Daimler

Maybach 62 Guard

Mercedes-Benz's upmarket counterpart Maybach has announced the availability of a new armored version of its long-wheelbase limousine. The Maybach 62 Guard incorporates 900 lbs of extra armor reinforcement from steel and Kevlar, and is claimed to still be able to accelerate to highway speeds from a standstill in 5.7 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph.

Because the Maybach was engineered from the beginning to accommodate the reinforced body panels, the twin-turbo V12 engine, brakes and suspension have required no further modification.

Gallery: 2011 Maybach

Tags: daimler, guard, maybach, maybach 62, maybach 62 guard, maybach guard

Tesla Electric SUV Coming

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Tesla Motors has started designing the Model X SUV, a sporty crossover model that will be no larger than your typical compact SUV, while offering the interior space of a full-size passenger van, reports Edmunds.com's GreenCarAdvisor.

The electric vehicle company is able to achieve the space, according to the report, because Tesla, unlike traditional automakers, isn't hampered by a large internal combustion engine and most of the most space absorbing systems that accompany it.

The vehicle could launch by 2014.

Tesla, which went public last year and is set to receive hundreds of millions in federal loans if it meets certain milestones, is known for its Tesla Roadster, which costs in excess of $100,000. Actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt ore among its customers.

The company, which counts German automaker Daimler and Toyota among its stake-holders, is supposed to start building a $40,000-$50,000 Model S (pictured) electric vehicle next year at its 5 million square foot factory in Fremont, CA next year.

That car, notes GreenCarAdvisor, is about as big as a BMW 5 Series, but seating for five adults and two children plus cargo.

Tags: Daimler, electric vehicles, SUV, tesla motors, Toyota

Winston Churchill's Daimler Up for Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

If Winston Churchill's dentures go for £40,000, how much is his car worth? We'll find out on Dec. 4 when the UK's Historics at Brooklands auctions off this gorgeous 1939 Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupé that the great statesmen used on several occasions before and after the Great War. The auction house has conservatively estimated it at £200,000 – £250,000, or about $325,000 – $400,000, but it could well fetch much more. One of only eight built and the only known surviving example, it comes with numerous photographs of Churchill perched on the rear seat. Finished in smashing silver over black coachwork with a contrasting three-position cabriolet hood in a rich chocolate, it has a luxurious dark green leather interior and wooden dashboard. It also features a full set of Jaeger LeCoultre instruments.

Gallery: Winston Churchill's Daimler

Tags: auction, celebrity cars, classic cars, Daimler, Historics at Brooklands, Jaeger LeCoultre, UK, Winston Churchill

Luxury EV Maker Tesla To Do EV Toyota RAV4

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Green

Luxury electric-vehicle maker Tesla will develop and electric version of the Toyota RAV4 compact SUV. Toyota took an equity stake in Tesla earlier this year, giving the EV maker its NUMMI manufacturing plant in Fremont, CA. Now, it will pay Tesla $60 million to leverage its battery know-how to create a 100% electric version of the RAV4.

Toyota makes the number-one hybrid, Prius, as well as hybrid versions of the Camry sedan, Highlander SUV, as well as hybrid versions of Lexus luxury vehicles.

Tesla sells an EV roadster today for $100,000-plus. The company had its initial-public offering last June, and the stock is up 21% since then in part because of the investments and deals with Toyota and Daimler.

The gas version of a RAV4 ranges in cost between $22K and $28K and up depending on added features. The EV RAV4, due in 2012, won't be priced until then. Given the cost of batteries, it's hard to imagine that the starting price wouldn't be close to $40K, but then come down to around $30K after government subsidies for zero-emission vehicles.

Tags: Daimler, Electric Vehicles, RAV4, Tesla, Toyota RAV4

New Life for Maybach?

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Disheartened by talk that Maybach could be given the axe? Then we may have some good news for you. Although as yet unconfirmed, reports indicate that parent company Daimler may be planning to keep its most prestigious marque around a while longer, with several new models planned to make it so.

If they prove accurate, a slew of new Maybachs could be based on the upcoming new Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Among them could be replacements for the current 57 and 62 models, along with a "four-door coupe" in the same mold as the Mercedes CLS, and potentially a four-door convertible – a body-style not seen for decades but often rumored to be in the works at Maybach.

Motivation is expected to come from even more powerful versions of the current twin-turbo V12, along with a new transmission with as many as nine speeds and a possible hybrid variant.

