New Mercedes-Benz C220

The C-Class has been raking in cash for Mercedes-Benz ever since its launch, but its popularity had taken a hit in the face of stiff new competition. With a thorough refreshment though, things are bound to get better for the almost all-new car







‘Face-lift’ has grown to be a slightly disliked word at the Zigworks, essentially because of the liberties manufacturers have begun to take just to get their cars back in the public eye. Lightly changed bumpers, the addition of a few vinyls on the body in some cases, and hey presto!, an 'all-new' model emerges. so pardon us if we have grown skeptical. If there ever was an exception to this though, it has come in the form of the new C-Class, which has forced us to stand up, then sit inside, and take attentive notice.


The tussle between Mercedes-Benz and Indian luxury car market leader BMW has now even gone public, but clearly the marque from Stuttgart seems intent on reclaiming its place of prominence very quickly. While the new E-Class took the battle into Bimmer territory with improved dynamics and sportier intent, the real boost needed to come from the C-Class, which makes up more than half of the company’s sales in the country. The lacklustre interiors of the earlier C however made it feel fairly downmarket, and it was a Rs 30-lakh car that was easy to miss. Not any more though.








We’ll get to the exteriors later, since you can already see how the car has grown significantly more impressive from the outside in the pictures here. What has transformed the car however is the way it now drives, and the way it feels from the driver’s seat. The C of the past seemed very negligent in terms of the materials, and their use to create a plush design.

The beige interiors were uninspiring, and there were Japanese offerings in the market which could teach the German offering a thing or two about sophistication and packaging. We weren’t quite expecting this to get remedied, so imagine the force with which the car impressed us as we settled into the seats.









It’s all up to good speed when it comes to the interiors now, with a new design that is intelligent, ergonomic and plush. The materials are all sorted, Nappa leather and brushed aluminium making a smart black-meets-metal theme for the dashboard. The steering wheel gets 12 buttons mounted on it too, which is standard across variants. A whole bunch of cubbyholes all around the cabin make it a more user-friendly and feel good space in general.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Hybrids at 2012 Detroit Motor Show

The German luxury car maker's top selling sedan just went turned super eco-friendly with some astonishing fuel efficiency figures in both its gasoline and diesel hybrid spec models

4.2 L/100 km and 109g CO2/Km are some eye-catching fuel efficiency figures that Mercedes-Benz has quite proudly plastered at the sides of its new E300 BlueTEC Hybrid model that is on display at this year’s Detroit Motor Show.

Setting new standards for luxury-class business vehicles the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (available as a Saloon and Estate) combines the 4-cylinder diesel engine of the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID that produces 206.83PS of power and 500 Nm of torque combined with an electric motor producing an additional 250 Nm on demand, resulting in what Mercedes-Benz terms as the most economical luxury-class vehicle in the world.

Alongside the E300 in Detroit is a mightier E400 HYBRID model with a V6 petrol motor that makes it  310.25PS strong and gives it 370Nm of torque, all of which is further supplemented by 250 Nm from the electric motor. The consumption figures based on the American CAFE standard are 10.2 kmpl (9.8 L/100KM) in the city, 13.18 kmpl (7.59 L/100KM) on the highway, and a combined fuel economy of 11.48 kmpl (8.71 L/100KM).

"With these two E-Class models we are now continuing our comprehensive hybrid offensive. The modular technology opens up a quick way for us to complement other model series with hybrid models", explains Dr. Thomas Weber, Daimler Board Member for Group Research and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

Despite their newly acquired green credentials, the new E-class HYBRID models do not require their passengers to have to compromise when it comes to space, however, whether in terms of the interior or the luggage compartment.

Mercedes-Benz showcase

Mercedes-Benz India stall at the 11th Auto Expo will be largest among luxury car manufacturers spreading over 3600 square metres

Pursuing the tremendous success achieved in 2011, Mercedes-Benz India is all set to further unveil the sporty and dynamic attributes of the Three Pointed Star, at the 11th Auto Expo. Mercedes-Benz India will be introducing its new fascinating design language that invokes excitement and reflects dynamism of the brand. The company will set the pulse of the new generation racing by showcasing the concept A-Class, which is globally acclaimed for its expressive design and technological marvels. Among the main highlights for Auto Expo 2012, Mercedes-Benz India for the first time in India will also be showcasing its new generation compact cars, future technology like the Fuel-Cell that will define the future of automobile, and also an array of exciting product range that is hallmark of the state-of-the-art innovations in automobile manufacturing, synonymous with the company.

The Mercedes-Benz stall will see the presence of more than 10 cars that includes stunning cars like the SLS GT3 and the DTM car, and also a range of performance cars from the AMG stable. The Auto Expo will also provide the motorsports enthusiasts of the country, the opportunity of enrolling for the soon to be launched Mercedes-Benz- JPSI Performance Driving Academy, a first of its kind platform for nurturing racing talent in India.

Peter T Honegg: Managing Director& CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said; “Our showcase at the Auto-Expo this year will be impressive both in terms of presentation and display vehicles. The Mercedes-Benz Arena located exclusively at Hall 15 will feature the company’s new design language; it will also showcase the pulse of a new generation, the concept A-Class and the equally acclaimed Fuel Cell technology. There will be a lounge area to offer an exclusive experience, special accessory outlets besides opportunities to offer networking possibilities for patrons and representatives. There will be several show-stoppers including the launch of the stunning SLS AMG Roadster. Besides these there will be technology demonstrators as well as an array of exotic Mercedes-Benz cars that represents automotive design and technology at its best.”

Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. has had very successful 2011 with a growth of 31% (January – November 2011  6698  units sold as compared to  5110 units for January – November 2010).

Mercedes-Benz SLK350

Punchy, pugnacious and strikingly handsome, while giving enough hints of a return to traditional Mercedes-Benz strengths of a decade and a half gone by, the SLK 350 is impressive in all its avatars one wants to explore, says the Editor, after six glorious days gunning the wailing V6-engined roadster through town and dale

Ever since I got to be of an age where the visual wasn’t enough to impress me, form following function being more in sync with why I craved for something more, the automotive equivalent I first got to grapple with were Mercedes-Benz two-seat roadsters. The 300SL Gullwing had so ingrained itself in my psyche and while first it was for the flip open doors, it really got my heart pounding when one took in the tubular spaceframe chassis and its derived from racing 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine and impeccable sporting record. That it had the measure of most Ferrari GTs and could wallop them in a straight fight only added to the allure of the car for both heart and mind.

Things didn’t mean much then when one set eyes on the pert little 190SL roadster, seemingly the small entry level foil for the 300SL in Merc’s line-up in the late 1950s. A small four-cylinder Mercedes roadster never made sense to me then and doesn’t do much to stir the senses to this day. However, as time went on and the curvy 300SL and 190SLs gave way to the more angular and upright 230SL and onwards, one began to see a pattern emerging. The mighty 450SL and SEL coupes were a hint that Mercedes-Benz had gone back to its roots and come up with the goods – big, brawny roadsters in soft top and fixed hard top forms, large inline twin cam six-cylinder engines to begin with before climbing on to torque crunchers with 4.5-litre V8s which on sheer muscle many a time made Italian thoroughbreds seem puny.

However, this didn’t last long in the modern age – the 1990s and the first decade of this century but Mercedes-Benz carried on its tradition of two-seat roadsters. The SLK followed and it was a successful product but something still didn’t feel right. It was too feminine, too fashionable for macho males and also seemed to be caught up in a transitory phase as its maker grappled with forces within itself as to how it should go about making cars – the honest to goodness time tested engineering over all else approach, or trying to be frugal, if not value engineering, to cut manufacturing costs down. The results of this approach are all there in the public domain but thankfully a few things have happened for the better. Mercedes-Benz has seen that its future lies in what it used to do best – engineer cars better than most – and has gone back to this dictum. Secondly, it wants to be able to retain its position as the leading manufacturer of premium roadsters in the world and hallelujah, the new 350 SLK seems to be the new face of a company rediscovering its mojo.

The last two generations of SLKs have been decent cars and in fact the last generation version did appear to draw inspiration from the McLaren-Mercedes SLR form to hint at something special. It could have worked had the SLR been a genuinely proficient machine all round rather than just being a sledgehammer in straight line tyre-shredding acceleration. This time round though there is a better inspiration and a more successful one to boot with more character traits of the past – yes, you guessed right, I am bringing in the SLS AMG with its wide, low stance, rippling muscular turnout, the right sort of engine placed midships ahead of the cockpit and driving the rear wheels and yes, the gullwing doors came back. All of a sudden retro seemed great and Mercedes knew what was expected of it for its next generation SLK range.

  

The first thing which strikes you is how handsome, rather than how pretty the new SLK is! And that is a first big positive for the new model. Being sketched around the SLS AMG is no small thing but the new wedge-shaped roadster has had the large heavy nose job wrought well with the rest of the package to present itself as bold and bountiful with a classic long hood, short deck approach. Having seen the same car kitted out with tasty AMG body add-ons, the SLK surely looks even better but hey, I am not complaining even with the base offering which is even hornier than any previous SLK.

That snout is best looked at when the car is on full attack mode and zipping it hot through fast sweeping corners and the rest comes around with just a hint of tail sliding out for both effect and pleasure. The new SLK has been toughened up with more abrupt angles from the easily recognised upright Mercedes grille to a rear diffuser with integrated exhaust. The front end is wider with big air intakes at its lower outboard edges. Despite this more muscular front end, the co-efficient of drag has been trimmed from an already impressive 0.32 to 0.30. The car looks best with its top down but given that we were blessed with both rain and shine in Pune for the week we had the SLK with us, the folding hard top is a boon and comes with the MagicSky option, able to transform the glass panoramic roof from clear to tinted at the push of a button – magic indeed!

Apple Steve Jobs' car

Recently deceased Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs drove a 2008 cBenz SL55 AMG. While the car he drove is not very rare or insanely expensive it was probably the only civilian car in the world that did not sport a number plate

Steve Jobs was a revolutionist, a visionary, a genius, a marketing wizard and so much more. Befitting this extraordinary man was his car. Jobs drove a Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG which was one of the most powerful cars on the road at its time. The SL55 AMG came with a supercharged 5.5 litre V8 engine that generated 510 bhp. The car has a limited top speed of 250 km/h and is capable of sprinting from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, that’s fast today!

 However, the most interesting part about the car was that Steve Jobs’ car did not have any licence plates at the front or at the back, Jobs claimed that his number plates got stolen every time he replaced them. In place of number plates he was allowed to have a small bar code. Rumour has it that it was nothing but the vehicle’s VIN number. We probably will never know.