2002 Mercedes-benz Clk55 Amg Base Coupe 2-door 5.5l on 2040-cars

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Car dealers, factories and ports close in the path of Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence has caused CarMax to close four stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The closed locations are in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Winterville and Virginia Beach. It is possible for the company to close more stores, reports Automotive News. Daimler and Volvo have also shuttered their manufacturing facilities in the region to prepare for Florence. The storm is expected to reach North Carolina and South Carolina today or tomorrow. Automotive News says every coastal car dealer it reached on Tuesday was closing, and others not in the projected landfall area were monitoring the situation. There are approximately nine million vehicles in operation in the area that Florence is expected to hit, with a vehicle density of 162 vehicles per square mile. It is likely that not as many vehicles will be lost as during hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as population is less dense; areas affected by those storms had over 300 vehicles per square mile. The chief economist of Cox Automotive told Automotive News that some 20,000 to 40,000 vehicles could end up flooded if Florence keeps its path; however, recent reports have indicated Florence has weakened to a category 2 hurricane on Thursday. Tesla has again unlocked more range for some of its older models to make evacuation easier; the same was done a year ago in preparation for Hurricane Irma. As well as automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive transport providers are readying for the storm and clearing cargo away. The container and auto terminals at Port Charleston will be closed from Thursday to Saturday, affecting part shipments to the BMW manufacturing facility in Spartanburg; BMW's spokespersons have said no production disruption is expected. Parts are delivered via railroad to Spartanburg by Norfolk Southern, which is also suspending operations for the time being. Vehicle hauler United Road has moved its rigs to safer regions and suspended deliveries, and car carrier vessels are trying to make it away from the storm's path in time. Related Video: News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: NASA via Reuters Auto News Plants/Manufacturing BMW Mercedes-Benz Volvo Car Buying

Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 to debut in Monterey

Mercedes surprised the car world last week when it teased an enormous, Maybach-badged coupe concept. Now we have a name and a debut date. Mercedes released the info in a second teaser image posted to its Facebook page. Called the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 – "Vision" equals concept and "6" denotes the length in meters – the new two-door will debut at Pebble Beach on Thursday. So yeah, here's another reason to get excited about Monterey Car Week. As for the teaser image, it's a head-on shot as opposed to the profile view that Mercedes released last week. The new view supports our theory that the super-skinny mirrors are cameras, and the shot also reveals new styling touches. The most noticeable are the very thin, un-Mercedes-like headlights – they flank a prominent, heavily polished waterfall grille that marks a significant departure from recent Mercedes products. A traditional Mercedes hood ornament sits above the grille's small "Maybach" designation. Kicking up the exposure in Photoshop doesn't reveal too much more detail – unlike last week's profile image – aside from a set of chrome strips that run along the sides of the hood. Autoblog's Monterey Car Week crew ships out for the left coast soon – expect more on the festivities, including the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6's debut, later this week. Related Video: News Source: Mercedes-BenzImage Credit: Mercedes-Benz Maybach Mercedes-Benz Coupe Concept Cars Luxury Pebble Beach mercedes-maybach vision mercedes-maybach 6

Mercedes working on new inline-six engines

Mercedes-Benz will make a return to the inline-six-cylinder engine game, according to a report from the UK's AutoCar. It's not clear what's prompting the phasing out of the current array of V6s.
We'll see the first inline-six from Mercedes in next-generation E-Class, set to debut in 2016. Following that, it'll arrive as part of a mid-cycle refresh for the C-Class in 2017. What's particularly special about the new inline-six is its modular nature, which will allow Mercedes to eventually spinoff three- and four-cylinder options, with the three-pot arriving alongside the new inline-six.
In other news, AutoCar uncovered some details on the next C-Class AMG, which will ditch its excellent 6.2-liter, AMG V8 in favor of a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8, although we've already told you about that. What we didn't know at the time, though, was that the 4.0-liter would be paired first with a new, seven-speed AMG Speedshift transmission and offer all-wheel drive. AC also reports that a nine-speed Speedshift is in the works.