2002 - Mercedes-benz Cl-class on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes giving SL a nose job

Mercedes tends to keep its SL roadster around longer than most models. The previous fifth-generation machine was launched in 2001, underwent a facelift in 2009 and stuck around until 2012. That's when the current model was introduced, and before it's replaced, Benz is expected to roll out another facelifted version. And that seems to be exactly what we're looking at here. Expected to arrive sometime in 2016 as a 2017 model, the updated SL will likely feature revised styling front and rear (along with updated interior equipment). This prototype appears to be wearing headlights from the new S-Class Coupe, which don't fit precisely, but then Daimler still has a couple of years to get everything just right.

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:

Test drive the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive with Chris Harris

It's hard to not like the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT. The all-aluminum coupe is fitted with a wonderful naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 delivering 583 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. Not only does the burly combustion engine launch the two-seater to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds, but it does so with one of the world's greatest exhaust soundtracks as it roars, burbles and cackles down the road.
But what happens when Mercedes-Benz takes away the V8 and its accompanying fire-burning song? Stripped of one of its most appealing assets, does the SLS lose its soul?
Chris Harris recently had the opportunity to take the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive for a track spin in Europe. Sans gasoline, but with four electric motors providing a combined 740 horsepower (737 pound-feet of torque), all-electric all-wheel drive coupe uses sophisticated torque vectoring and a multi-mode operating system to put oversteer - drifting! - back into the equation. Fun? You bet. See for yourself, below.