You are currently viewing eMercedesBenz' past articles published in October, 2006.  Our latest stories can be found here.

Investors with a stake in DaimlerChrysler will be pleased to hear that job cuts at its Mercedes Car Group cost less than originally expected. 

According to the company, the cost to cut a total of 9,300 jobs amounted to roughly EUR 840 million, down from the EUR 950 million it was originally expected to total.

DaimlerChrysler board member Guenther Fleig said the company has no plans for further job cuts in Germany and that no further charges are expected from the aforementioned cutbacks; he did however note that production-related jobs are likely to lessen in the future due to rising productivity...

Keep Reading "Job Cuts At Mercedes Cost Less Than Expected Says DaimlerChrysler"

Inside Line is reporting today American residents that have long coveted the incredibly-seductive CLK DTM AMG may be soon be in luck.  That's because Mario Spitzner, AMG Mercedes director of marketing and sales/branding, said the company may be willing to federalize the car should there be enough takers.

"I get a lot of pressure from our best customers to bring it to the U.S.," Spitzner told Inside Line.  "We would maybe do a bigger series for the U.S.  Push us, and it may happen..."

Keep Reading "Could The Mercedes CLK DTM AMG Be Coming To The United States?"

As you may remember, a little over a week ago Mercedes released details of their S600 Guard model, an armored vehicle boasting of a B6/B7 protection level and the perfect personal transportation choice for those in need of superlative vehicular safety.

While it's true reading about the S600 Guard's extensive list of safety features is enjoyable, such as the fact it's capable of withstanding up to military-grade small arms projectiles, we all know that actually seeing the S600 Guard repelling an explosion is much, much more enjoyable...

Keep Reading "The Guardian:  Video Of The Mercedes S600 Armored Vehicle In Action"

Over the weekend those that embarked on the first leg of Mercedes' E-Class Experience from Paris to Beijing completed their trek, traveling some 2,200 miles before arriving in the historic city of St. Petersburg. 

For many of the participants, the experience of sojourning through Eastern Europe was a surprising one. "In my head I still have magazine photos of grey buildings and sad-looking people" said Javier Reynagas, a 40-year reporter from the Mexican daily newspaper "El Economista. "Now I am seeing happy faces all around me."  Iris Zimmermanns, selected from over 50,000 online applicants that entered to take part in the event, "was amazed to discover how may people there speak excellent English..."

Keep Reading "The E-Class Experience:  First Week Of Long Distance Drive From Paris To Beijing Complete"

Welcome back ladies and gents; I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  To kick things off this cool October morning, the folks over at Auto Express have published a number of spy photos showcasing what will soon be the 2008 Mercedes C-Class.  The shots depict both the front and side of the vehicle and there's also a couple renderings that attempt to demonstrate what the C will look like sans body-masking...

Keep Reading "Spy Photos Of The 2008 Mercedes C-Class"

Although it's been approximately four months since Mercedes unveiled to the world their latest luxury coupe, for many of you, the decision as to whether or not you should make the switch to the new model is still weighing heavily on your hearts.

To help ease the difficulty of your plight, Inside Line has just published their first review of the model which provides a well-written look as to what you can expect should you indeed decide to part with the $100,000 or so hard-earned dollars the latest CL will set you back...

Keep Reading "First Drive:  Inside Line Rates The 2007 Mercedes-Benz CL550"

It's happened to the best of us: you're on your way to a business meeting, lunch, date, etc. when, despite Google Mapping directions in advance, you realize that somewhere along the way you made a navigational error.  Maybe you missed the street; maybe you turned left when you should have turned right... whatever the case is, you've lost your way.

Now, thanks to Mercedes Accessories GmbH, finding yourself in this unpleasant scenario will soon be a thing of the past.  The company has just introduced two new mobile navigation units available for retrofit:  the Mercedes-Benz StreetPilot II and the Mercedes-Benz StreetPilot II Plus...

Keep Reading "It's Time To Get Retrofit:  Mercedes Accessories Introduces StreetPilot II Navigation Systems"

Although of little consequence to my American readers, those of you residing in the U.K will be pleased to hear that DaimlerChrysler will be officially opening the doors to its new Mercedes-Benz World complex on Sunday, October 29th, offering visitors to the complex a wealth of Mercedes-related activities and exhibits.

