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Mercedes-Benz to build new ML coupe-crossover in Alabama in 2015

Mercedes-Benz will expand its factory in Tuscaloosa, AL, to build the ML Coupe, a new crossover that will join its lineup in 2015. Mercedes will also ramp up production to build facelifted versions of the M-Class and GL-Class SUVs, lifting the factory's total production capacity to about 300,000 units annually in 2015. It made 185,000 vehicles in 2013. In addition to SUVs, the Tuscaloosa site also makes the C-Class sedan.
The plans come as part of Mercedes' strategy to capitalize on Americans' increasing demands for SUVs. The company said the SUV market was up 12 percent in first half of 2014, and expects it to grow at twice the rate of the regular market in 2015 and 2016.
"We are seeing climbing demand for SUVs." - Dieter Zetsche

Lewis Hamilton wins British GP, slashes Vettel's lead to 1 point

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix for the fourth year in a row on Sunday, while a penultimate-lap puncture slashed Sebastian Vettel's championship lead to a single point. The Briton's drive from pole to flag on an overcast afternoon was lonely, uneventful and dominant - in complete contrast to his Ferrari rival's afternoon - with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas finishing 14 seconds behind to secure the one-two. "The support has been incredible this weekend. I am so proud I could do this for you all," said Hamilton, who threw himself into the fans for some crowd surfing after the podium celebrations. "The team were faultless this weekend, Valtteri did an incredible job as well, so it's the perfect weekend for us." Far behind in his wake, as Hamilton cruised to a 57th career win and soaked up the applause from an army of flag-waving fans, came sudden drama. Vettel, who had battled on worn tires but looked like securing the final podium position until the blowout, finished seventh after an emergency pit stop with a shower of sparks from the wheel rim. "There was no sign of that happening," said Vettel over the team radio. "There were vibrations but I had it for 20 laps and it didn't get massively worse. The tires didn't look great but they never look great." The German's Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who had been second before also being hit with a late puncture that sent Bottas and Vettel ahead of him, took third. At the halfway stage of the 20-race season, Vettel has 177 points to Hamilton's 176 with Bottas on 154. Hungary, a circuit where the Briton has won five times before, is next up. Hamilton became only the third driver, after his late compatriot Jim Clark and Frenchman Alain Prost, to win the British Grand Prix five times and the first to take four successive victories at Silverstone. Clark won four in a row in the 1960s, but one was at Aintree and another at Brands Hatch. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished fourth, ending a run of retirements, with Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo fifth after fighting through the field. Germany's Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Renault and Force India pairing Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez were eighth and ninth with Brazilian Felipe Massa securing the final point for Williams. Jolyon Palmer's miserable run continued, with Britain's only other driver on the grid failing to make the start after his Renault broke down on the formation lap with a brake failure.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton buys LaFerrari

Lewis Hamilton has driven some of the fastest cars ever devised, like the McLaren MP4-23 with which he won the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the Mercedes W05 with which he won the title last year, and the new W06 he drove to the checkered flag in the season opener earlier this month. But what does he drive in his spare time? According to the latest reports quoting his boss Toto Wolff, the reigning champ celebrated his win at the Australian Grand Prix by ordering a new LaFerrari. The seven-figure, 950-horsepower hybrid hypercar may be made by a rival manufacturer to the team for which he drives, but then his employers at Mercedes don't (for the time being at least) build anything that competes in the segment – unlike his former employers at McLaren that offer the similarly potent P1. Something tells us he won't be invited to drive it at Fiorano, though - which is something his rivals Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have all had the chance to do. Hamilton has a long-established penchant for driving twelve-cylinder exotic supercars in his spare time. At his previous place of work, he was promised an exceedingly rare McLaren F1 LM – valued at some $4 million – but only if he won three world titles for the Woking-based team. He also owns a Pagani Zonda that was made specifically for him with a 760-horsepower engine (supplied, naturally, by Mercedes) and a six-speed manual – complete with a clutch pedal, which (apart from starting off the line) is something he doesn't usually get to operate during working hours. Related Video: