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Apple lends prestige to a new Mercedes-Benz music system

Not often does Apple offer its name to products or technologies that emerge from beyond the walls of Fortress Cupertino. Could a partnership with Mercedes-Benz signal the start of something new? Mercedes’ new audio system unveiled this past weekend centers on the integration of Apple MusicÂ’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos surround — a music enhancement generally heard in headphone-listening environments — in selected (and optional) Burmester audio systems. Plans are to offer the components initially in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the S-Class as well as the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV. No prices for the options were announced. Also partnering in the project is the Universal Music Group, one of the worldÂ’s leading music publishers. According to Mercedes, the Dolby tech “empowers musicians and audio engineers to place discrete audio elements or objects in a three-dimensional sound field, which goes beyond the capabilities of standard stereo productions. The system adapts to any playback environment, meaning fans can listen to music with unparalleled clarity that matches the artist's original vision in the studio.” We would expect no less from 31 speakers in a Maybach, powered by a pair of amps churning out 1,750 watts. Imagine Keith Richards cranking guitar through 31 speakers in an enclosed car cockpit. Almost three out of four music consumers say that they listen mostly in a car, says Mercedes Chairman Ola Kallenius. ”Through this exceptional partnership, we are giving our customers the extraordinary in-car audio experience they expect from Mercedes-Benz,” he said. “Both Apple and UMG share our vision and values and, together with Dolby, we will create a seamless and unique experience for our customers." Partnerships between automakers and audio companies have become common in recent years, and there have been mixed results from systems attempting to create a "surround sound" experience that goes beyond stereo. Bose put its systems into General Motors cars decades ago, and others followed, including Bowers & Wilkins, JBL and even the legendary McIntosh. Most recently, famed Italian speaker designer Sonon faber found a home in Maserati's new Grecale, and British speaker maker KEF is working with Lotus.  

Mercedes-Petronas AMG W04 launched to little fanfare, lots of pressure [w/video]

No indoor cocktail hour for the launch of the W04, the newest chassis built by the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team. Instead, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton spent a morning in photo and video sessions at the track in Jerez, Spain then paused a moment to introduce the car. The team will want the W04 to demonstrate the World Championship credentials of the team personnel and one of the team drivers, instead of the mostly humble performances we've seen over the past three years.
The W04 has been fitted with a new five-element front wing, pushrod front and pull-rod rear suspension, a second-generation Coanda exhaust and an "aggressively packaged" rear end. A small vanity panel, à la Infiniti Red Bull's RB9, covers the stepped nose.
Team principal Ross Brawn has called it "a clear step forward in design and detail sophistication," but as much as we truly respect Brawn's abilities and achievements, we heard him say similar things about the updated W03 last year before almost every race weekend from about mid-season. We really hope he's right this time, and so does the team's newest driver, Lewis Hamilton. We'll do our best to ignore the parallels of the Mercedes F1 team having signed a sponsorship deal with Blackberry, another company trying to find its way back to the top and still struggling, and just point you to the video below of the W04 in action.

Consumer Reports declares most and least loved cars [w/video]

Consumer Reports is crunching the numbers from its annual owner-satisfaction survey, and part of that process is finding out how attached drivers are to their cars. CR simply asks readers of models up to three years old if they would buy the same vehicle again in light of their entire ownership experience, and tallies the results. After looking at the responses for about 350,000 vehicles, it turns out that people really love a certain California-built, electrically powered luxury sedan. That's right, this year's the overall winner was the Tesla Model S with a whopping 98 percent of owners saying they would purchase another one (the Model S also won this award last year, with 99 percent satisfaction). The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray came in a close second with 95 percent of drivers hoping to park another one in their garage. A few models weren't quite so favored, though. The Nissan Versa Sedan was the least loved model among its owners; a mere 42 percent said that they would purchase another. The aging Jeep Compass didn't do much better, with just 43 percent of drivers willing to buy the softroader again. On average, about 70 percent of owners say they would buy their car again, and only four cars ranked below 50 percent in CR's findings. Check out the video above to see some of the winners and losers in a few of CR's categories. If you're a subscriber, you can check out the full list on its website. Related Gallery Consumer Reports Most Loved Cars 2014 Related Gallery Consumer Reports Least Loved Cars 2014 News Source: Consumer Reports - sub. req., Consumer Reports via YouTube Chevrolet Ford Mazda Mercedes-Benz Porsche Subaru Tesla Ownership Videos car ownership