Mercedes-Benz

If you’ve travelled abroad and marveled at rigs like the factory-built luxury vans (that aren’t industrial-grade Sprinters) tasked with shuttling and chauffeuring, you may be interested to learn Mercedes-Benz is planning to sell such machines in America. In addition to setting its sights on that relatively untapped market in this neck of the woods, Stuttgart is readying the roll-out of its all-electric van architecture.

Let’s be clear: this so-called ‘entry’ model of the tremendous SL roadster still costs six figures and has just 14 fewer horsepower than the vaunted R129-era V12 convertible – despite having precisely one-third the number of cylinders.

The Mercedes-AMG One blends Formula 1 drivetrain tech with a futuristic body in a surprising road-legal package. Its $2.7-plus-million cost and 275-unit limited production run are exclusive enough that most of us will never see one, but an unlucky future owner recently lost their hybrid hypercar to a devastating fire before it was complete, meaning only 274 AMG One units will make it into the wild. 

Leave to a luxury car that’s priced beyond the reach of most of us to provide the EV future we want.

Enough range to avoid sweating, a smooth ride, an actually well-designed screen-intensive interior, and just enough fun-to-drive factor to keep you amused.

Today's used car of the day is an Oregon-based 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL 500.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius has told the German media that the brand has no intention of cutting ties with China, saying such a move would be unwise for the whole of Germany industry. 

"The major players in the global economy, Europe, the U.S. and China, are so closely intertwined that decoupling from China makes no sense," he was quoted as saying in Bild am Sonntag.

Mercedes-Benz has submitted its intended U.S. lineup with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the 2024 model year and the E-Class wagon is back on the list. With the W214 generation having just been introduced, everyone has been wondering which versions of Mercedes’ midsize model would make it to our shores. But it looks like we’re only getting the All-Terrain variant for now. 

Looking at most dealer lots, there’s a fair argument to be made that crossovers and SUVs have rudely – and perhaps permanently – shoved sedans into the bin. But the venerable body style is still kicking at some brands, selling in solid numbers and providing an option for smart customers who’d rather not copy their neighbors.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen is the ultimate symbol of wealth and extravagance in the automotive world, but it might soon stand for something much more practical. California-based Sila, a startup focused on battery materials and design, recently announced that its new silicon anodes would be used in the Mercedes-Benz EQG, an electrified version of the iconic off-roader.

Today's UCOTD is a rare bird -- a 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280ce Euro that was imported from Japan.

Those of you just itching to get behind the wheel of a new entry-level Mercedes will enjoy the news that Stuttgart has given its smallest vehicles a nip and tuck while also gifting them an electrified powertrain.

Automakers’ marketing teams often come up with creative language to describe a new feature or design decision. Sometimes, though, flashy marketing names create confusion, which is how we arrived at calling four-door vehicles “coupes.” One of the original perpetrators of this sin, Mercedes-Benz, recently released a new version of its GLC Coupe, an SUV missing some of its “U” in the name of style.

Remember a few years ago when just about every automaker was promising that self-driving would become publicly available by 2020? Well, they’re hoping you didn’t because a few of them are starting to issue new claims that vehicular autonomy is once again less than a decade away.

While “hands-free” driving systems that require you to remain constantly vigilant (in case you need to take over) have become the new hotness, Mercedes-Benz said it’s planning on selling a version that will qualify as truly self-driving by 2030. But there are caveats to that claim pertaining to specific traffic conditions – meaning it’s still not actually going to be SAE Level 5.

On Wednesday, Mercedes-Benz made a string of announcements pertaining to novel tech features it plans on implementing – including partnering with Google to determine how it can leverage cloud-based artificial intelligence into the navigation system. But we’re here to talk about the E-Class specifically, which is poised to get a touchscreen spanning the entire dashboard, integrated interior cameras where the focus is always on the driver, and a new version of the MBUX interface that comes with TikTok and Zoom.

If you want to get into a Mercedes-Benz cheap, just wait 20+ years for depreciation to kick in.

OK, that's a bit harsh. But here we have an example of a cheap-but-old MB SUV.

