Dieter Zetsche, CEO of DaimlerChrysler, took the stage at the company's annual meeting yesterday.  As has been his motto in recent months, Zetsche preached a message of increasing operating profit by making the company more efficient and more flexible. 

To do so, the company will aim to make their administrative functions leaner and strive to eliminate redundancies between the Group and divisional levels.  By accomplishing these tasks, reporting and decision-making will be performed faster, which Zetsche believes will "enable our operating units to focus on their core business of developing, building and selling fascinating vehicles."

Keep Reading "Dieter Zetsche Speaks At DaimlerChrysler's Annual Meeting"

Taking a break from auto show news, the boys over at the UK's Channel 4 were fortunate enough to get their hands on a new Mercedes S 65 AMG and put it through its paces.

Not surprisingly, there was very little criticism of the car.  The reviewer noted the S 65's outstanding ride quality, despite its ability to accelerate from 0-60 in just 4.4 seconds.  Other compliments came as a result of the S's extensive technological features and the growl stemming from its 604 horsepower V12...

Keep Reading "Channel 4 Tests The Mercedes S 65 AMG"

In a quick follow up to my previous story, here's some additional photos of the Mercedes E-Class being unveiled in New York.

The E-Class premier featured, as you can see from the photos, a poorly-designed Vegas-style show, with men dressed in odd suits zapping the new Mercedes with lightning bolts.

Keep Reading "The Mercedes E-Class Lightning Storm"

Dr. Klaus Maier, Executive Vice President Mercedes Car Group, took the stage at the New York International Auto show today, officially unveiling to the world the new Mercedes E-Class.

Being the man responsible for Mercedes' sales and marketing, it should come as no surprise that Klaus had nothing but favorable things to say about Mercedes' newest model.  According to Klaus, "The new generations of the E- and SL-Class make it clear that Mercedes-Benz offers its customers attractive vehicles featuring state-of-the-art technology."

Keep Reading "Mercedes' Executive Vice President Presents Takes The Stage In New York"

Although we've already told you how Mercedes has updated their newest E-Class, one thing we've failed to mention is the difference between the various E-Class model lines.

With a total of 29 model variants of the E-Class, selecting the right model can be daunting.  Thankfully, Mercedes has published a press release that helps shed some light on the subject.  CLASSIC, ELEGANCE, AVANTGARDE... if you don't know which to choose, keep reading to find the one that's right for you...

Keep Reading "An Overview Of The Mercedes E-Class Model Range"

As you already know, today kicks off the opening of the New York International Auto Show, and with it the introduction of the the updated Mercedes E-Class.  To launch the new model, Mercedes has published a plethora of press releases dealing with pretty much every aspect of the vehicle.

But before we get into the E-Class' technical details, I thought instead we'd start with the news power-hungry E-Class owners everywhere have been waiting to hear - the details of the new Mercedes E 63 AMG...

Keep Reading "A Look At The Mercedes E 63 AMG"

Here's a story I'm sure Mercedes execs are loving a day before the launch of their new E-Class...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is recalling 2,500 model year 2006 Mercedes R-Class, because the thread in a nut used to secure the seat belt buckle in a limited number of second row seats may be missing. As a result, the missing threads may cause an incomplete connection of the buckle to seat, which in the event of an accident could increase the risk of personal injury...

Keep Reading "Mercedes R-Class Model Recalled"

Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement that the new Mercedes E-Class will be unveiled at the New York International Auto Show, DaimlerChrysler has published the first official photos and details of what we can expect from their newest luxury sedan.

On the outside, the new E-Class remains largely similar to the previous model.  A slightly re-worked front bumper and grille, transparent louvres on the top of the headlights, and white LED parking lamps are a few of the differences you'll find in the latest E...

Keep Reading "Mercedes Releases Details Of The New E-Class"

I don't know how we missed this story, but last week, DaimlerChrysler released details of the latest addition to their fuel cell lineup, the F-Cell police car.

Built for the Wayne State University police department in Detroit, the F-Cell police car features a third-generation police radio, decals, lights and sirens.  It will act as a supervisor's vehicle on and in the immediate vicinity of the campus, located in Detroit's Cultural Center, and will help to provide DaimlerChrysler with valuable data to further advance the company's fuel cell technology...

Keep Reading "DaimlerChrysler Introduces World's First Fuel Cell-Powered Police Car"

Mercedes has announced today that they will officially be unveiling the new Mercedes E-Class at the New York International Auto Show on April 12th.  The premier will be set to an artistically staged electrical storm, in which "lightning bolts of up to 14 million volts will impressively illuminate the potential of the upgraded luxury model."

Performed by the California-based special effects experts "kVA," bolts of lighting will be discharged by means of a "Tesla Coil" while "stuntmen in futuristic protective clothing will stimulate the electrical energy required for extremely striking scenes..."

Keep Reading "New Mercedes E-Class To Premier In New York"

Welcome, welcome, welcome ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all had a great weekend.

To kick things off on this sunny April morning, I'm going to bring you a quick recap of the DTM season opener that took place in Hockenheim over the weekend.  As always, if you have it TIVO'd, read no further; otherwise, here's how the race transpired...

Keep Reading "Mercedes DTM Race Recap:  Hockenheim"

This is it kids - the grand finale.  The FAB DESIGN Mega Wing Wide Body.  What can I say that's not already evident from the photographs?

It started life as a Mercedes SL600. Then FAB DESIGN went crazy. New front and rear bumpers. Vents all over the place. 20" wheels.  Butterfly doors.

Still not deranged enough? It comes in orange too.  Not just the outside.  The whole thing...

Keep Reading "The FAB DESIGN Mercedes SL-Class Mega Wing Wide Body"

Next up in our first unofficial FAB DESIGN day, we have the FAB DESIGN Mercedes M-Class.

As you can see from the photos, the FAB kit for the M- is slightly more pronounced than the S-Class' modifications.

To kick things off, FAB began by adding a new front bumper featuring integrated ram protection and an underride guard.  In the rear, the M-Class received a rounded valance and a new cover for the tailgate.  And finally, as was the case with the S-Class, FAB wrapped up the M's tuning package by adding a stainless steel quad exhaust system and custom-designed 20" rims...

Keep Reading "The FAB DESIGN Mercedes M-Class"

Mercedes sales figures, job cuts, the James Cook... blah, blah, blah.

As you're scanning the current crop of stories, I already know what you're thinking - financials are great, but I need to customize my ride, dammit.  I can't have Reggie Bush out rollin' in his CLS Shark II, while I'm sittin' in my stock Benz.  Help me eMercedesBenz, help me.

If I'm speaking to you - if you're ready to outshine Reggie and any other professional athletes, today is your day.  Why?  Because I am officially proclaiming that today is FAB DESIGN day.  The next three stories... nothing but tuning goodness, courtesy of FAB DESIGN.

I'm going to kick things off with my personal favorite, the FAB DESIGN kit for the always illustrious 2007 Mercedes S550...

Keep Reading "The FAB DESIGN 2007 Mercedes S-Class"

DaimlerChrysler is reporting today that in addition to the tremendous sales success of MBUSA last month, the Mercedes Car Group has noted equally impressive results, increasing sales 17% for the month of March.  In total, sales of the Mercedes, Maybach and smart brands increased to 138,400 units (compared to 118,000 in March of 2005), making it the best sales month of all time.

Through the first quarter of the year, the Mercedes Car Group has also noted a significant improvement, increasing sales 12% to a record figure of 295,000 units (compared to 262,900 in 2005)...

Keep Reading "Mercedes Car Group's Sales Rise 17% In March"