Located on the 155 acre site of the former Brooklands race circuit in Weybridge, Surrey, highlights of the new Mercedes-Benz World include several on and off-road test tracks, a Mercedes production line simulator ride, an interactive problem-solving laboratory, a gourmet restaurant, numerous cafes and boutiques, and a KidsZone play area...

Keep Reading "Mercedes-Benz World UK Opening Its Doors To The Public This Sunday"

What happens when you take a new GL450 , submerge it in a giant water tank, then throw in the sultry Eva Mendez clad in a delectably form-accentuating couture gown swimming alongside the said Mercedes model?

The answer of course is art, and thanks to photographer Michael Muller, we now have an accurate representation of what exactly the aforementioned art looks like...

Keep Reading "In The Name Of Art: The Mercedes GL450 Goes For A Swim"

First, it played Clouseau’s cop car in "The Pink Panther"; then, it provided Tom Hanks with a quick getaway in "The Da Vinci Code"; next, it became the perfect vehicle for Garfield’s owner Jon Arbuckle in "Garfield 2"; and now, in what will be the smart's fourth big screen outing of the year, the minicar is slated to play the role of Cupid in Ridley Scott's new film "A Good Year".

The film takes place in France, when Max Skinner (played by everyone's favorite gladiator/drunken pugilist Russell Crowe) travels to Provence to sell a vineyard he has inherited from his great uncle.  Upon arrival, Max sets out in a smart fortwo to traverse the French countryside, and while struggling to operate the car's navigation system, unknowingly comes dangerously close to striking an attractive young woman (played by Marion Cotillard).  Later, this same woman notices the smart outside Max's vineyard, and "love gets a second chance"...

Keep Reading "Smart ForTwo Set To Play Cupid In Ridley Scott's New Film 'A Good Year'"

To kick things off this crisp October morning the always-alert Shiv directed us to review published by Auto Express yesterday in which the publication looked at the most powerful CL variant to date:  the CL63 AMG.

While the the reviewer seemed generally pleased with the new model, bestowing the CL63 with four out of a possible five stars, he ultimately questioned whether it's a viable option over the similarly-horsepowered (and similarly-priced) CL600 as well as the less-expensive CL500...

Keep Reading "Auto Express Weighs In On The New Mercedes CL63 AMG"

With winter quickly approaching and snow already arriving in some parts of the country, those of you living in less than tropical climates will be pleased to hear that the Mercedes S550 4MATIC has just been added to Mercedes-Benz USA's website.

Although pricing has yet to be announced, the S550 4MATIC's overview, technical specifications and options are all available to those considering the four-wheel drive luxury sedan...

Keep Reading "Mercedes S550 4MATIC Added To MBUSA.com"

As if we hadn't had our fill of Mercedes CL63 AMG reviews over the past two weeks, Fifth Gear recently took a moment to deliver what turns out to be a futile attempt at analyzing the new model, ultimately stating nothing more than their own assesments as to the current state of AMG.

Sure, there's the obligatory "It's fast", "It's nice", "It's refined" that we've come to expect from CL63 reviews, but then there's the "Is it really better than the CL500", "Why does Mercedes make so many AMG's", etc. that I quite frankly could care less about...

Keep Reading "Fifth Gear's Mercedes CL63 AMG Road Test"

This just in:  despite our ability to single-handedly increase the Mercedes-Benz brand's worldwide sales to an all-time high this year, nothing (aside from a miraculous act by the almighty God) could offset the financial black hole known as Chrysler in the third quarter, with DaimlerChrysler noting a Q3 net income of $686 million (compared to 2005's Q3 net income of $1,085 million). As you probably have already surmised, operating profit is also down, with DC noting third quarter numbers of $1,132 million (compared to 2005's Q3 operating profit of $2,332 million).

These figures come despite positive earnings at the Mercedes Car Group, with the division noting an increase in operating profit by 127% to $1,257 million and an increase in revenue by 8% to $17.1 billion. However, as already mentioned, it wasn't enough to offset the Chrysler Group's Q3 operating loss of $1,477 million and its 23% reduction in revenue to $12.1 billion...

Keep Reading "Breaking News:  DaimlerChrysler Reports Third Quarter Net Income Of $686 Million"