All Entries Tagged With: "MERCEDES-BENZ"
Second Generation Mercedes CLS Takes A Bow
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Daimler AG ::: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
SEVEN years after forging a new niche – the four door coupé (with careful emphasis on the accent aigu over the “e” in coupe) – the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class embarks upon its second generation which bows in Paris. Only this time the CLS will face plenty of competition; from the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera to Audi A7 and BMW Gran Coupé. And despite the original CLS’ dowdy appearance that many misguided critics thought “sexy”, we should thank Mercedes for having the foresight to attempt to reintroduce sex into the sedan marketplace.
The first (C219) and likely the second generation CLS-Class coupés were/are based on the (W211 & W212) E-Class, only the new CLS is sculpted to appear even more provocative with “refined sportiness”, “athletic proportions”, and a “perceptible design idiom.” I’m not actually sure what that last bit meant but only know that Mercedes means business when they say it.
The original CLS-Class sold 170K units worldwide. With all-LED exterior lamps (71 bulbs in all) and more flame surfacing than a crême brulée shop (there’s that accent again!) we can expect similar enthusiasm particularly from the newly moneyed East.
As for skeptics, given that some of us thought the original CLS looked like it owed much to the late 90s Mercury Sable, the jury’s still out on the next generation.
Mercedes 300E AMG “Hammer” v. 500E
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG “Hammer” and 500E
STOP the presses and hold your horses! Turning the corner of the 80s and understeering into the 90s, there was not one, but two hyper-tuned, E-Class super-saloons of power: the 300E AMG a.k.a. “The Hammer” and the 500E.
Yours had recently made the error, grievous as it was, to dare call the 500E “Hammer”. As a commenter rightly explained it’s simply not true. Here’s the difference:
>>> the difference following the jump >>>
1973 Mercedes 450SLC For Sale + Chat With Seller
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via eBay ::: 1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC for sale
“NOTHING’S perfect,” David Wayne, eBay seller for nearly five years tells me on the phone. “My dog’s not perfect, my house isn’t perfect, but compared to most used cars, it’s damn near perfect.”
Mr. Wayne, a Texan with a quarter-century of selling cars under his belt – among other dealers, he was a fleet manager at Park City Ford in Dallas – is looking to sell a mint-looking 1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC with 170K+ miles on the clock.
Like any good car salesman, he’s as adamant about his offer as anything and his clients (the SLC’s third and longest owners) are said to have chased every detail.
Fortunately, he says he’s got 20 years of receipts to back his story.
“They have put a ton of money into this car over time. Whatever it needed, they gave it. They were going to have the best running SLC around.”
And good running SLCs seem hard to come by these days. This 450, one of fewer and fewer visually prime specimens of the C107 generation S-Class coupés, received a fresh paint job in the early 2000s. According to Mr. Wayne, the owners spent $16,000.
“No expense was spared on this car. I’ve got receipts [totaling] over $50,000.”
He lists what works: the AC blows cold (choice), the body’s without rust, the engine leaks no oil and is otherwise without sin (aside from needing a good detail), and the transmission shifts as it should.
“The seats are firm and nice,” he advises.
The odometer has been replaced. This is the second which shows more than 70K miles. The original stopped at around 100K – a service which was also documented.
The wire-wheels, Euro-spec headlamps, and thin, pre-US-five-mph-reg. bumpers suggest a gray-market Benz, but Mr. Wayne says otherwise.
“I think this was the first year they brought the 450SLC to the US. It was the most expensive car you could buy from Mercedes,” he says.
A quick fact check proves that this is mostly true. The 350SLC was first introduced to the US in 1972, the 450SLC followed in ‘73 and every SLC was imported with specially made sealed-beam units that were installed on all North American market R107 and C107 Benzes up until the R107 series discontinuation in 1989.
That means that one of this SLC’s three owners likely swapped out for the more powerful Euro halogens.
Mr. Wayne is looking to sell the 450SLC for $11,995. It’s the second time he’s listed it on eBay and he says he’ll ship anywhere.
“I’ve got another [R107] SL I’m going to sell,” he says, “but I’ve got to sell this one first.”
eBay Watch: 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG eBay
PARTIALLY, but professionally restored with fresh Mercedes-Benz 728H beige grey paint and refinished walnut paneling: a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 4.5.
Carefully considered listing with all original literature and some service records. Exhaust was replaced with stainless steel system for longevity.
