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Ford and Mercedes join Renault in French emissions investigation

The French government is investigating certain models from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault because they allegedly produce more nitrogen oxide than the country's pollution rules allow, according to Automotive News, citing a French newspaper. After VW's emissions scandal, French regulators began checking more vehicles for evidence of defeat devices and excessive real-world pollution. According to Automotive News, the Mercedes S350 allegedly showed inconsistent results across these tests, and a Ford C-Max had NOx levels five times over the limit. The Renault Captur crossover, Espace, and an unnamed utility vehicle also had results that were too high. The French testing for this investigation includes an on-road emissions check that's not part of the EU's normal evaluations, which some automakers claim is unfair. "Unofficial on-road testing has varying conditions and can produce significantly different results," a Ford of Europe spokesman told Automotive News. Renault representatives met with French officials on January 18 to explain the situation. The company later submitted a plan to recall 15,800 examples of the diesel Captur, and said it would offer a voluntary software upgrade for about 700,000 other vehicles, according to Automotive News. Representatives from Ford and Mercedes will meet with the government soon, too. Renault's stock price plunged last week after investors heard that French regulators searched three of the automaker's sites as part of the emissions investigation. The stockholders feared an environmental scandal like the one currently embroiling Volkswagen. There's one major difference – as of now, there's no evidence Renault equipped any of the polluting models with defeat devices. Related Video:

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

2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA order guide leaked

The dealer order guide for the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA has made its way online courtesy of the crew at CLAForums.com, and not only does it shed light on the ways buyers will be able to configure the entry-level sedan, it talks specific option pricing. Shoppers will be able to select between the CLA250 and CLA250 4Matic, and the option sheet should offer a number of packages to suit buyer tastes, including a sport package with tweaked fascias and unique wheels. Bi-xenon headlamps and 18-inch alloys may also be had as well as a panoramic sunroof and a collision avoidance system. The CLA will be available with a number of active safety systems on board, including lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, park assist and blind spot assist, to name a few.
The new sedan comes in 10 colors, including a very dashing purple Mecedes-Benz calls Northern Lights Violet, and there are a total of four interior trim finishes. The automaker hasn't released final pricing of all models just as of yet - we do know from Mercedes' Kate Upton Super Bowl ad that the car will start at $29,900 - but you can check out individual option and package pricing in the gallery. You can also find more information over at CLAForums.com.