Designers from Mercedes-Benz and Moncler have put their heads together to create one of the weirdest automobiles seen in years. Revealed at Moncler’s “The Art of Genius” show held during London Fashion Week, the Project Mondo G is the result of Project Maybach designer Virgil Abloh and Moncler’s Genius label asking the age-old question “what would it look like if someone put the G-Glass inside of a giant puffer jacket?”

Mercedes-Benz has officially debuted the all-electric version of the Sprinter and confirmed it will arrive in the United States sometime after the summer solstice. While the van will come in an array of formats to suit varying cargo needs, the initial run will be the long wheelbase variant with the highest roof and largest battery the Germans have to offer. But different versions are said to be forthcoming. Storage in the eSprinter seems to be more or less on par with its combustion-driven counterpart, though it cannot hold quite as much weight due to the heft of the battery pack. Range likewise seems useful, though the electric van will undoubtedly be better suited to localized delivery routes than any long-haul jobs.

The engine of the current Mitsubishi Mirage, much derided for its alleged slowness, must pull a bit more than 27 pounds of car for each of its 78 horsepower. That's underpowered, yes? Not compared to the Mercedes-Benz W123 equipped with a naturally-aspirated four-cylinder diesel engine! That's the car we're going to admire for this week's Junkyard Find.

Originally known as the ML-Class, the GLE is Mercedes-Benz’s mid-range SUV. It’s getting a much-needed mid-cycle refresh for 2024 that brings a new plug-in hybrid variant and better tech. Mercedes hasn’t detailed pricing for the 2024 GLE-Class but says it will arrive later this year.

Mercedes is giving the entry-level CLA-Class a notable update for 2024 that includes fresh styling, more standard tech, updated infotainment, and a more powerful AMG variant. The car goes on sale in late 2023 in four versions: CLA 250, CLA 250 4MATIC, AMG CLA 35, and AMG CLA 45.

Adding to today's list of spied prototypes, the Mercedes-Benz EQG got nabbed by a shooter.

Mercedes-Benz spent a lot of time and likely money launching its EQ sub-brand for electric vehicles. Even so, the automaker appears to have realized there’s no point in separate branding when it plans to convert its entire catalog to EVs. 

Say what you will about Tesla, but there’s no denying that the company’s charging network is a huge benefit and differentiator that has played a significant role in its growth and success over the years. Given the number of automakers moving toward electrification and the amount of money entering the arena, it’s surprising that we haven’t seen another manufacturer doing the same. Mercedes-Benz is jumping in to change that, announcing its intention to build a network of 10,000 fast chargers.

This Merc is a project car -- the seller is clear about that. But for $4,000, you can have yourself a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300. Oh, and you need to put a transmission in it.

Rivian and Mercedes-Benz Vans signed a memorandum of understanding to create a new joint venture for building electric vans in September. But the deal seems to have fallen apart, with reports confirming that the EV startup has pulled the plug just a few months into the planned partnership.

Today's drive notes centers around a car I won't review because this loan is short -- just a couple of days, since I am traveling. It's too bad I am not getting a full week with this 2022 Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC, but I am enjoying this car. Well, mostly.

Automakers have stumbled on a new goldmine, but their path to extracting all of the potential value is fraught with angry customers and bad PR. Connected cars have led to an increase in subscription-based features that are almost universally despised, yet companies continue trying to make them stick. Mercedes is the latest automaker to offer subscription-based upgrades, but legal issues in Europe could stop the program before it spreads outside the United States. 

Mercedes-Benz has made some changes to its commercial EQ website and now appears to be offering an “Acceleration Increase” subscription that boosts performance in exchange for an additional $1,200 per year. However it doesn’t do this by installing new hardware, Mercedes is just remotely goosing the powertrain it already has for massive gains. Though this also means it’s artificially limiting the output of those very same vehicles until its customers cave in and allow themselves to be locked into an annual fee.

Mercedes-Benz has announced pricing for its EQE EV mid-size sedan.

The base price is $74,900.

