1994 Mercedes-benz Sl600 Roadster on 2040-cars

Auto blog

UK workers strand car on island of asphalt to keep working

Generally speaking, when you illegally park your car, you're likely to get ticketed and towed, but there is probably at least one motorist in Scotland who wishes that was the case. After workers had blocked off a portion of the parking lot for the Edinburgh Waverley railway station, the driver of this Mercedes-Benz S-Class reportedly moved some of the barriers to park in one of the empty spots.
Rather than having the vehicle towed, the work crew simply tore up the asphalt around the leaving just the one parking spot intact, and as you can see in the image above (posted to the Twitter account of Harold Norstad), the crew even built a small asphalt ramp so the car could get off its blacktop pedestal. Since this happened last week, there's no word as to whether the car was eventually moved or towed for the resurfacing work to continue.
Let this be a warning...

Daimler, BMW partnering up on wireless charging

Plug-in vehicle advocates can get all warm and fuzzy about two Germany heavyweight automakers getting together for the sake of wireless charging. That's because Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and BMW will work together to speed up development of a wireless charging system. While not a ton of details were divulged, we can still rejoice. Daimler says the system will consist of an on-board coil and another coil that can be placed within the garage floor or someplace similarly stationary. The system will charge at 3.6 kilowatts and with 90 percent efficiency. No details were released about the system's price or when it would be available, but Daimler shouldn't wait too long, since other OEMs are already talking about their own wireless charging systems. Daimler obviously has some skin in the game here, since Mercedes-Benz will start sales of its S500 plug-in hybrid in September. That model, which was first shown off last August at the Frankfurt Auto Show, can go as far as 20 miles on electric power alone and will get fuel economy of about 84 miles per gallon equivalent. And it's easy to imagine an i3 or i8 driver getting a kick out of never needing to touch a cord. This spring, reports sprung up that fellow German automaker Volkswagen was preparing a wireless charging option for its electric vehicles as soon as 2017. You can check out Daimler's press release below. Wireless charging of electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles: PLUG IN HYBRID - unplugged One of the next steps on the way to perfect electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles is wireless charging. Daimler and BMW have now agreed on jointly developing and implementing one common technology. Wireless charging of the battery will make the handling of electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles even easier. Mercedes-Benz will commence fleet testing of this "unplugged" technology with the S 500 Plug in HYBRID soon, in order to develop a real S-Class solution in recharging the high voltage battery in terms of comfort and ease of operating in the near future. The system consists of two components: a secondary coil integrated into the under tray of the car and a primary coil integrated into a floor plate that can be placed on a garage floor for instance. Electrical energy is transmitted contact-free without the need for a cable, at a power rate of 3.6 kW and with a degree of efficiency of 90%.

Mercedes-Benz USA confirms relocation to Atlanta

Porsche, you no longer have Atlanta to yourself. Mercedes-Benz USA has confirmed that it will be moving its corporate headquarters (shown above) from Montvale, NJ, to Georgia's most populous city. This is the second high-profile corporate relocation in the past year, as Mercedes follows in the footsteps of Toyota, which announced its relocation from California to Texas back in April (Subaru also announced a relocation, but it was just four miles away from its old offices). According to the German company, executives and their staff will relocate to an interim facility in the city's Central Perimeter until a brand-new, long-term home is completed in 2017. Around 1,000 employees will be impacted by the move, although Mercedes didn't mention if any employees would be let go as a result of the relocation. The company won't be abandoning New Jersey completely, as it will retain "several operational areas" in both Montvale and Robbinsville, NJ. As Mercedes USA CEO Steve Cannon explains, there are a number of good reasons for the company's relocation. "Atlanta is a premier city which places us closer to our ever-growing Southeast customer base, our port in Brunswick, Georgia, and to Mercedes-Benz US International, our Alabama manufacturing facility, which accounts for half of the vehicles we sell here in the US," Cannon said in a statement. "For our employees, Atlanta offers a strong quality of life, terrific schools and wonderful cultural and recreational opportunities." Mercedes-Benz USA Announces Move of Corporate Headquarters to Atlanta Several operational areas to remain in New Jersey including Parts Distribution Center and Regional Office January 06, 2015 - MONTVALE, N.J. Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia, in a move designed to better serve its growing customer base and strengthen the company's position for long-term, sustainable growth. MBUSA executives and staff will relocate from its primary facility in Montvale, New Jersey, to a temporary facility in Atlanta's Central Perimeter on an interim basis. The company will construct a new, state-of-the-art headquarters expected to be completed in early 2017. MBUSA plans to begin moving employees starting in July 2015. The move, which will affect approximately 1,000 employees, will be phased to help minimize any disruption to business operations. Several operational areas will remain in both Montvale and Robbinsville, New Jersey.