Autoblog

Mercedes-Benz really wants you to know how green its new line of diesel vehicles can be. To that end, the German automaker calls them Blue and capitalizes EFFICIENCY. Subtle, no? In an effort to earn the badge, MB has tweaked its largest and most luxurious model with a 3.0-liter diesel engine, a seven-speed automatic tranny that decouples itself at stops, a power steering pump that only operates when necessary and low rolling resistance tires. Those are pretty simple changes, no complex electric motors here. Fuel mileage, though, is rather good for such a large vehicle, coming in at nearly 31 U.S. miles per gallon. In contrast, the marque's upcoming S400 BlueHYBRID only manages about 29 miles per gallon. If this sounds to you like it makes a resounding case for diesel vehicles, you're right. It does. Unfortunately, MB only mentions German pricing for the S 320 in the press release after the jump, not indicating whether the big blue sedan will be sold on our shores anytime soon or not.


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Mercedes-Benz big bomber, the S-Class, is due for a mid-cycle refresh next year and we'll probably see its official form no later than the Geneva Motor Show in March. Judging from this latest batch of spy shots, we may actually see it much sooner, possibly as early as the Paris Motor Show in October. The fundamentals of the S-Class clearly aren't changing, but low investment parts like the grille, lower front fascia, mirrors and tail-lights get updates. The interior doesn't appear to have changed much either, but based on the driver's attempt to block the view, the S-Class may be getting a new COMAND system interface, which would be a welcome change. It's not known if Mercedes will offer a new BlueTec diesel engine in the S-Class here in the States, although that is a foregone conclusion for Europe. One new model we'll definitely see here is the S400 hybrid, which pairs the 3.5L V6 with a new mild hybrid system developed by Mercedes and BMW. The mild hybrid should also be the first mass produced automotive application of lithium-ion batteries.

[Source: EMercedesBenz.com]

With sales of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class down 23 percent in the United States, and off nearly 12 percent worldwide, Daimler officials are showing concern. The luxurious S-Class is the most profitable model in the lineup, contributing up to an estimated 25 percent of Daimler's pre-tax profits, the drop is getting painful. With the exception of the new C-Class (up 38 percent), overall sales for the German automaker have fallen in the first six months of the year. In response, Daimler is diverting shipments of vehicles to China and Russia as those emerging markets have yet to see a slowdown.

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

If you'd suspected that Mercedes' F700 show car was a preview of cues we'd soon see on production cars, there's a Schulte Design rendering to bolster your theory. The current S-Class debuted in 2005, so we won't see its replacement for a couple of years, but there's already lots of development underway. The new sheetmetal will be a full redesign, not a freshening, and the rendering depicts a car that takes inspiration from the F700, but tones the cues down a bit. The shape of the front end is very similar, with the headlights and grille echoing what Mercedes showed us in Frankfurt. Along the flanks, the arcing line at the base of the windows has been toned down. Of course, while it's a good rendering, it's still an unofficial composite image, so we should just wait and see.

Solid word on powertrains has come down from on high, though. Mercedes is looking at a hybrid version of the S-Class to compete with the Lexus LS600hL. Our current S-Class will get a mild hybrid for 2009, and there's a Bluetec Hybrid under development packing 224 horsepower/560Nm and returning 44mpg. The engines we know and love in the current S-Class will largely carry over, though we'd expect that attention to efficiency and the hybrid powertrains will be more important because of the new CAFE standards.

[Source: eGMCarTech, Rendering: Schulte Design]

Click image to enlarge

The F 700 concept car is primed to be the star for Mercedes-Benz at Frankfurt with its DIESOTTO hybrid drivetrain and glitzy looks, but it's certainly not going to be alone up there on the stand. We know about the AMG C-Classes (sedan and wagon) and the ML 450 Hybrid, and you can add the S 300 BLUETEC Hybrid to the mix. Its hybridized BLUETEC 4-cylinder motivates the big sedan with a modest 224 horsepower and a not-modest-at-all 413 lb-ft of torque. The combination is good for 43.5 mpg and CO2 emissions of 142 g/km, and importantly, the system meets US emissions standards. While it's a show car, this package seems eminently doable, and it's not unreasonable to believe that it'll ultimately make it to production.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Defensively, the S600 Guard has got you covered: B6/B7 armor that stops standard military-grade small-arms fire, grenade, shrapnel, and explosive device protection, run-flat tires, self-sealing fuel-tank, and integrated fire-extinguishing system. Offensively, however, as any tuner would tell you, things could always be better. Even if you're sitting in a tank, why just sit there and take the hits? RENNtech has decided to apply its expertise to the issue, upgrading the S600 guard with the kind of offensive ability that will get you out of trouble, not just protect you from it.