Affalterbach rather backed itself into a corner with the C 63 – at least in terms of its powerplant. For ages, the octopot racket was a key part of the package, meaning any replacement featuring less than eight cylinders would need to blow the doors off itself in order to avoid derisive looks from the cognoscenti. 

Leave it to AMG to tackle the thorny issue of four-bangers head-on by delivering one which, by itself, produces a scarcely believable 469 horsepower – then add an electric motor on the rear axle which pushes total output to nearly 700 horses.

Reports that Mercedes would be removing its Metris van from the U.S. market emerged over the weekend, with the German automaker confirming the decision.

Despite carrying a larger price tag than the competition (starting around $35,000), the Metris often compares favorably from behind the wheel when the maximum cargo capacity and price aren't the chief concerns. Unfortunately, those tend to be very important items when people are shopping for working vehicles and the Metris' sales numbers have reflected that. Mercedes has struggled to reach 10,000 deliveries annually and the Metris volume is routinely bested by models like the smaller Ford Transit Connect or the ancient, full-size Chevrolet Express.

Over the weekend, Mercedes-Benz announced a global recall campaign encompassing nearly a million vehicles it believes could be afflicted with faulty brake boosters.

“We have found that in some of those vehicles, the function of the brake booster could be affected by advanced corrosion in the joint area of the housing,” the automaker explained in a statement.

While the issue is global, the United States is believed to account for roughly 300,000 units, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advising against driving any vehicle involved in the recall. Affected units will undoubtedly offer lowered braking performance and can even cause total brake failure in some instances. Rare or not, the NHTSA feels this one is simply too risky to chance.

Following word that Mercedes-Benz wanted to refocus on producing high-end luxury vehicles with loftier profit margins, the German automaker has decided to eliminate dealerships in Europe so it can move on a direct-sales model similar to what’s offered by Tesla.

The company is reportedly eliminating up to 20 percent of its dealerships in its home country and roughly 10 percent globally (with a focus on Europe). This follows previous assertions by Mercedes that half of the brand’s domestic sales will be done via an “agency model” by 2023. Following an agreement with its own dealer network, the company said late in 2021 that it would begin eliminating the traditional scheme of dealers buying their vehicle stock based on market conditions with consumers coming in to haggle. The new plan puts more financial pressure on Mercedes and eliminates any chance of price negotiation. Meanwhile, dealers will get some cash for every vehicle sold and whatever after-sales services they can render.

Mercedes-Benz has said it will cut back its entry-level offers to better prioritize premium vehicles with loftier margins. While this strategy has become relatively uncommon throughout the industry, even among some mainstream brands, Mercedes has historically been synonymous with high-end luxury cars. One wonders why it bothered chasing volume to begin with, especially since it doesn’t seem to have panned out for the company.

While executives had previously hinted at its revised strategy in interviews, Mercedes officially unveiled its plan to investors on Thursday. The German brand will focus investments on top-of-the-heap models like the S-Class at the expense of entry-level products that have failed to garner juicy profits.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are dumping ShareNow — their jointly managed car-sharing businesses — and Stellantis will reportedly become the recipient. Effectively a merger of BMW’s DriveNow and Mercedes’ (technically Daimler AG’s) slurry of similar services that were rolled into car2go, ShareNow’s individual components have spent the last decade trying to figure out which markets would embrace app-based, roadside rentals charging by the minute and which would reject it.

Luxury coupes were falling out of favor among well-heeled American car shoppers around the turn of the century, with luxury trucks gaining sales ground by the minute, but that didn’t stop Mercedes-Benz from releasing a sporty new C-Class-based two-door with a big V8 and big price tag, starting in the 1999 model year: The CLK 430. As so often happens with costly European luxury machinery, this one took a hard depreciation hit during its time on the road, and now it resides in a Northern California self-service yard.

Before we get to this list of “best luxury cars”, I feel like you might be wondering about that headline. Why $90,060? I chose that number because the ceiling for my “ best cheap cars” post was based on half the average selling price of a new car (more or less), and arbitrarily decided to keep going with that theme and set the floor for this list at approximately twice the current average.

As for the list, itself, I’ll try to answer it the same way you’d probably answer your rich friends if they asked you for help picking a new car: With a question of my own.

