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Daimler opens the door on Car2go Black with B-Class carsharing

Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler has finally decided to go to its proverbial mothership to further expand its Car2go carsharing service in Europe. The German automaker has long used its itty-bitty Smart Fortwo vehicles for the program, but now it's kicking off a pilot program called Car2go Black that will share Mercedes-Benz B-Class models in Berlin and Hamburg. Daimler will deploy 100 B-Class diesels in each German city. The company says the cars will be parked at so-called "black" parking spots and won't have to be returned to the same spot when the user is done. Daimler, who says the reservation platform is geared for smartphone use, is planning to expand the program to other European cities with existing Car2go service starting this spring. That's important, since once the system is up an running, you will be able to drive a Car2go Black vehicle from one town in the network to another and not need to bring it back. Car2go first started operations in Ulm, Germany, and made its North American debut in Austin, TX, in 2009. The service now has more than 600,000 members worldwide with access to about 10,000 Fortwos in 25 cities throughout Europe and North America. Car2go chief marketing officer J. Paul DeLong said last month that Car2go is the world's largest global carsharing company. You can check out Daimler's Car2go Black press release below. car2go black: Carsharing with the three-pointed star STUTTGART, Germany, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Daimler Mobility Services offers carsharing with Mercedes-Benz vehicles for the first time Pilot Phase with 200 B-Class vehicles starts in mid- February in Hamburg and Berlin One-way trips and open-ended trips available, within and even between different cities Smartphone-based rental procedure makes usage both easy and flexible Daimler Mobility Services will soon be offering carsharing with the three-pointed star. Under the "car2go black" brand, Daimler Mobility Services GmbH will pilot a fully automated carsharing system with Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The pilot phase will begin in mid-February in Hamburg and Berlin. In the initial pilot phase, select car2go members in those locations can use a network of 200 black B-Class models on short notice. The vehicles can be rented at dedicated reserved parking stations, and do not have to be returned to the same dedicated parking station that the vehicle rental originated from.

As US exports top 2 million, is America becoming the world's source of cheap cars?

North American auto production is booming with 2014 figures just shy of the of the 17.3-million vehicle record set in 2000. With more models being built on the continent, even more are being shipped overseas. Factories in the US exported 2.1 million cars last year – the highest number ever. About half of those went to Canada and Mexico, but more than ever have been heading to places like the Middle East and China. The upswing comes in part from from after-effects from the Great Recession, according to The Wall Street Journal. With a weak dollar and lower production costs after the financial crisis, building vehicles in the US was relatively cheaper and more competitive in the world. At the same time buyers around the world are going crazy for crossovers. According to the WSJ, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already exporting the majority of their US production of these models overseas. Both automakers have also announced investments to expand production further here to send more vehicles abroad. Even Honda has been shipping more models out of the country than it imported here. There is a concern this international strength could start slowing because the dollar is strengthening against other currencies, though it's too early to know what the actual effect of this could be, according to the WSJ. "Of course, we closely watch currency exchange, but we don't make changes in production or allocation based on temporary fluctuations in the exchange rate," Ford North American boss Joe Hinrichs told the newspaper. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street Journal - sub. req.Image Credit: BMW Plants/Manufacturing BMW Ford Honda Mercedes-Benz exports us auto production

Race recap: 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is Germany rising as sun sets

Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg Rosberg doesn't attribute anything mystical to the form that got him ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. He said simply, "Before it was close in the other direction, now it's close in this direction." Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda went further, saying Rosberg's "brain has switched." Under the desert spotlights it switched so far ahead that Lewis Hamilton qualified nearly four tenths behind the German. Kimi Raikkonen flew the scarlet for Ferrari in third position. Being three spots ahead of Valtteri Bottas gave Raikkonen a huge advantage in locking up fourth position in the driver's championship. Even if he doesn't care about it, as he's publicly stated, Ferrari probably does. Teammate Sebastian Vettel was classified 16th after the German slowed down after making a mistake on his final hot lap, and neither he nor his engineer realized how quickly times were falling on a cooling track. He'd be promoted to 15th when Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was penalized for a gearbox change. Sergio Perez knocked it out of the park for Sahara Force India, claiming fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in fifth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Williams driver Bottas was in sixth, in front of the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the second Williams of Felipe Massa in eighth. Daniil Kvyat ensured both Red Bulls were in the top 10 with his ninth position, and Carlos Sainz got the upper hand in qualifying over his Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen for the final time this year, rounding out the top 10. Beyond Nico Rosberg's mind, one of his weaknesses was his slow starts. Those are stronger, too, the German tearing off away from the field when the lights went out. Hamilton bogged enough to have to defend from Perez behind, the Mexican trying to slide between Hamilton and Raikkonen on the run to the first corner. Rosberg held the lead into Turn 1 and likewise held it through Turn 21 on the last lap of the race, only ceding it during pit stops. Rosberg's 14th victory gets him level with Graham Hill on the wins list – on the anniversary of Hill's death in a plane crash – and marks the first time in his 10-year F1 career that he's won three races in a row. More proof of his strength: the last few races we haven't heard Rosberg ask for regular updates about what Hamilton's doing, he just drives. Hamilton gave it his best but that wasn't enough.