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November 05 News |
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One million roadsters
Mercedes has delivered more than a million
roadsters to customers since the legendary
Gullwing celebrated its premiere 51 years ago.
That makes Mercedes the world's leading supplier
of premium-class sports cars. With the
introduction of the SL in 1954, Mercedes laid the
foundation for a successful family of models that is
now in its fifth generation and still represents some
of the world's most popular dream machines.
More than 600,000 SL sports cars have been sold
to date. The current version of the SL has been
thrilling drivers around the world since 2001. With
total sales of over 100,000 units and a market
share of over 40 per cent, this model is at the top
of its class. A similar success has been posted by
the SLK, which made its debut in 1996. The latest
model is the world's number one car in its class.
The open-top two-seater with the innovative Vario
roof has a market share of approximately 43 per
cent in Western Europe. All in all, Mercedes-Benz
has delivered about 400,000 SLK roadsters to
customers since 1996. |
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Hybrid frenzy
Cameron Diaz drives one. So do Julia Roberts and Sting. But hybrid cars, which cut fuel
consumption by supplementing ordinary engines with electric power, will soon be much more than
fashion accessories for image-conscious stars. Soaring fuel prices, with petrol zipping past £1 a litre
in parts of Britain, have changed manufacturers' attitudes to hybrids. The new vehicles were all the
rage at the Frankfurt motor show and included two examples from Mercedes based on their S-Class.
But some industry watchers suggest that the manufacturers are reluctant innovators, regarding
hybrids as a dead-end technology that is unlikely to deliver the hoped-for savings. |
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Some like it hot - or cold
Shivering in the snow: Winter test drives such as this one at the Arctic Circle in Finland are conducted not only to test the quality of the interior climate
control but also to find out how well an engine copes with temperatures below zero. Sweltering in the desert heat: Test drives are often made in desert
regions, but only partly because of the extreme heat. They are used to carefully check whether sand and dust can penetrate into a vehicle's interior. |
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Staying power
Smart has announced it intends to hang on to its loss-making ForFour model, launched last year.
The subcompact is built in the Netherlands by Mitsubishi Motor's Dutch NedCar unit. With the
discontinuation this year of the brand's diminutive roadster first launched in 2003 and the decision
not to build a planned compact sport utility vehicle, dropping the ForFour would leave the marque
with just its tiny ForTwo two-seater. Smart sold 139,600 units last year and produced nearly 168,000
vehicles. Smart has not made a profit since its debut in 1998 and is expected to break even only in
2007 despite sweeping job cuts. It lost £405 million last year. |
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New sponsers join F1 team
World championship challengers McLaren
Mercedes has announced a second major
sponsorship deal in as many months. The team,
who lost title sponsor West when European anti-tobacco
laws came into force, has added the
Hilton hotel group, joining whiskey brand
Johnnie Walker in committing to the team.
Hilton logos appeared on the cars for the first
time at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
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F1 V8 engine test
Development of Mercedes new V8 Formula One
engine is progressing as planned after testing on
track for the first time. Formula One's engine
rules are changing next season with the three
litre V10s being replaced by 2.4 litre V8 units to
reduce speeds and bring down costs.
Mercedes, partners to title-contenders McLaren,
said testing at Silverstone in a modified version
of the current McLaren had gone well despite
problems with vibrations. "We had an uneventful
track debut with our new V8 engine," said
Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert
Haug in a statement. "With Pedro de la Rosa at
the wheel we gained first basic experiences with
the new engine on a race circuit and we
completed our programme as planned”.
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Automatic choice
Automatic gearboxes more than pay for
themselves when it is time to sell a luxury car,
according to used-car market analysts. The gap
in value between automatic and manual cars has
widened in the past two years as automatics
have become more sophisticated. The premium
for an automatic gearbox increases with the size
of the car. For example, a six-month-old
compact-sized Mercedes A-Class with an auto
box is worth £750 more than a manual version.
Move up to the E-Class luxury saloon and estate
range and the gap widens to £1,925. Such
price differences will more than offset the extra
cost of specifying an auto box on a new car.
Meanwhile, the value of large people carriers, or
MPVs, has suffered more than any other type of
car in the past year. Parents looking for a
secondhand family car have turned to smaller
MPVs and estate cars, hitting demand and
values of big MPVs.
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Smart crosstown
When Mercedes decides to let its hair down it does it in Frankfurt. As motor shows go, this is the one with the difference. Fanciful, futuristic creations
always grab the limelight, but the 'Frankfurt factor' means that what is a concept today is likely to be on somebody's drive in the not-too-distant
future. Without a shadow of a doubt, style is about to become the special ingredient. From superminis to luxury saloons,
people movers to macho offroaders, fashion is the name of the game. Just a glimpse at the Cross-town shows what the
smart arm of Mercedes is thinking about. Complete with retractable hood, rugged body panels and even a
drop-down windscreen, it is a strong hint at what the new
smart ForTwo will be. The Crosstown is also a hybrid, and
with an electric motor to supplement a conventional
engine, it has hugely improved fuel economy.
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