2012 Mercedes-benz C300 4matic Sport W/ Navigation Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Gullwing America turns SLS AMG Roadster into stunning 1955 300 SC redux

Gullwing America specializes in what it calls "retro styling meets modern technology." It's next demonstration of that is the convertible above, a stylized recreation of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC (inset) supported by the structure of a 2012 SLS AMG Roadster. Commissioned by a client in Eastern Europe, the resulting car is called the 300 SLC.
The hand-formed aluminum bodywork required just a few changes to the SLS AMG Roadster, namely reworking the headlights into a stacked arrangement of LEDs and relocating the pop-up spoiler behind the cabin. The retro grille and long, straight hood evoke the past, the custom exhaust, height-adjustable suspension, 21-inch wheels up front and 22-inch wheels in back, however, stray a little further from history. The 300 SLC will come with a hardtop and be one-of-a-kind, making it even rarer than its inspiration, of which 92 were made.
If you have any more questions, they can probably be answered in the high-res photo gallery above and press release below.

Mercedes forced to lower MPG ratings on two C300 models *UPDATE

*UPDATE: Donna Boland, manager of corporate communications at Mercedes Benz USA, told AutoblogGreen that the sticker change only applied to around 500 C-Class vehicles on dealer lots, since a new C-Class came out in late August. "About 500 are left in the United States, and we've relabeled them," she said. First Hyundai, then Ford and now Mercedes-Benz. The list of companies that have had to change their vehicles' official EPA fuel economy ratings has just grown by one with the announcement that the 2013 and 2014 C300 4-Matic FFV and PZEV versions need to have their EPA labels adjusted. The changes aren't massive, at most one mile per gallon. The changes aren't massive, at most one mile per gallon, but they are lower than before. The FFV version goes from 20 to 19 mpg in the city while the PZEV drops one mpg across the board from 23/20/29 combined/city/highway) to 22/19/28. The FFV's combined (22) and highway (27) ratings stay the same. Other Mercedes vehicles that were spot checked turned out to have accurate labels. The problem, which is reminiscent of the issues that Ford had with the Total Road Load Horsepower, was that "Mercedes underestimated the impact of aerodynamic drag and tire rolling resistance known as 'road-load,'" the EPA said in a statement you can read below. We have asked Mercedes for more information on the issue but have not yet heard back. We're not sure how many vehicles the EPA is retesting (or asking to be retested), but the agency says that the C300 models were evaluated again by Mercedes "with EPA oversight" and the EPA did its own tests at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, MI. Christopher Grundler, the director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said that the EPA knows that the changes are minimal, but that, "it is important that our oversight system is producing the correct results because even one MPG matters to consumers." In case you need a primer in the recent history of companies adjusting their EPA numbers, check out this and this. Based on today's news, we won't be surprised to hear more changes are coming. EPA Requires Mercedes-Benz to Correct Fuel Economy Labels for Two C300 4-Matic Vehicles WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising estimates for two 2013/2014 Mercedes C300 4-matic vehicles, the FFV and PZEV, to ensure consumers are given accurate fuel economy values.

Aston wants to build DBX on its new platform, not Mercedes'

Aston Martin is proceeding with plans to launch the DBX as its first production crossover. It just can't say at this point what it will be based on. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Aston's new CEO Andy Palmer indicated that basing the DBX on a Mercedes SUV platform would not be its first choice because they "clearly sit in a very different space to the one we want to go" with the DBX. Instead, the company's first choice would be to build the crossover atop the new platform it's developing for its sports cars. "It just depends how high off the ground it could go," said Palmer. "I don't exclude the possibility of using some [Mercedes] parts, but I would say very much the primary route is our platform." The prospect of building an Aston SUV on Mercedes architecture – namely that of the GL-Class – has been on the table for some time now. The Lagonda SUV concept it showcased at the Geneva show in 2009 was based on the GL, and the two automakers have been forging a tightening alliance in the years since. The British automaker's next-generation engine is to be built by Mercedes-AMG, and it is expected to source other components from the German automaker as well. For its part, Mercedes has been taking a sportier approach with its latest crossovers, as demonstrated by the GLE Coupe that debuted before the more conventional version and the Concept GLC Coupe that previewed the GLK's replacement in Shanghai last month. Aston Martin, on the other hand, is building a new sports car platform that will underpin its next generation of luxury GTs, replacing the long-serving VH architecture that has served for decades as the basis for its entire model line. Perhaps the most surprising of ANE's report, though, is that Aston seems to be proceeding with plans to build the DBX apparently without even knowing what platform it will use.