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Maybach Coupe Teased by Mercedes-Benz | Autoblog Minute

It looks like a new two-door Maybach is on it?s way. Mercedes teased the internet this week with a Facebook post featuring a picture of a red two-door coupe. Maybach Mercedes-Benz Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video autos

Mercedes previews sleek concept for CES

It was over two months ago that we spotted a mysterious cloaked prototype said to belong to Mercedes, but we didn't know much about it at the time. And we still don't, but at least the German automaker has given us an idea of what to look forward to. Released on Facebook is this teaser image showing a silhouette of what appears to be that same concept car. The image is accompanied only by these few words: "The future will be bolder than you've ever imagined" and tagged by an accompanying #mbCES - which tells us only that, a) it's futuristic, which we already knew, and b) that it's coming to the CES, set to be held around a week from now in Las Vegas. The sleek one-box design appears to have some sort of appendage atop its roof – just the kind of periscope that might house, say, some cameras – leading to speculation that the idea behind this concept would be to showcase autonomous driving technology. We'd also be surprised if it weren't electric powered and – given the backdrop for its reveal – all the technology Daimler can throw at it. But one way or another, we'll be finding out soon, so watch this space. News Source: Mercedes-Benz via Facebook CES Mercedes-Benz Technology Concept Cars

Is Audi getting complacent and suffering from brain drain?

The argument is made in a Reuters article: Audi is falling behind other luxury brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, due to a lack of research-and-development spending and "brain drain," or the migration of top executives and R&D chiefs to other parts of the Volkswagen Group. Reuters notes that Audi's current R&D chief is the third in 16 months.
Audi, which contributed to 40 percent of VW Group's $11.6 billion in profit the first nine months of the year, is delivering cars at a record pace: 1.31 million were delivered from January to October 2013 versus BMW's 1.35 million. Yet Audi, Reuters reports, doesn't have a halo car akin to BMW's new electrified i3 and i8 or an answer to Mercedes' plug-in-hybrid S-Class, and the R&D spending at Audi is less than BMW and Mercedes by a fair margin. It's noted in the article, however, that Audi benefits from other R&D spending within VW Group.
Reuters mentions that BMW "trumpets its new 'i' series" and the new Mercedes CLA and GLA ranges are winning "rave reviews" as part of its argument that Audi's recent lack of technological innovation could hurt future sales. Those cars do pack tons of new technology, some of which are firsts for mainstream production cars. But last time we checked, the i3 could be causing BMW's stock to slide, the CLA isn't receiving the rave reviews that Reuters would have you believe and the GLA hasn't been reviewed yet.