No, it’s not anything as pedestrian as, “What do you plan on using it for?” That kind of stuff is for the poors. For the rich people, the real question is: Who are you trying to impress with it?

Sort of like the Cimarron we covered in our last edition of Abandoned History a couple of months ago, today’s vehicle is pretending to be more than it is. It’s the luxury X-Class truck Mercedes-Benz sold in markets outside the USA. Can you tell what it actually is?

Starting in 2022, Mercedes-Benz will be launching new services allowing customers to use fingerprint scans to verify purchases from inside their vehicle. While this makes it sound as though the feature will be limited to feeding the meter, fast food, gasoline, and the occasional tech-savvy prostitute, parent company Daimler said it was an important step forward for its MBUX multimedia interface and the general trajectory for luxury vehicles as a whole.

I’ve long struggled to understand the existence of four-door hatchbacks that are called “coupes” (to me, a coupe has two, not four, doors), have sloping rooflines, and are typically sold by import luxury brands.

I struggle a lot less when one is hopped up on the vehicular version of steroids.

Large, luxurious, and very serious, the first generation CL was also an SEC and S during its life. While Mercedes-Benz played the Nineties naming games with its lineup, the W140 soldiered on in two-door format as a last-of for a top-tier Mercedes coupe.

Today’s Rare Ride is the third car in the series from designer Franco Sbarro. Our premier Sbarro creation was a windsurfing-specific take on the Citroën Berlingo, and the second was a very hot hatchback called the Super Eight – a Ferrari underneath.

While both of those creations were one-off styling exercises, today’s Sbarro actually entered very limited production. Presenting the Windhound of 1978.

While Mercedes-Benz has gradually been moving away from larger motors, it was still a shock to learn that the company would be removing the brunt of its V8-powered lineup in the United States for the 2022 model year. Higher-end vehicles typically come with broader profit margins and Americans tend to like V8s, so it was strange to see the brand tailoring its product at the last minute. Less surprising, however, was watching the entire automotive community speculate on the reasons why.

As your author is constantly suspect of regulations, it was my assumption that emissions compliance was the main culprit. But one would assume European rules would have put the kibosh on V8s in the home market long before cars were neutered in North America. Mercedes likewise suggested this was not the case, alluding to supply chain issues that have been hampering the industry since the start of 2020 while it promised to fix the problem as soon as possible. Then, Daimler executives started giving different answers and hit the reset button on the global supposition surrounding the discontinued engines.

The Nineties W202 C-Class was Mercedes’ second-ever compact car offering, after its debut small car the 190. Not made of the heritage-level materials of the 190, the W202 cars were largely trashed at the bottom of their depreciation curve a decade ago by second and third owners.

Said trashing is why today’s very clean example is so unusual.

I’m back with more boring used car content, a topic some of you apparently despise with a passion. Caution: More used-car discussion ahead, get out while you still can if this is the case! For the rest of you, let’s review the impractical car suggestions you’ve made that earned a spot on the Yes, I Like list.

Wagons are generally considered not viable in the U.S. Just about every recent wagon model has failed, though there are exceptions, usually for crossovers that straddle the line between wagon and wagon-like (Subaru, looking in your direction).

Even the Jaguar XF Sportbrake, which this author found quite sexy, was sent packing.

All that said, Mercedes-Benz might be trying to bring a wagon back to our market

If you want the more-advanced version of the rear-wheel steering system on the Mercedes-Benz EQS, and you live in Germany, prepare to pony up to unlock the software.

Mercedes-Benz inadvertently leaked the private data of some of its customers. The good news is that the number of affected people was alleged to have capped somewhere around one thousand at the time of this writing. But the bad news is that this wasn’t like having your e-mail or phone number getting out there. Contents reportedly included customers’ social security numbers, self-reported credit scores, driver licenses, addresses, and credit card information.

While the odds of you personally being affected remain low, the circumstances in which this took place are becoming increasingly common. Customers and interested buyers entering personal data into company and dealer websites between 2014 and 2017 had their data stored via a cloud storage platform. But it wasn’t as secure as it should be and Mercedes is now blaming the vendor for the security breach and subsequent embarrassment.