Gallery: 2011 Maybach

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Tags: daimler, maybach, maybach 57, maybach 62

Queen Elizabeth II's 1984 Daimler Double Six LWB up for Auction

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

It's not every day that the Queen's limousine is offered for sale. That day came a few months ago in the UK, where Her Majesty's 2001 Daimler Majestic V8 went up for sale. Now comes to consignment of Her Majesty's previous vehicle, the 1984 Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon you see here, marking the first time a royal limousine has been offered for sale publicly in the United States.

Built specifically for Her Majesty's use, this Daimler underwent over 2,000 miles of testing to iron out any kinks and was fitted with a series of special features before being delivered to Buckingham Palace, upon which it became the Queen's personal transport. Her Majesty was known to drive it around herself much of the time rather than take a back seat to an official chauffeur, driving herself along with princes and prime ministers around London and to her palaces across the kingdom. After being retired from service, it was returned to Jaguar where it became part of the company's museum.

Jaguar says that this will be the last of its royal limousines offered for sale, offered as it will be at the upcoming RM Auctions event in Monterey, California, during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, with pre-sale estimates placing its value between sixty and eighty thousand dollars.

Gallery: Queen Elizabeth II's 1984 Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon

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Tags: 1984 Daimler Double Six long-wheelbase saloon, 1984 Daimler Double Six LWB, daimler, elizabeth II, jaguar, pebble beach, queen elizabeth, queen elizabeth II, rm, rm auctions

Daimler Teams Up With Toyota For Fuel Cell Development

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

Daimler, the German parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has a long history of fuel cell development, as does Toyota. Both automakers have been busily developing their separate hydrogen fuel cell technology since the early 1990s, and it should come as no surprise that such projects don't come cheap.

As such, the two giant companies are reportedly pounding out a partnership that will see them jointly developing hydrogen fuel cell technology. According to the Financial Times Deutschland (via Reuters), Toyota and Daimler plan "extensive cooperation in the field of fuel cells for electric cars." At this point, neither automaker is willing to comment on the report.

General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai are also working to make hydrogen fueling a reality, but some significant hurdles still remain, including high cost and the lack of a suitable fueling infrastructure. Time will tell if high-profile partnerships, such as the one apparently being struck between Daimler and Toyota, will result in any zero-emission consumer vehicles.

[Source: Reuters]

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Tags: daimler, daimler-benz, Fuel Cell, fuel cell vehicles, fuel cells, hydrogen, hydrogen car, hydrogen fuel cell, mercedes, Mercedes Benz, mercedes-benz

Sprinter Van to Make 20,000-Mile Journey

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

April showers are meant to bring May flowers, but other than that and Iron Man 2, May is a holding-pattern month while we wait for the summertime action of June, July and August. Well, it's a holding pattern for some – for Rob and Jan Wilson it's nothing of the kind. The self-described empty nesters have laid hold of a Daimler Sprinter van (we knew it as the Dodge Sprinter until recently), got it fitted out by Airstream and are driving the country to visit 50 national parks.

Called the Sprinter Tour 2010, Rob, an author and photographer, has let loose some fabulous photos of the ground covered so far in the first 11 days. No, it's not quite a U2 rockabout, but it might give you some ideas of what to do with your Summer and Fall and Winter, since they'll be on the road doing 20,000 miles from now to November 30. We might start out with a tour of just the Sprinter 3500; with a bedroom, dining area, bathroom and Carrier air conditioning, our driveway might be as far as we need to go to live well.

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Tags: daimler, mercedes, mercedes-benz, road trips, RV, Sprinter, sprinter tour, sprinter van, sprinter van tour

New Deal Means Infiniti Will Get Mercedes Power

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

New deals, mergers and joint ventures are constantly being brokered in the automotive industry. And many of them involve Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. The ink on the German automaker's divorce from Chrysler is barely dry, and they recently penned a cooperative deal with Aston Martin. But now another could see increased cooperation between two of the world's biggest players.

The deal has been signed between Daimler chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn, who presides over the Renault-Nissan Alliance, including their luxury division Infiniti. The partnership will allow both to benefit from each other's strengths in a variety of ways. Among the first will see four-cylinder Mercedes engines transplanted into the Infiniti G range. Both automakers note that, while their products compete in the same arena, customers don't typically comparison shop between these two brands specifically.

Gallery: 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan

Tags: alliance, carlos ghosn, daimler, dieter zetsche, dr dieter zetsche, infiniti, infiniti g, infiniti g37, luxury cars, mercedes, mercedes-benz, nissan, renault, renault-nissan alliance

Queen of England's Bespoke Jaguar Daimler for Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A luxurious bespoke Daimler Majestic V8 (above) built by Jaguar and used by the Queen of England as her personal motor is being offered for sale in the UK. The British racing green vehicle, used as the Queen's daily driver between 2001 and 2004, includes several bespoke royal touches, such as a special holder for her favorite handbag, a console of switches to control flashing strobe lamps and blue emergency convoy lights, a secure telephone once linked to Downing Street and the Home Office, and special rear seat protectors for transporting the royal dogs. No price is being advertised but the car cost about $100,000 when new. The Queen's motor pool still includes two Bentleys, three Rolls-Royces and three Daimlers, among sundry other vehicles.

