Mercedes Mounts Dodge Neon, We Giggle

This forcible humping of a Mercedes and Neon resulted when a woman was trying to perform a three-point turn. Looks to us like the Mercedes was trying to pull off the coveted Eiffel Tower instead.

A woman in the UK decided instead of gently pressing the brake pedal, she jammed down on the accelerator while attempting a three-point turn, causing her Mercedes to mount the front end of a little Neon. The owner of the car was awoken by a loud crashing sound and rushed out to make sure that the driver was okay. It turned out it was his neighbor's wife, so they all had a laugh over some tea and crumpets - all so British, wouldn't you say?

All involved did not feel so jolly as the house was reported saying that it was not happy with the unexpected mounting and therefore would not complete the necessary steps to complete the Eiffel Tower maneuver. The Neon was heard mumbling "Hi!" Another steamy shot of the car-on-car duo below.

We're big fans of crazy drivers and we've provided another great attempt at parking below.

[via dailymail.uk, YouTube]

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: Leaked Brochure Reveals Interior, Exterior and Engine Details

In about a week's time, Mercedes plans to lift the wraps on its next-generation E-Class. However, thanks to an internal leak in December when three exterior photos found their way into the internet and a new leakage that occurred today and concerns the official German market brochure, there won't be much to talk about when Merc unveils the 2010 E-Class, known internally under the codename W212. Aside from the new exterior pictures, the brochure scans reveal the executive sedan's squared-shapes interior as well as the E-Class' full engine line-up and dimensions.

Following in the footsteps of the C-Class and more recently the GLK, the new E-Class exterior gets taut body surfacing and angular design elements such as the four diamond shape headlamps up front. Same goes for the interior, though in a less tacky way than the GLK's cabin which looks like it was built from bricks. Apparently, Merc's designers are trying -we not saying that that they succeeded- to evoke the robustness of the mid 1980s E-Class.

Not surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz's BMW 5-Series and Audi A6 rival has slightly grown in dimensions compared to the outgoing E-Class, measuring 4.868 mm in length (+12 mm), 1.854 mm in width (+32 mm) and 1.470 mm in height (-13 mm) with a wheelbase of 2.874 mm (+20 mm).

Powering the new E-Class is an updated range of diesel and gasoline engines. Diesel lovers will be able to choose from five different units: a new 2.1-liter 4-cylinder engine with 136, 170 and 204 HP and a 3.0-liter V6 with 231HP (BlueEFFICIENCY) and 211HP (BLUETEC).

Those who favor petrol can select between five different engine options: a 1.8-liter direct injection 4-cylinder with 184 and 204HP; a 3.5-liter V6 (for the 4MATIC model) delivering 272HP; a 3.5-liter direct injection V6 producing 292HP and at the top of the range, a 388HP 5.5-liter V8 that can be combined with RWD or AWD layout.

During the year, Mercedes plans to enrich its E-Class range with the introduction of the Estate (station-wagon) and Coupe models while in 2010 - 2011, the German automaker will add a hybrid version(s) and an AMG model aimed squarely at the BMW M5 featuring a 6.2-liter V8 engine that should be good for around 550-horsepower.

Via: Germancarzone

Mercedes & Audi Warn U.S. Dealers to Stop Exports

No thanks to the weak dollar, the U.S. car market has become a very attractive market for overseas buyers looking to take advantage of the current exchange rates that favour several currencies including the Euro.

According to a report from Automotive News, Mercedes-Benz & Audi USA have discovered a significant number of cars designated for the U.S. ending up in the hands of overseas buyers. Neither company knows the exact number of exported vehicles –at least that’s what they support. While the two German luxury carmakers say that they won’t take immediate actions, they did warn their dealers that in doing this, they could be violating their franchise agreement.

Via: AN (sub. Req.)

Source: Mercedes & Audi Warn U.S. Dealers to Stop Exports

Mercedes to Unveil Concept BlueZero in Detroit - Previews 2010 B-Class

Mercedes-Benz, or to be exact, German car magazine Autobild, has released a series of sketches previewing the "Concept BlueZero" that will allegedly make its worldwide debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 11. The all-electric concept car is said to give us a first taste of the next generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class that's scheduled to hit dealerships in early 2010. The most anticipated version of the luxury 5-door hatch will be a fuel-cell powered variant which is expected to go on sale during 2010. According to Mercedes-Benz, it will be the first series production model to be offered with such a drivetrain.

The 2010 B-Class Fuel Cell model will be powered by a new generation of fuel-cell drive that is much more compact than other systems while at the same time offering better performance and, according to Mercedes, will be completely suitable for everyday use.

The electric motor used on the prototype B-Class Fuel-Cell develops a maximum output of 136HP and a torque figure of 320 Nm. Merc's engineers claim that the fuel cell model will give better acceleration figures than a B-Class fitted with a standard 2.0-liter petrol engine while consuming the equivalent of just 2.9 liters of fuel (diesel equivalent) per 100 km or 81.1 mpg US.

Via: Autobild

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class unveiled via web leak

We've seen so many spy shots of the upcoming 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class that these official images hardly move us. Yet here they are, three images leaked onto the web that reportedly reveal the final production form of the 2010 E-Class, which makes its official debut in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March.

The new E-Class was previewed by the Mercedes-Benz ConceptFascination that debuted at this year's Paris Motor Show, and we can see now that the front of the production car was heavily influenced by the concept. Gone are the round, quad headlamps, which have been replaced with new light fixtures that still number four but are more contemporary and clean. Strips of LEDs can also be had as fog lights in the outermost intakes of the lower front bumper, which must be a German thing as Audi and Porsche have placed the advanced lighting tech in similar areas on their cars. The soft lines of the current model have been chiseled into a crisper shape that shares creases with its big brother, the S-Class, and the new profile appears to be more forgiving of tall passengers in back. The unfortunate looking Galant-like rear end features large, rectangular tail-lights that cross over a rather voluminous-looking trunk.

We expect the new 2010 E-Class to be loaded with more advanced performance, safety and entertainment technology than ever before, including the ability to read road signs, monitor driver fatigue and see in the dark without its lights on. In Europe it will be available with engines that range from four to six to eight cylinders large and are fueled by either gas or diesel. In the U.S., we should expect what we have now: a V6, V8 and AMG model.