Partnering with INKAS, a firm that builds safes and armoured vehicles, the house of RENN has put in an upgraded ECU, a carbon fiber airbox, and bolstered the intercooler pump. Final result: the regular S600 Guard's 517 hp gets cranked up to 640 hp, and it gets 775 lb-ft. And for pulling off evasive maneuvers, the standard brakes have been swapped out for 15.2-inch rotors up front and 14-inchers in the back. If you need more armoured get-up-and-go than that, you might want to consider an M1 Abrams instead.

[Source: Motor Authority]

When BMW released the redesigned 7-series back in 2001, they were the first to offer a six-speed automatic transmission. Two years later, Mercedes upped the ante by throwing an additional cog into the mix, equipping their new S-class with a seven-speed auto. Now that Lexus is offering an eight-speed slush box in their waftastic LS460, BMW has vowed not be left behind in the ratio wars and plans to bring an nine- eight-speed transmission to market by the end of the decade.

The next 7-series will be due for a substantial redesign by 2009 or 2010, so that's when industry analysts expect the eight-speed box to find its way into BMW's luxury sedan. The engineering haus, ZF Friedrichsafen, has been tapped to create the new automatic and has plenty of experience increasing fuel economy, while decreasing build costs, on the current model's six-speed automatic.

When will this cog-swapping numbers race end? We're not entirely sure, but as soon as manufacturers start cresting the double digits, we doubt anyone will even be paying attention.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

We've been reporting on rumors of Mercedes' plan to lop the roof off an S-class and fit it with a ragtop for too long. Finally, it's been confirmed that M-B will be dropping the top of its four-door convertible at the Detroit auto show next month.

Based off the V12-powered S-class, the cabrio version will assuredly come equipped with a cloth roof, along with a pricy premium that would add an additional $10-15k to the sticker of the S600. Considering that a base S600 comes in at just over $140,000 (not including the gas guzzler tax), buyers will certainly appreciate the exclusivity that a cabrio Merc will afford them.

According to sources close to the project, production is highly likely.

[Source: Automotive News -– Sub. Req.]

Mercedes-Benz has just announced a new model will be adding to its S-Class line of uber-sedans in Europe: the S420 CDI. The S420 CDI features a 4.0-liter V8 CDI diesel engine that produces 320 hp and a stump-pulling 538 ft-lbs. or torque, all while burning 9.4 to 9.6 liters of diesel for every 100 kilometers travelled on the New European Driving Cycle. Mash the throttle and the S420 CDI will entertain you with a 6.6 second trip to 62 mph, which ain't half bad for a land yacht like the S-Class. Mercedes says that with its 90-liter fuel tank and a feathery foot, the S420 CDI could nearly travel 1,000 kilometers or 621 miles on a full tank. The turbodiesel engine is also clean enough to meet European emission standards for diesels by using common-rail technology, piezoelectric injectors and diesel particular filter. This new model for the European market means the Benz garage is now stocked with eight models of the S-Class: two diesels (S320 CDI and S420 CDI), one gas V6 (S350), two gas V8s (S450 and S500), one gas V12 (S600), and two AMG models (S63 AMG and S65 AMG). The new S420 CDI was not listed as a Bluetec diesel, which means it likely will not be offered in the U.S. anytime soon.

Check out the complete press release from MB after the jump.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

The S600 Guard is the ultimate armored limousine, the choice of third-world dictators and dealers of all kinds of stuff. Because Mercedes builds their Guard series (E, G and S-Class models) on separate assembly lines from their conventional counterparts, the passive and active security measures are built in right from the start – though you wouldn't know from looking at one. The S600 Guard will defend its occupants against machine-gun fire, grenades and other explosives; it'll run on flat tires; it's got its own air supply in case of a gas attack; and in case of a fire, it's got its own fire-extinguishing system and self-sealing fuel tank.

Aston Martin may have the product placement agreement for the 007 movies, but no car on the road lives up to the standard like the S600 Guard. Don't take our word for it, watch the video for yourself. (Just don't mind the techno-trance.)

[Source: Motor Authority]