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Mercedes, Renault-Nissan to work together on truck project

Just a few weeks ago, Mercedes-Benz barged into the automotive world with news of a pickup as a mysterious but enticing future model from the German brand. Rumors of a possible collaboration with Nissan followed, but Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn refused to give any clear details. That speculation is now over, because the automakers made their truck partnership official. This new information reveals that the Mercedes truck won't be a full in-house creation from Daimler. For example, the pickup will share some of its underpinnings with the latest Nissan NP300 Navara. The German company's engineers, however, will work to change the design to their liking. Also, as in the rendering, Mercedes will use a double-cab body for the model. "Thanks to our well-established partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, we are able to drastically reduce the time and cost to enter this key segment." Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche said in the company's release. Nissan will play a further major role in the project by helping Renault develop a pickup based on the Navara as well. By 2020, all three trucks will be built together in Cordoba, Argentina, for Latin American markets and in Barcelona, Spain, for other parts of the world. Mercedes will target both regular customers and commercial buyers with its truck. While still not officially slated for North America, there's a chance that the Mercedes truck might be sold here. The US arm of the company reportedly has until the end of the year to decide to offer it with some added luxury-oriented upgrades compared to the rest of the world. Daimler & Renault-Nissan Alliance expand cooperation to 1-ton pickup trucks April 07, 2015 Daimler & Renault-Nissan Alliance expand cooperation to 1-ton pickup trucks Nissan and Daimler to jointly develop midsize pickup truck Mercedes-Benz pickup to share some of the architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300 Mercedes-Benz vehicle to be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet specific needs of its customers Mercedes-Benz pickup will target Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America Pickup trucks to be built in Barcelona, Spain, and Cordoba, Argentina Latest milestone in the five-year strategic cooperation between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance STUTTGART/PARIS/YOKOHAMA –The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG will expand their five-year strategic cooperation into the pickup truck segment.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i3 goes against Mercedes B-Class ED, Tesla good for business

Car and Driver has published a comparison test pitting the 2014 BMW i3 against the 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-class Electric Drive. The test not only measured the quality of the driving experience, but also all the quantitative details that are especially important when looking at electric vehicles. For instance, the Benz's real-world MPGe surpassed its own rating, but it still couldn't match the BMW. The B-Class, though, won in the range department. We won't spoil all the results, or Car and Driver's overall pick, but you can head over to the article to find out for yourself. Tesla's expanding business, including the Gigafactory being built in Reno, NV, is encouraging growth in the locales and associated businesses. Some of Tesla's suppliers are talking of relocation, wanting to be close to the action stirred up by the electric automaker's expansion. It makes good business sense to be in the same neighborhood as Tesla. "We can react quickly, and our engineers are constantly working with Tesla," says Futuris General Manager Sam Coughlin. Brookings Institute fellow Jennifer Vey says, "The land around Tesla is being redeveloped and reimagined. It's a mash-up of an anchor campus, startups, housing and transit, in a physically compact area where companies can cluster and connect." Read more at San Jose Mercury News. EVs are doing even more to reduce energy use clean up the air, according to new analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists. According to findings, 60 percent of Americans now live in areas where EVs do more to reduce emissions than hybrids, up from 45 percent in 2012. Average electricity use is now 0.325 kWh per mile, down five percent from 2011. EV performance - in terms of mileage and emissions - is improving compared to traditional fuel vehicles, based on the sources of electricity in various regions. Read more from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Zipcar's carsharing network has launched in Paris. Zipcar is expanding across Europe, and has already established itself in Austria, Spain and the UK. According to Zipcar France's General Manager Etienne Hermite, "In a highly populated city, Zipcar's model has been proven to remove up to 15 personally owned vehicles from the road for each Zipcar in service, reducing parking demand, congestion and emissions." Zipcar European President Massimo Marsili hopes that most Parisians will eventually be just a short walk from a Zipcar.

Mercedes dealers authorized to spend $2,500 on perks for S-Class customers

If you drop $100,000 on a luxury sedan, it seems only reasonable to receive some preferential treatment at the dealership you purchased from. After all, that price isn't just for the car - you're paying for the brand and all the cachet that entails. For Mercedes-Benz, those benefits have apparently been lacking relative to the German brand's luxury competitors.
That's set to change, though, as Automotive News reports that the German brand is placing a much greater emphasis on keeping its customers happy and loyal with its MB Select program. Starting with the new S-Class and spreading to the CLA-Class (and eventually beyond), dealers are being given money - up to $2,500 in the case of the flagship sedan - just to improve the customer experience.
We agree, improving the "customer experience" is quite a vague term, so it's nice that Mercedes USA's CEO, Steve Cannon, offered up some examples to AN at the LA Auto Show. For example, a customer couldn't fit his sunglasses into the overhead compartment. "So we bought him a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses that fit because of their shape," Cannon said.