Original pneumatic shocks said to be in full working order with the seller acknowledging:
Most 300SEL’s have worn out air valves and air bellows. Trouble with the air suspension will cost quite a bit of money. It is uncommon to find a car such as this that has been well maintained and all air suspension components replaced.
More than 140K miles traveled, though the seller states that the odometer reads only 42K. A buyer might check VIN with MBUSA as an additional source.
Eight bids have the price at posting @ $5,000 with three days to go and the reserve yet to be met. Based near Portland, Oregon, this W109 Benz sedan cuts a handsome figure, indeed. Aficionados will note that it lacks the mighty 6.3 designation with big-bloc m100 V8.
The trade off? An apparently cared for vintage Benz of seeming quality that will sell for less. Tremendously enticing, though as always, caveat emptor.
Should Volvo Make a Convertible? Yes!
By Gunnar Heinrich
HOW I adored the original Volvo C70.
Perhaps it was Pininfarina’s masterful tailoring that silkened those Swedish curves. Or, maybe, it was Porsche’s rumored influence behind the spirited, turbocharged Inline-5 cylinder motor.
No, it had to be the polished scent of Volvo leather as it was tanned and oiled circa 1999.
Or – and this really could be it – it was summertime. In SoCal.
The weather was warm. And the coral blue on cream just seemed so perfect. When we pulled up to the Shutters in Santa Monica, the valet paid our ride an honest compliment after just tending to the tutto rosso F355 that had preceded us.
The C70 really was Volvo’s masterful coup.
And no one bought it.
Well, that’s not quite true. You do see a few of the 1st gen. C70s on the road, de temps en temps. But truly, between BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and even Saab, few considered putting $40K down on a Volvo convertible 10 years ago.
You bought a Volvo for safety. For family. For utility with comfort. Not for fun-in-the-sun. And so it was: the C70 languished in anonymity while BMW took orders for the 3er drop top.
The C70 -gasp- wasn’t even perfect.
Based on the original 850/S70, Volvo suffered engineering setbacks from the start; pulling on the convertible’s launch time and again like a seized caliper.
The power roofs failed. Often.
Those five pot engines leaked oil.
And despite the “Drive Safely” marketing, the loss in structural rigidity meant the C70s weren’t that safe.
Add salt to the wound, a decade on, there are so few examples that aren’t dog-eared from hard use. Generally, the first generation C70s lived thankless lives as rough ‘n tumble commuters.
Thankfully, neither poor sales nor defects stopped Volvo from producing a second generation C70 convertible and now a third.
Both penned by Pininfarina and constructed by Pininfarina’s unit in Sweden; the latest hardtop-droptops improved on previous foibles while reminding us that, yes, Sweden’s other car company is versatile, dynamic, luxurious and not just for hauling kids ‘n gear to practice.
Given the choice that people have in spending $40-$55K on a 2+2 topless tourer (would you like German or Japanese?), it’s right that Volvo makes a convertible.
Proud Parent: Mercedes’ AMG SLS Featured on GranTurismo 5
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Daimler, AG
YOU can just hear it: “PLAY-STAY-SHON”.
As the Jalops are busy buffing their lapels at their inclusion into the Forza Motorsport entertainment brand, Mercedes-Benz, too, is tickled as punch to have their Gullwinged AMG SLS on the cover of PlayStation’s GranTurismo 5.
Yours happens to have been an avid Gran Turismo fan. Addict, really.
What high school wing nut wouldn’t be? The graphics were fantastic and the physics simulations were really, truly impressive.You could sample all your favorite cars from the comfy confines of your living room sofa.
Hours and hours of time well waisted.
Since home entertainment consoles are becoming big, big business, ( us Generation Y’ers have never lost our zeal for computer games thanks to Mario ), car companies like Mercedes are definitely seeing the light and the dollar$ in playing along.
DIY: Daimler To Release W126 S-Class DVD Manual
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Fuenfkommasechs
WANT to get your hands dirty with your 80s S-Class?
According to the web’s premiere W126 resource – Fuenfkommasechs.de – Daimler, AG will issue an updated “Information DVD” (which will be Windows 7 compliant) by April for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class that reigned from 1979-1992.
Included in this bilingual technical guide (the English is a rough translation original German), are the full schematics, owner’s manual, and, naturally, parts catalogue so that the do-it-yourselfers of the world can take back their grosser Benz from that dreaded “auto-werkz” hack down the street.
Yeah, that’s right buddy. You can take your $100 an hour and shove it.
Engineered to Popular Perception
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Daimler, AG + Infiniti USA
PERCEPTION is a funny thing.
