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Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported September sales of 18,779 vehicles, bringing the company’s year-to-date volume to 177,298, a 1.6 percent decrease over its year-to-date record set last year.
After its first full year on the market, the new generation C-Class model line set a record for September sales with 6,772 units, an 11.9 percent jump over the 6,052 C-Class units sold last September. C-Class sport and luxury models also set a record year-to-date with a sales increase of 35.8 percent (57,365 vs. 42,236 units). True to form, the C-Class continued to be the sales volume leader for the diverse Mercedes-Benz product portfolio.
On the SUV side, the volume leader was the M-Class which continued to demonstrate gains with a sales increase of 1.1 percent for September sales (2,981 vs. 2,948 units). This brings M-Class sales for the year-to-date to 25,498 units, a 6.4 percent increase over the first three quarters of last year.
Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA sold 4,973 vehicles in September, an increase of 13.3 percent over September 2007, bringing the program’s year-to-date total to 47,946 units, a 22.1 percent increase over the same period last year.
Mercedes has announced plans to produce the first hybrid cars with powerful lithium-ion batteries. The cars won't roll off the assembly lines until 2009, but the Germans are hoping to break Japanese dominance of the electric-motor market.
Mercedes-Benz will unveil a new car battery this week. It uses about as much space as a conventional lead battery (meant only to start engines), but it packs a whopping 120 volts — about ten times the power of its more ordinary cousin — and it will be used, starting next year, in the luxury Mercedes S-Class line of hybrids.
Another resource for those interested: Oil Obit - Energy News (energy and environment info including articles on hybrid cars).
Editor's Note: We don't know if AMG Mercedes-Benz intends to get in the electric car business. I can't image they are not at least taking a look at future technologies for high-performance vehicles. We'll let you know if we hear of anything. Does anyone know of any research projects at AMG?
Mercedes-Benz honored the accomplishments of legendary race driver Jochen Mass, one of the great Formula 1 competitors, by presenting him with the “Star Driver” award at this year’s Pebble Beach Gala on Friday, August 15, 2008.
Mass was honored as this year’s Star Driver during the Mercedes-Benz gala dinner at the Beach Club at the Lodge. With over 170 guests in attendance, including Jutta Benz, the granddaughter of Karl and Bertha Benz, Mass was formally recognized for his contributions to racing and Mercedes-Benz.
Mass was on the Mercedes-Benz Team from 1988 to 1991 along with other racing legends Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger. He took wins in the German and European Championships, Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans.
On Thursday, August 14, Mass led a Tour d’Elegance in a CLK63 AMG Black Series Formula 1 Pace Car. The tour began at the Polo Field and took a scenic drive to Carmel before returning to the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge on the Third Green. Mass was followed by Stirling and Susie Moss in a 1957 300Sc Roadster.
The Star Driver award recognizes individuals who have made great contributions to motorsports and the automobile industry. Mass is the fourth individual to receive the Star Driver designation, joining the ranks of icons Sir Stirling Moss, John Fitch, and Denise McCluggage. While racing with Mercedes Sauber in 1989, Mass, along with teammates Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens, brought home a spectacular win at the ‘24 Hours of Le Mans.’
The 2009 SLK Mercedes-Benz models will make their U.S. showroom debut in April 2008.
MBUSA Press Release/Montvale, NJ: The latest generation of the SLK blazes a trail of new sporty highlights, and bestows yet greater appeal on this two-seater sports car with its trendsetting vario-roof, that transforms it from roadster to weatherproof coupe in a matter of seconds.
The designers have honed the looks of the two-seater for added sportiness. Especially eye-catching is the restyled front bumper, featuring modified segmentation of the air intakes and a more pronounced V-shape, while the area around the Mercedes star is further emphasized. The designers have also redesigned the vehicle's rear section, with the diffuser-look styling giving the roadster an even more powerful appearance from behind.
Many of the interior's details have also been revised, and the interior has been refined as a whole by meticulous material selection. Particular care was taken to optimize the interior to make it that much more driver-focused. The focal point in this respect is formed by a new three-spoke sports steering wheel with multifunction controls, as well as a new instrument cluster with redesigned bezels.
Here's what we found surfing the web for you this week:
RENNTECH's Package 2, 63 Series AMG (Press Release)
MB Customer Satisfaction is on the Rise (JD Powers Study)
Britney Spears Rolls in an AMG SL65 (Video)
Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057 (Design Challenge)
AMG Market News Summary
Lake Park, FL, Oct. 30, 2007: RENNtech has developed a new line of aftermarket performance products aimed at getting more power out of the 63 series AMG Mercedes-Benz. RENNtech, generally regarded as the nation's foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz performance tuning, took something of an "old school" approach towards building its new high-tech products.