[The Independent via LuxuryInsider]

Tags: British royals, custom cars, Daimler, Jaguar, Queen of England, royalty, UK

Mercedes plays Musical Chairs with Senior Executive Appointments

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

With something so tightly regimented as the management structure of a major German company, when you move one piece, you'll have to move several more just to keep the voids filled.

Iconic luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced that one of its senior executives, Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, is being promoted to the company's management board. The position he vacates is as head of the company's van division, which in turn is being handed over to Volker Mornhinweg (pictured above left).

To take the new job, Morhinweg is departing his role as head of the AMG performance division that gives us all those wonderful Autobahn-slayers. Of course that means someone would need to take his place, and Ola Kaellenius (pictured above right) has been tapped for the job at Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH. Kaellenius has until now been running the company's crossover plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and surely someone will need to be appointed to fill that void as well, but in the meantime Mercedes is deferring the announcement.

Tags: AMG, Bernhard, daimler, daimler ag, Kaellenius, mercedes, Mercedes AMG, mercedes-benz, Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH, Mornhinweg, Ola Kaellenius, Volker Mornhinweg, Wolfgang Bernhard

Daimler To Phase Out Maybach Brand

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Since its launch eight years ago, Maybach has largely been characterized as a failed venture. The ultra-premium counterpart to Mercedes-Benz never reached the sales figures which its rivals Bentley (part of the Volkswagen group) and Rolls-Royce (owned by BMW) have enjoyed in the superstrata of the luxury car market. That's largely come down its lackluster product, which appears to all to be little more than a gussied-up Mercedes S-Class, available in 57 and 62-decimeter lengths.

In the face of even further lagging sales, however, reports now indicate that Daimler is preparing to wind down the brand and phase it out entirely. But not before the line-up gets a mild refresh. After that, Mercedes hopes to fill the niche with more exclusive versions of the S-Class, which to our ears sounds more or less the same as where it stands now, only with a different hood ornament.

Gallery: Maybach Landaulet

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Tags: daimler, maybach, maybach 57, maybach 62, mercedes, mercedes-benz, MercedesBenz

Wolfgang Bernhard Returns to Executive Ranks at Mercedes-Benz

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The prodigal son returns. As with the Biblical parable, a well-loved son (ably played in real life by Wolfgang Bernhard) leaves the comfort of home (Bernhard previously served as Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche's second in command) and embarks on a journey away from his family.

Unlike our age-old story, though, Bernhard didn't exactly fall on hard times away from the loving care of this father. In fact, Bernhard served as chairman at Volkswagen between 2005 and 2007 before returning to Daimler in February of 2009 to lead its van business. Not the hero's welcome our Biblical character got when he finally ventured back home – at least not right away.

According to an Automotive News report, Bernhard will now serve as the executive board member responsible for production and procurement for Mercedes-Benz, though the company is reportedly still figuring out what exact role and title Bernhard will command. Rainer Schmueckle, the man who currently holds the spot Bernhard will be inheriting, is in "negotiations" with the automaker.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req'd]

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Tags: Daimler, Daimler AG, DaimlerAg, mercedes, Mercedes Benz, mercedes-benz, MercedesBenz, Wolfgang Bernhard, WolfgangBernhard

Maybach Flaunts a Four-Door Convertible for the Rich

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

They might be billing it as a concept vehicle, but it looks pretty production-ready to us. And the choice to launch it at the Middle East International Auto Show? All the more suspect -- Maybach could sell every last limited-production one of these at the next OPEC meeting alone.

Witness the closest thing to a production-ready four-door luxury convertible we've seen in a while, the Maybach 62 Landaulet. The Landaulet can thank the 62 S sedan on which it's based for its 612-horsebower biturbo V12 and reclining rear seats, the latter of which are done up in white leather, contrasting the black leather adorning the chauffer's cockpit. That and the electronically-dimmed glass partition aren't all that separates the "haves" from their driver -- while the cockpit is enclosed overhead, the rear passengers enjoy a retractable soft top.

Just to give the sun something to glint off of spectacularly, Maybach also sprang for piano lacquer and gold-flecked granite (yes, granite) inserts.

Check out Daimler's full press release after the jump.

Tags: daimler, landaulet, limo, maybach, mercedes, mercedes-benz, rolls-royce

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