Add a “hybrid” tag to the back of a Cadillac Escalade and what was once a gluttenous, bruttish SUV from the supersize era is transformed into a green, eco-minded angel.
Hey, there are such things as gentle giants!
Same was true in the 1980s for any car that donned the magic “Turbo” moniker. Saab exploited this turbo=fast craze like it was it’s job (which, of course, it was).
And what about performance metrics? Of course the benchmarks have heightened with time and technological progress, but what might we perceive as quick today?
Consider, if you will, the 1970s Mercedes-Benz 280E W123 gen. Bristling with the righteous – ahem – power of 137 hp and 142 lb-ft of torque, the three box Benz weighed in at a then-considerable 3,565 lbs.
Now, if I were to explain that the gas version of the world’s taxi musters 60 mph in 11.4 seconds – you’d yawn and suggest that the driver could get out and sprint faster.
However, if I told you that the same seemingly lazy sedan finds 50 mph in 8.5 seconds, suddenly we can approach the old Benz with a new found respect. Not so lazy, after all. “Decent” you might offer.
Zero to 60 is our current benchmark. Back in the 70s, 55 mph was the US speed limit (as it remains on many highways, grumble, grumble). It meant more for Mercedes to engineer a car that performed well to 50 than it did to 60 due to perception.
Fast forward to today.
The Infiniti G37S posts a respectably quick naught to 60 time of 5.4 seconds. That’s thanks to a 328 hp V6 performing heroically despite a stout curb weight of 3,770 lbs.
Acceleration time is pretty linear to 60, too.
0-30 2.0 seconds
0-40 3.0 seconds
0-50 4.1 seconds
But after?
0-70 7.1 seconds
0-80 9.1 seconds
0-90 11.3 seconds
It seems our entry-level luxury “performance” sedan runs out of some steam at a faster rate on the way to 100 mph.
And herein lies the point. It’s engineering and marketing to perception.
If the benchmark was 0-70 in 5 seconds, Nissan’s boffins would’ve made it happen and cared less for the time it took to find 80 mph.
So, too, for the perceptions of eco-friendliness.
A diesel Mercedes E-Class that gets 650 miles to a tank is perceived far less clean (in these United States and California) than a Lexus RX Hybrid that might manage the average 400 on a tank.
So when it comes to the automobile – perception, truly is a funny thing.
ADLX 00’s Reflections & 10’s Predictions
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Daimler, AG
RING out the old! Ring in the new!
As New Year’s approaches those of us on the East Coast, let’s reflect for a moment on the past ten and consider the next ten.
Geopolitically, it’s been a tumultous decade and indeed the same proved true for the auto industry.
For the luxury marques, apart from 2008-2009, it’s been mostly a boon – with the Germans going from strength to strength financially (despite loss in build quality for Mercedes and styling for BMW); the restoration of forgotten marques Bugatti and Maybach; the rebirth of the deluxe hatch in MINI; new heights in Italian performance with Ferrari and Lamborghini; and the rebirth of Maserati and Rolls-Royce.
Cadillac has restored some of its soul. And the 00’s will also likely be considered Aston Martin’s golden decade thanks to Dr. Bez’s leadership.
Looking forward: by 2020, automobiles will likely become roboticized – at least for highway travel in certain metro areas.
(In)famous Westcoast style car chases, for instance, will become more of a thing of the past as law enforcement will seek legislation empowering them to deactivate runaway vehicles remotely.
And, sadly, some of the great marques will fall to the wayside while upstart Korean companies like Hyundai grow stronger; forging entry into the luxury market just like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan managed 20 years ago.
Exciting times ahead, friends!
Leno’s Rendezvous: Car Guy Extraordinaire Drives Mercedes SLS AMG Through LA
By Gunnar Heinrich | Youtube
JAY Leno is really making his mark.
Whether he’s unveiling a Jaguar, writing a foreward for a gear head text, or dropping by Top Gear- he’s everywhere.
Which makes it unsurprising that the former NBC Late Night and car collector extraordinaire has just finished a video that pays homage to the Lelouch classic thriller C’etait un Rendezvous.
Piloting the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – courtesy MBUSA- through Mulholland Drive’s twists, Mr. Leno suggests slyly that every city has a hidden race track in its road network and that traffic clogged LA is no exception.
There’s no music to this piece. Just Mr. Leno and the SLS’ soundtrack, which barks and crackles with each dual clutched turn of gear.
A simple video; simply well done.
Many thanks, John!