"The new AMG motor isn't like the last generation of turbo or kompressor cars," explains Hartmut Feyhl, president of RENNtech and former technical director of AMG North America. "This new engine is naturally aspirated, like a more traditional race motor, and the way to get more power out of an engine like the 63 is to improve the engine's breathing."To that end, Feyhl and his crew at RENNtech have built new exhaust headers and high-flow sport mufflers, from 304 TiG welded stainless-steel, and developed new engine control software to further boost the engine's efficiency - and, while "bigger pipes" might seem like a no-brainer, in this case, bigger wasn't better. (RENNTECH's Package 2, 63 Series AMG press release here).
MONTVALE, N.J., Nov. 14, 2007, AMG Market News – Customer satisfaction is on the rise for Mercedes-Benz according to J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI). The brand is once again among the five top-ranked nameplates.
The study rates nameplates on five unique aspects of the retail experience: dealership facilities, salespeople, paperwork/finance processes, delivery processes and vehicle pricing. Ernst Lieb, president of Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) commented,
“Over the past year, we have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of our customer interface – from our corporate headquarters to dealership service bays. In partnership with our dealers, we’ve committed ourselves to ensuring that we have the best tools and the best processes in place to meet the needs of our customers. These study results are a gratifying validation from Mercedes-Benz owners.”
Britney Spears rolls out of Keyes Mercedes-Benz on Van Nuys Boulevard (Sherman Oaks, CA) with a new AMG SL65. She test drove the G-Wagon but settled on the AMG; she may actually be smarter than she looks.
In other news:
Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057 AMG Market/PR News, Los Angeles, Nov. 16, 2007: A car with extended, elegant lines which can change its form at the touch of a button and adapt to the requirements of its owners at any time – this is the automotive vision that Mercedes-Benz is presenting at the Los Angeles Design Challenge taking place at the 2007 L.A. Auto Show. When required, this Mercedes of the future can take on the form of a fast highway cruiser, quickly metamorphose into a compact city car, or become a roomy one-seater or economical two-seater, depending on the transport capacity needed. This is made possible by the magnetic control elements of the SilverFlow, a futuristic study by Mercedes-Benz, which take just seconds to configure the car required from tiny metallic particles.
Finding a mansion built specifically for a car collection isn't easy - but they do exist. A unique mansion built to display 18 cars is for sale in beautiful Kingsmill, which is located in Williamsburg, VA (USA). For a cool $2.4 million it can be yours.
This car enthusiast's dream home was built by Jack Dunn. Tragically, Jack died in an automobile accident and his estate is being sold. Jack was a member of the Virginia Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club and other automobile clubs.
Bridestone tires is offering an exclusive $100 Rebate to Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA) members. Given it only costs $45 to join MBCA, everyone can benefit from this offer. Details here.
AMGmarket.com | News - Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) released Mixed Tapes 16 today. You can download an hour’s worth of free music plus the bonus track, "Make My Day." The bonus track is featured in a recent C-class TV commercial.
In all, 16 new MP3 files are available for anyone to download.
You can listen to the songs online and download the free MP3s at: Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape. You must allow "popups" on your browser to access the files and listen to the music.
If you subscribe to their newsletter you will receive a notice for each mixed tape release. Don’t bother downloading the files on the day you get their announcement - download speeds come to a crawl due to site traffic. MP3’s are large files. Download songs one at a time if you don’t have a high-speed Internet connection.
Here's the announcement from Mercedes-Benz rec'd this morning:
Bonus track for free download: "Make My Day" from Waldeck
To start off the new C-class, you will find a special highlight on Mixed Tape: The music from the C-class TV commercial as a free download.
The track, “Make My Day” from Klaus Waldeck is made distinguishable by the charismatic voice of Joy Melcolm and the nonchalant nu jazz sounds. This song is featured in the most recent C-class TV commercial, starring Fernando Alonso.
Along with this bonus track, you will also find Mixed Tape 16 available for download: 15 tracks, from hip hop to indie rock! For free, as always: http://www.mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape
EDITOR'S NOTE: You can't access the earlier releases so download the music before the next release, which usually occurs every 3-4 months. To date, over 200 free MP3 files have been released by Mercedes-Benz.
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MBUSA Press Release/Montvale, NJ: The latest generation of the SLK blazes a trail of new sporty highlights, and bestows yet greater appeal on this two-seater sports car with its trendsetting vario-roof, that transforms it from roadster to weatherproof coupe in a matter of seconds.
Finding a mansion built specifically for a car collection isn't easy - but they do exist. A unique mansion built to display 18 cars is for sale in beautiful Kingsmill, which is located in Williamsburg, VA (USA). For a cool $2.4 million it can be yours.
