1986 Mercedes-benz 560sl Base Convertible 2-door 5.6l on 2040-cars

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Zetsche's CEO tenure extended through 2016 at Daimler

There appear to be two takes on Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche having his contract extended for three more years, to 2016. A report in The Detroit News quotes the chairman of Daimler's supervisory board, Manfred Bischoff, talking up the stability at the top, "With today's extensions of the contracts of Dieter Zetsche and Thomas Weber, we are maintaining the important continuity at the top executive level." Bischoff also stated that that Zetsche has a plan to "further enhance Daimler's overall performance."
Over at Reuters, though, the three-year extension was seen as a lack of complete confidence in Zetsche's plans, since his contract was supposedly meant to be extended by five years. A spokesman said the board decided to extend executive contracts by only three years if the person was 60 or would turn 60 during the contract, but that was news to observers. Zetsche wants to make Mercedes-Benz the top selling luxury manufacturer globally by 2020, but has fallen to third place behind Audi and BMW. It hasn't held the top spot 2005, and investors judged it valued at half that of BMW at the end of 2012 once Daimler's truck business was subtracted.
Analysts cites the fact that Daimler stock hasn't bested its rivals but twice in twelve years, and that the company revised its profit target downward last year by nearly one billion euros, warning of stagnant earnings this year and will miss its original margin target for 2013.

2024 CES Mega Photo Gallery: Honda concepts, a VinFast truck and flying cars galore

The 2024 rendition of CES is coming to a close, and per usual, it was full of all the funky, futuristic tech the show is long known for. It’s also full of cars and legitimately forward-thinking tech related to cars, and we were on the ground to see it all and bring photos to you in this Mega Gallery.  A boatload of manufacturers attended and made big reveals, from the Star Wars-like Honda concept cars to a pickup truck from VinFast, the sort of debuts we got to see ran the gamut. Of course, there were plenty of reveals and vehicles on the floor that were even more outlandish than concepts from traditional OEMs like Honda and Mercedes. Check out this flying Xpeng car as an example. Or perhaps the flying Mansory car. Apparently, flying cars were a theme. Anyway, make sure you scroll down to check out the various reveals and photos of the cars and technologies revealed at the 2024 CES in our barrage of galleries. Honda 0 Series Honda 0 Series saloon 1 View 26 Photos VinFast Wild pickup VinFast Wild 10 View 10 Photos VinFast VF3 VinFast VF3 1 View 4 Photos VW GTI Prototype with AI-enhanced infotainment CES 2024: New Volkswagen GTI with AI-Enhanced Infotainment View 17 Photos Kia PBV Concept Kia PBV Concept platform View 28 Photos Sony Honda Mobility Afeela concept Afeela by Sony Honda Mobility View 5 Photos Hyundai Mobion Concept Hyundai Mobion Concept CES 2024 View 6 Photos Mullen Five RS Mullen 2 View 14 Photos Mansory Empower concept Mansory Empower concept View 14 Photos Hyundai Supernal S-A2 eVTOL Hyundai Supernal S-A2 View 13 Photos XPeng Aeroht eVTOL Flying Car XPeng Aeroht eVTOL?Flying Car View 6 Photos Verge TS Ultra verge-ts-ultra-ces-2024-electric-motorcycle-01 View 17 Photos Horwin Senmenti Maxi Scooter Range Horwin Senmenti 0 View 12 Photos BMW Teleoperated Valet BMW iX controlled with Remote Valet View 15 Photos Mercedes-Benz MB.OS infotainment Mercedes-Benz MB.OS infotainment system View 9 Photos Lamborghini Telemetry X Lamborghini Telemetry X View 5 Photos Related video: Green Motorsports CES BMW Ford Honda Hyundai Kia Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Technology Infotainment Smartphone Autonomous Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Concept Cars Polestar Infrastructure

Mercedes Sprinter updated to take on Ford Transit, Ram ProMaster

By the end of this year, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter will be the second-oldest nameplate in its segment here in the States, but with hot new competition waiting in the wings, Mercedes-Benz is giving its hauler a freshened look and more equipment to stave off rivals. The Sprinter was a pioneer in bringing Euro-style delivery vans to North America, and it's inspired others to transplant their Continental offerings, with the all-new Ford Transit and Ram Promaster models launching shortly. It will also continue to do battle with lower-cost traditional competitors like the Chevrolet Express and Ford E-Series.
The big Sprinter will thus get a new look to go with more safety features and available technology. While the information released here technically covers the Euro-spec 2013 Sprinter (which goes on sale in September), the US market is expected to get the new Sprinter for the 2014 model year with many of the same features. Some of this new technology includes a Crosswind Assist feature as standard equipment and the availability of Collision Prevention Assist and Blind Spot Assist as optional safety measures - Mercedes-Benz says that all three are firsts for any van in the world. Also added to the updated Sprinter is a new 1.8-liter supercharged gasoline (or CNG) engine producing 156 horsepower, which will complement the line of diesel engines that carry over and help make the Sprinter the first cargo van to meet the upcoming Euro VI emissions standards. Additionally, a lower ride height is said to improve fuel economy and should improve handling while aiding ingress and egress for both people and cargo.
In terms of styling, the Sprinter's new face also looks more like the current line of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. This includes a more upright grille along with changes to the hood, headlights and bumper that lend it a closer kinship to models like the CLS-Class and the updated E-Class. The Sprinter will offer both halogen and HID headlights, while the latter will get LED running lamps and offer Highbeam Assist. The images shown here only reveal the exterior from front angles, but it looks like few, if any, changes have been made to the rear of the van. Interior upgrades include a thicker steering wheel, a new shift lever and the latest in audio, navigation and entertainment systems. Scroll down for the official press release for the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.