2009 Mercedes-benz E350 on 2040-cars

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Watch this perfectly nice Mercedes get crushed by a front-end loader

In a world where the YouTube hoax continues to thrive, it's hard to know what to think of this little vid, but here are the facts as we know them: a coupe that looks like a first-generation Mercedes-Benz CLK gets crushed by a giant front-end loader. There you have it.
Our questions arise in the aftermath - we know industrial resource machinery is heavy, but the Benz gets squashed so flat we wonder if someone's trying to play a joke on us. We hear that the white coupe may have been the heavy-equipment operator's foreman's car, but who knows? The on-camera interview seems awfully conveniently placed, yes? See for yourself in the video below and then leave us your thoughts in Comments.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Coupe

Mercedes-Benz upgraded its SLS flagship Coupe and Roadster for the 2013 model year, and the changes are marked with them new "GT" nomenclature. Both SLS models arrive with a retuned naturally aspired 6.2-liter V8 delivering 583 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque (the horses are up from 563, but the torque remains the same) mated to a revised seven-speed AMG Speedshift dual-clutch gearbox. Rounding out the mechanical upgrades is a redeveloped AMG two-mode adaptive suspension. Physically, the revised models are differentiated by their new "GT" badging, darkened headlight/taillight buckets, red brake calipers, unique wheel colors and high gloss finish on the front grille, exterior mirrors and hood/fender fins. Inside the cabin are new red seatbelts, Alcantara upholstery and contrasting red stitching.
As it is nearly impossible to experience the aluminum gullwing beast on public roads, Mercedes invited out to Southern California's Willow Springs to wring out the 2013 SLS GT Coupe on a racing circuit.