2013 Mercedes-benz C250 Sport P1 Sunroof Navigation 19k Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes-Benz EQC vs. Jaguar I-Pace vs. Tesla Model X: How they compare on paper

The Mercedes-Benz EQ line is officially alive and kicking, with the reveal of the EQC electric crossover. It joins a segment that, while still in its infancy, seems ready to take off. Mercedes lists as the EQC's competitors the Jaguar I-Pace, The Audi E-Tron Quattro and the BMW iX3. While we've seen all of these, at least in concept or pre-production form, only one — the Jag — has actually been launched in production form. We've seen a concept and subsequent spy shots of the iX3, and the Audi EV will get its official specs publicized later this month. One electric SUV Mercedes didn't specifically call out was the Tesla Model X. As such, we've decided to compare on paper the Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, the Jaguar I-Pace S and the Tesla Model X 75D: All three are dual-motor EVs, though the Tesla is the longest and tallest. The EQC has the most power, but it and the Model X's 4.9-second 0-60 times fall short of the I-Pace. It also has the lowest top speed and electric driving range. (Mercedes sent us an updated range figure, but it's using the generous and largely outdated NEDC cycle; we're still waiting on an EPA rating.) We'll be interested to see how much the Mercedes weighs. Mercedes hasn't divulged the price of the EQC yet, but we imagine it'll fall pretty near to the $70,000 mark. As for Audi, we'll revisit this comparison after those details are made available on September 17. If you're interested in some other EV comparisons, we have a couple others that we published to compare the I-Pace to premium Teslas, as well as against other less-expensive EVs. If you want to learn more about these EVs, and compare them with other cars, be sure to check out our Car Finder and comparison tools. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 EV Crossover View 28 Photos Green Jaguar Mercedes-Benz Tesla Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Comparison jaguar i-pace mercedes-benz eqc

2015 Japanese Grand Prix is a little Mercedes, a lot of zen

Just one week on from the issues in Singapore Mercedes-AMG Petronas appeared to have solved its clamp problems and everything else. Daniil Kvyat at Infiniti Red Bull Racing took the two Free Practice scalps on Friday, but when it came time for qualifying the front of the grid looked really familiar: Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took his second pole position of the season, Lewis Hamilton next to him in second. Kvyat had a hand in that, too, the Russian getting into a big accident in Q3 when he put two wheels on the grass heading into the hairpin and veered into the tire wall so hard that he flipped. That ended qualifying before a number of drivers had a chance to improve their times, Hamilton among them. That's how Valtteri Bottas got in third for Willliams ahead of Sebastian Vettel fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in fifth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo lined up sixth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, a team we're going to have to enjoy watching for the rest of the season since it might not exist come 2016. Romain Grosjean gave Lotus some good news by getting into eighth, the team so strapped for cash that it couldn't get into its hospitality area, so it held press conferences outside and ate at Bernie Ecclestone's Paddock Club. Sergio Perez took ninth for Sahara Force India, and Kvyat slotted into tenth after not setting a time. The Russsian's race would begin from the pit lane once his mechanics rebuilt his car. It wouldn't be a Formula One start lately without someone at the front having clutch problems. This time it was pole man Rosberg, whose power unit got too hot and put him a few horsepower down on Hamilton through Turns 1 and 2. That's half of how Hamilton took the lead from the lights going out, and the Brit kept it throughout the race. Rosberg, however, said his race was lost when Hamilton pushed him wide through Turn 2, a move Hamilton defended. Rosberg finished almost 19 seconds behind his teammate, a gap that probably isn't fully explained by that opening incident. Hamilton's race was so uneventful that we almost never saw him on camera – that is, we saw him so much less than we usually see him when he's out in front and unpressured that Nikki Lauda said he'd ask Ecclestone why the cameras avoided him. The conspiracy theory holds that FOM was punishing Mercedes for not supplying Red Bull with engines next year.

Daimler: 2017 the right time to launch our hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle

Zero-emissions vehicle development has never focused purely on off-the-line acceleration. So when a research executive with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler says it's Okay that companies like Toyota and Hyundai will have a head start selling hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, it's somewhat believable. But is Daimler really fine with being two years behind? It appears so. Daimler plans on debuting its first fuel-cell vehicle in 2017, Automotive News says, citing an interview Automobilwoche had with Daimler's corporate research chief Herbert Kohler. The German automaker estimated about a decade ago that it would be able to get fuel-cell production costs down to an "acceptable" level in 2012, but it turns out that estimate was about five years too aggressive. Daimler originally started leasing out a limited number of its F-Cell hydrogen vehicles in the US for $849 a month, though later brought that down to $599 a month. Daimler says it received a boost in its effort to accelerate fuel-cell powertrain development when it reached an agreement early last year with Nissan and Ford to work together on speeding up relevant powertrain technology. While Toyota's first fuel-cell vehicle in Japan is priced at almost $70,000 (before big government incentives kick in), Kohler says Daimler's first fuel-cell vehicle will be priced similar to a hybrid vehicle. Of course, that's a Mercedes-Benz hybrid we're talking about here, but still. Related Gallery Mercedes-Benz F-Cell View 9 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen Cars h2