mercedes

A COMAND you can master

We have spent a good deal of time over the past few months complaining about the navigation systems in Mercedes-Benz models. As we found in the 2007 Mercedes E550, the E320 BlueTec, and the SL550 models, the Benz COMAND solution for onboard tech fails to live up to its cars' world-renowned performance credentials. With its small, poorly rendered navigation screen buried at knee-level in the center stack and fidgety controls, the existing system leads had us tearing our hair out more than once.

Well, today at the 2007 New York auto show we saw the next generation of Mercedes' cabin … Read more

Mediocre Mercedes-Benz SL550 mobile GPS device

Mercedes-Benz is getting into the crowded portable navigation market, and we have just taken receipt of its latest device, the SL550. On first impressions, we have to admit that we're not overly impressed. The SL550 portable GPS receiver has a very plain, black-plastic design with hard buttons down either side of its 6.5-inch color LCD display. Unlike the Garmin StreetPilot c580 or the Delphi Nav200, the SL550 is not a touch screen, so destinations have to be input using a four-way cluster of buttons on the bottom right of the unit. Programming the system is intuitive, but it … Read more

McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car debuts

The McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 had its track debut at the Valencia circuit in Spain on Wednesday.

There were some glitches, however. World Champion Fernando Alonso was forced to return to the pit at one point when smoke began to come out from the back of the car, according to Autosport.

Alonso completed 57 laps with his fastest time on the track (after the smoking pit stop) at 1 minute, 12.053 seconds.

The test follows the announcement that Vodafone is releasing three Formula One cell phones to celebrate its sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes team.

Formula One phone is off to the races

Lamborghini and Ferrari aren't the only sports cars lending their names to electronics and computing gear. Vodafone, which is sponsoring the McLaren Formula One racing team, has debuted three mobile phones inspired by the McLaren Mercedes, according to Pocket-lint.

Sharp and Samsung are manufacturing different models for Vodafone but all three bear designs that reflect the McLaren theme, with chrome cases and "rocket red" accents of the team's colors. The menu and ring tones are also consistent with the sport, as well as as a racing game. The handsets, which include 1.3- and 3.1-megapixel … Read more

Mercedes-Benz Zamboni

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated how its S-class could be used to smooth the ice of a skating rink. Or the company might have been demonstrating the new all-wheel-drive S550. Either way, most of the Mercedes-Benz floor area at the show was covered with ice, along with ice skaters chasing an S550 around the rink. Mercedes-Benz has offered its 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system in a variety of its models and used the Detroit show to announce its availability in the S-class. Mercedes-Benz brags in its press literature that it first developed an all-wheel-drive system in 1907.

The German … Read more

Mercedes shows S Class convertible

Mercedes-Benz has just released new concept photos of their S600 flagship sedan in convertible form, which could become the company's first big convertible sedan since the '50s.

The S Class has always been a technology tour de force, and this convertible concept reportedly adds one more neat trick: The "AirScarf" is a system of vents in the headrests that circulate warm air around the nape of your neck for comfortable top down jaunts during the colder months.

This S600 ragtop concept looks very much like a production car, and when automakers circulate concepts that look this real, … Read more

Arnie tells carmakers to get on the train to alternative fuels

Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the second day of the LA Auto Show here today by telling carmakers that clean energy is the future of the auto industry. Surrounded by a collection of alternative-fuel vehicles, including BMW's Hydrogen7, Tesla's electric-powered roadster, and Honda's hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCX Concept, the California governor said that it was time for automakers to "get on the train" to alternative energy.

He also thanked car manufacturers for what they have done to date in their efforts to produce vehicles that run on alternatives to gasoline. A troupe of automotive executives joined … Read more

The diamond-covered Mercedes

Saks Fifth Avenue should be ashamed of itself. As one of the premier purveyors of all things narcissistic, it probably thought it was impressing the world with its $160,000 Saks Special Edition Mercedes. To which we now say, meh.

That's because we've since witnessed this specimen of true excess, a Mercedes SL600 encrusted with diamonds from grille to tailpipe that Luxurylaunches saw at an overseas auto show. (Well, they're not real diamonds. That would be over the top, unlike this understated look.)

Real or not, you've got to admit they got your attention. We'd … Read more

Speeders, achtung!

If you're prone to speeding, you might think twice before doing it anywhere in Deutschland. The German Federal Traffic Ministry and the Association of German Automobile Tuners (a group that encourages tuning?) have launched a punctuation-happy program called Tune It! Safe! that will feature a Mercedes CLS V12 Rocket sedan decked out for German polizei at this year's Essen Motor Show.

The modified police rocket can reach speeds of up to 225 mph--a necessity, I suppose, when going after reckless drivers on the autobahn.

First Look: 2007 Cadillac SRX

Following our reviews of DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes R350 and Chrysler Pacifica, we just got hold of Cadillac's offering in the SUV/station wagon/minivan segment, the SRX. We just took receipt of a gleaming, fully-loaded silver review model this afternoon, and lost no time taking it for a quick spin around the sunny streets of San Francisco. Inside, the SRX has many of the upscale appointments of the 2007 Cadillac Escalade we reviewed earlier this year: leather and burled-wood trim; touch-screen navigation; and CD/MP3/WMA/DVD in-dash multimedia head unit with auxiliary input jack. A couple of the … Read more