If you were in the market for a midsized luxury sedan from Europe, you could certainly do worse than the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. While it sacrifices a bit of interior volume for the sake of style, it remains an opulent and sedate experience for the driver with just enough performance to keep the office commute from becoming dull. Of course, those seeking enhanced trills could pay AMG to transform the sedan into the 429 horsepower CLS53. But it has been retired for the 2022 model year, along with the base CLS450 with rear-wheel drive.

That just leaves the CLS450 4Matic, which Mercedes has given some new accouterments — perhaps to take the sting out of the company dumping the more interesting trims.

Today’s Rare Ride is a custom-built version of an already-exclusive car. Originally a large sedan, Xenatec’s 57 S coupe was built only in the single digits.

And this particular example was ordered by a dictator.

The name Isdera meant absolutely nothing to your author prior to today’s Rare Ride. A company originally headquartered in West Germany, it seems Isdera’s offerings were intentionally obscure and hard to purchase.

Let’s check out an 036i, whatever that means.

Daimler had decided some serious changes need to be made before the end of 2021, including a name swap and separate listing for its commercial truck division. While the reason given was to better facilitate the company’s transition toward a “zero- emissions and software-driven future,” investors have been critical of Daimler’s share price after it cratered in March of last year. Though we would argue the bigger concern is the automaker’s lackluster (or absent) growth and declining revenue since 2018.

Regardless, CEO Ola Källenius believes continued changes to the firm’s corporate structure are the only way to go. By 2022, Daimler will simply be known as Mercedes-Benz and have spun off Daimler Trucks with its own listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

For most folks, a $96K price tag is just too much. It is indeed a steep price to pay for any automobile. But spend enough time behind the wheel of the sublime Mercedes-Benz AMG E53 coupe, and that amount of cash outlay suddenly seems like a bargain.

A car this good typically fetches well over six figures.

You’ve probably seen a certain Mercedes-Benz ad this year. Or maybe in years past – I think the ad in question ran last year, as well, and maybe even before then.

It’s a holiday ad featuring one of the brand’s luxury SUVs and advertising a winter sales event for Mercedes.

The all-new 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the flagship of the line, will arrive in US dealerships in the first half of 2021. Boosting greater comfort, safety, and the overall experience for driver and passengers, the S-Class embodies not only the brand’s flagship, but a 12.9 percent increase from the 2020 S 450 4Matic Sedan, to the 2021 S 500 4Matic Sedan’s starting price of $109,800.

I like to search for junkyard vehicles with exceptionally high final odometer readings, a task made more difficult by the fact that just about every manufacturer besides Volvo and Mercedes-Benz used five-digit odometers well into the 1980s. Even in the middle 1980s, most cars weren’t really expected to hit the 100,000-mile mark … unless they were Mercedes-Benzes with diesel engines, in which case their owners expected them to make it to 300,000 miles. Here’s an oil-fueled W123 in Colorado that exceeded even that expectation.

Mercedes-Benz is reportedly planning to bring an electric commercial van, presumably the eSprinter, to the United States as early as the third quarter of 2023. While the all-electric van launched earlier this year in Europe, the manufacturer said it wanted to hold off on North American exports for reasons that should be obvious to anybody familiar with the industry. The model’s rather low range (up to 96 miles, depending on load and route) makes it a poor fit for North America’s wide-open spaces, as does its standard 75 mph (or optional 50 mph) top speed. Meanwhile, the necessary homologation efforts required to sell the eSprinter in the U.S. would only increase the price of a vehicle already ill-suited to the nation’s roadways.

Were it to come here now, we’d be looking at a cargo van with an MSRP dangerously close to $60,000 and the top speed and range of a small-displacement dirtbike. Regulatory incentives aside, it doesn’t seem like a worthwhile addition to the North American landscape. But analysts are worried that Mercedes-Benz needs to get a move on and ensure the vehicle comes to the U.S. market before it’s edged out by the competition. It’s a position we’d be inclined to agree with had the eSprinter arrived with more robust specifications.