Tag Archives | Mercedes-Benz

Review: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C350 Coupe

By on May 1, 2012 in Reviews

I’m very fortunate to have driven a lot of different cars in the process of reviewing for Autosavant. When I causally ponder my dream car would be, for some reason I’ve always thought of a two-door coupe – not like Mustang or Camaro, but more like Prelude, MX-6, BMW 3 Series, Audi A5, and this Mercedes-Benz C-Class. That being said, my first two responses (and the fact that they haven’t been manufactured for a long time) is somewhat telling. I’m out of touch with modern two-doors. Last year I reviewed Audi’s A5 coupe and didn’t fall in love; this time, I’ve had a go with the Mercedes-Benz C350 coupe.

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Quick Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

By on April 18, 2012 in Reviews

Drivers are increasingly feeling helpless within the shifting trends of the automotive world. We like our manual gearboxes. Yet, today almost all (if not all) new Ferraris on sale cannot be ordered with a stick shift. We like our comfortable cars. Yet, we have to contend with modern cars with large rims that worsen an already stiff ride. We also unreservedly love our big, naturally aspirated engines that make the best sounds on earth – and they are also going.

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Mercedes-Benz Frontbass Audio – Footwell Mounted Woofers

By on April 13, 2012 in News

In the race to bring the best-of-the-best to discerning buyers, Mercedes-Benz has taken a new approach to bring audiophile quality sound to an open top roadster. In the upcoming SL series, M-B has incorporated footwell mounted woofers directly in the frame of the car. The ~8.5″ woofers are mounted into the front bulkhead and then hidden from view with the normal carpet that you would expect to find under your feet. Why would they go to such trouble? Read on to find out.

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Automakers Urge NHTSA To Inititate CrackDown On All Electronic Devices

By on March 15, 2012 in News

Lawmakers in the United States as well as regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have often been critical of certain vehicle technologies that have the potential to distract drivers while they are behind the wheel. The automakers have issued a response of their own to this recent wave of criticism by saying that the NHTSA should expand their crackdown on electronic distractions to also include outside electronic devices such as smart phones and other hand held devices.

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Complaints About the Names of Cars

By on January 27, 2012 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

Ah yes, the “good old days.” Remember when cars had names like Comet, Monterey, Nova, Tempest, Metropolitan, and Zephyr? Though there is more diversity in the auto market today than there has been in decades (though no longer thousands of boutique automakers in the US as there were in the early days of the industry), vehicle names that are actual words found in the dictionary are becoming more scarce. That is not news. Some automakers, though not all, have decided that rather than building better, more sophisticated cars, they might just trick the buying public into believing that a DTS is more upscale than a Deville, that an MKZ is more contemporary than a Zephyr, or that a G6 outshines a Grand Am. Again, this is all old news. Today I’m more concerned about model names that once described engine displacement. If you read on, I have some solutions too.

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Review: 2012 Audi A6 3.0 TFSI quattro

By on December 7, 2011 in Reviews

By Kevin Miller

Something readers may not know about me is that I have an identical twin- or, I am an identical twin. My brother and I share the same DNA, the same “frame,” and look very similar to one another. While my brother and I are literally made from the same genetic material, we’ve grown to be distinct from one another in our professions and hobbies. While we’re essentially the same weight and height, I am an electrical engineer and auto blogger, who spends way too much time at a computer keyboard. My brother, on the other hand, is an Olympic rower turned collegiate rowing coach who bikes to work most days, so he has a distinctly more athletic appearance than I do.

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Maybach Will Finally Be Shuttered

By on November 26, 2011 in News

By Chris Haak

Frankly, I’m surprised it has taken this long – but Daimler AG’s ultra-luxury, ultra-slow-selling Maybach brand will again return to the dustbin of history.  According to Automotive News, Daimler has decided instead to push the next-generation S-Class upmarket, and an ultra-luxury S600 Pullman will fill the void left by Maybach’s departure.  It’s remarkable that the brand held onto its second life even as long as it did – with me predicting its demise four years ago (and again three and a half years ago).  The conclusion was all but certain then, but the timeline was a surprise.

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Auto Enthusiasts Start Petition To Change Federal Grey Market Exemption Period

By on November 17, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

A small group of dedicated automotive enthusiasts have begun a “We The People” petition to try and urge the federal government to change the way it enforces “Grey Market” vehicles entering U.S shores. For folks that are unfamiliar with the term, these are vehicles that are legally imported from other countries through various third party channels other than those of the official manufacturer in question.

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Hey, There’s a Bunch of Cool Cars

By on July 21, 2011 in Features

By Charles Krome

If you listen to some people in the industry, traditional “car culture” is a dying animal here in the U.S. For example, when I attended an Automotive Press Association event earlier this year, I heard designers from the Detroit three talk about how the generations that are now coming of driving age really aren’t all that interested in the actual activity of driving; they view cars as means, but not ends. I don’t know if that’s really the case or not, but if it is, the culture is certainly going out with a bang. Take the growing popularity of neighborhood gatherings of auto enthusiasts, who bring their vehicles together on weekend mornings to share America’s favorite hot caffeinated beverage, show off, and talk cars.

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Lexus Boss Mark Templin Predicts a Dismal Future For His Brand

By on April 28, 2011 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

Auto executives are, by nature, an optimistic bunch of people.  They’re always on the verge of catching onto the next big trend, of turning around operations, yadda yadda.  Therefore, I raised my eyebrows more than a little bit when I saw what Lexus general manager Mark Templin had to say about his brand’s future.  It wasn’t optimistic; it was downright melancholy.  In an interview with Automotive News, he conceded the luxury-vehicle sales crown for 2011 with seven-plus months remaining in the year.  The reason?

He’s blaming the Japanese earthquake, which has done great harm to the auto industry supply chain, but in particular, to Japanese auto manufacturers.  Many Japanese OEMs still are not running at full production, including heavyweights Honda and Toyota.  Toyota, in fact, said that it was not likely to resume normal production until November, a full eight months after the March earthquake.  Lexus is particularly affected, though, because the majority of the brand’s models, with the sole exception of the RX crossover, are built in Japan.  In post-tsunami Japan, local auto production is a disadvantage.

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