweep of Mercedes' efforts, follow the jump for the full press release.

[Source: eGM Car Tech]

It's hard not to think about the prodigious power slated to appear in the Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG Black Edition. A twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 with 670 hp and and an absurd 738 lb-ft of torque can do that. Factor in a 570-lb weight loss courtesy of exotic materials, and you've got a Benz that can flat destroy almost anything else on the road.

World Car Fans has obtained video of the still-disguised SL65 Black Edition in action cruising the Nürburgring, and the few seconds of action caught on tape shows that the battle for 'Ring supremacy is far from over. The SL65 is shown taking corners at speed and sounding like a jet aircraft. The GT-R may be grabbing the 'Ring headlines now, but it looks like the Germans are preparing to defend their home turf, and in a big way. Look out, Godzilla. Hit the read link below to view the video.

[Source: World Car Fans]

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]

The Mercedes G-Class is like the tux and tails -- its remains in vogue no matter what's happening in the world around it. And like the tux, it looks pretty much like it did when it first arrived, and changes to it still don't come quickly.

For the '09 model, the G has been given Mercedes' new corporate face, so you can better associate it with that CL65 you've got parked next to it in the garage. The big news, though, is in the engine bay. The base V8 engine gets a whopping 90-horsepower bump from 292 to 382. Torque also gets seriously goosed from 336 ft-lb to 391. The boosted V8 and the AMG G55 get a much more modest boost of 7 horsepower for an even 500.

Otherwise, the squared one gets new wheels and electronics, including a new Telematics system. There is no word yet on whether the celebrity chariot will come to the U.S., but we're sure Britney really wants one.

[Source: eMercedesBenz]