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Smart will go electric-only in United States and Canada

By 2018, the Smart car brand will be only known as an electric vehicle manufacturer in the US. According to Automotive News, sales of gasoline-powered Smart cars will cease later this year, and Daimler will develop the product portfolio into a solely electrified one. This coincides with the upcoming launch of the new generation Smart ForTwo electric drive models this summer. Automotive News claims to have obtained a letter from Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dietmar Exler sent to US dealers. In it, he underlines the decision to go electric-only, saying "developments within the micro-car segment present some challenges for the current Smart product portfolio," and that the change will only affect North American sales. Production of US-destined gasoline-powered Smarts will cease in April, and sales will continue until stock runs out. The current generation has been on sale from 2015, and it hasn't reached the 2014 sales peak of 10.453 units of the previous generation; last year, there were little more than 6.200 Smarts sold in the States. The first electric drive Smarts were unveiled a decade ago, but they became available in the USA five years later, initially via various trial programs, including Car2Go fleets. Related Video:

Mercedes-AMG GT attacks Circuit of the Americas

Mercedes-Benz is having a banner year with its Formula One team. Through 2014, the constructor has 454 championship points; ahead of its nearest competitor (Red Bull-Renault) by a margin of 182 tally marks. We're sure they can almost taste the champagne.
It's fitting then, and a little big cocky in a good way, that Mercedes has released a video of its newest sports car at an F1 venue. In this case, the car is the lovely Mercedes-AMG GT S, and the racetrack is Austin's Circuit of the Americas.
Having seen the official photo set and scratched the surface of the technical specifications earlier this week, we're excited to finally hear the thing run. As you might guess, the deployment of 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo V8 is a motivating experience. Crank up your volume, and hit that play button. (Oh, and Mercedes shot the thing in 4K, too, so those of you with expensive televisions/monitors should take heed to the settings.)

Maybach officially discontinues all models for 2013

The word "Maybach" has joined the long list of synonyms for the word "kaput." Mercedes-Benz released the price list for the 2013 models of its super-luxury sedans, with the price column simply stating "Discontinued" for each one of them.
The 2012 models, should there be any left for 11th-hour buyers, maintain the increased MSRPs that Daimler slapped on them late last year after it was known the brand would be terminated next year. But you might still be able to wrangle that $100,000 rebate if you ask nicely, or in Russian, or have Rick Ross ask for you.
It shouldn't be too long before we see the ultimate version of the next generation S-Class, the S600 Pullman, that will replace Maybach. Intriguingly, it's said the Pullman will be offered with every S-Class engine, even the four-cylinder diesel.