2007 Mercedes-benz Cls550 Amg Sport Package 4-door 5.5l - Must See! on 2040-cars

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2015 Austrian F1 Grand Prix switches to alternating current

It's called the Red Bull Ring, guests are welcomed by a statue of a leaping bull, and dominating its layout demands powerful cars that can run it hard. Perhaps all that aggression is what led both Mercedes-AMG Petronas cars to run off the track in the final qualifying session on their final hot laps, a little too aggressive on the charge. Lewis Hamilton was first into the gravel at Turn 1 when he lost his car under braking, but he was still fast enough to get pole ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, who spun at Turn 8. Rosberg started second. Or perhaps it wasn't the red bull but the scarlet horse that caused The Silver Arrows to muck it up: Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had Mercedes' attention all weekend, and he'd line up in third just 0.355 off Hamilton's time. Williams truly rediscovered its power, Felipe Massa going fourth fastest, teammate Valtteri Bottas in sixth. Between them was newly-minted Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg, yet again – can we say that enough? – pulling the still-not-updated Force India to fifth place on the grid. Max Verstappen led the Renault-powered top-ten duo in his Toro Rosso in seventh, Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver Daniil Kvyat behind him in eighth. Kvyat, however, would start down the order because of a ten-place grid penalty for needing a fifth Renault engine. After that it's back to Mercedes Ferrari power, Felipe Nasr in the Sauber in ninth, Romain Grosjean in with Mercedes power in the Lotus in tenth – but fellow Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado actually started in tenth because of Kvyat's demotion. Before we get to the race, can we take a moment to talk about the shenanigans and gaudy penalties? Kimi Raikkonen waved the Ferrari flag in Canada after a season that's been full of "We didn't get it right this time," and we thought he was back. But no. In Austria the refrain returned, the Finn kicked out of Q1 after another miscommunication with the team – he qualified 18th. If the scenario plays to form, we'll now wait for team boss Mauricio Arrivabene to issue a clarification that suggests Raikkonen missed a step. Daniel Ricciardo parachutes ten spots back for the same reason as his teammate Kvyat, needing a fifth Renault power unit, dropping him to 18th on the grid and forcing him into a five-second time penalty when he comes in to pit.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec gets 33 mpg, priced from $38,950*

It's been more than a year since we first saw the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 Bluetec unveiled at the 2012 New York Auto Show, but it looks like the compact diesel crossover is finally starting to roll into dealerships. Those wanting to buy a diesel GLK will only have to pony up an extra $1,500 over a base, gas-powered GLK350, as the GLK250's starting price is listed at $38,590 (*not including $905 destination charge).
The turbocharged 2.1-liter four-cylinder diesel produces 200 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and Mercedes-Benz has also provided some fuel economy numbers for this model, with claimed EPA estimates of 24 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway. There is no listing for the GLK250 on the EPA's website yet, but the figures represent significant increase over the GLK350's lackluster 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway figures, which are for the rear-wheel drive model. The GLK250 comes standard with the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system - a $2,000 option on GLK350 - meaning that if you want an all-wheel-drive version of the 2013 GLK, it's actually cheaper to opt for the diesel model. Head over to the Mercedes-Benz site for the full 2013 GLK-Class configurator.

Mercedes widens luxury sales gap on strong early CLA demand

Mercedes-Benz CLA sales have been booming, with the Stuttgart-based manufacturer moving 2,300 of the sleek four-doors in its first week on sale. That is astonishing. Mercedes moved nearly twice as many CLAs (which start at $29,900) in one week than Jaguar, a brand that is on a very solid roll, sold in all of September. Ignoring the price differences between the Jag line and the CLA, that is still wildly impressive.
Mercedes has been pushing the CLA in television ads, using a shortened version of its Super Bowl spot, which starred William Dafoe, Usher and Kate Upton. "As the bargain entrance into the Mercedes portfolio, we weren't sure how luxury buyers would react," Kelly Blue Book auto analyst Alec Gutierrez told Bloomberg.
The CLA push was just part of MB's 6.7-percent increase in September sales, which were also helped along by a 17-percent jump in E-Class sales. That surge has allowed Mercedes to widen its 2013 sales lead over its rival, BMW, to 2,491 cars, according to Bloomberg. If CLA sales continue at this rate, we can only expect that margin to grow.