mercedes

Attendees of the 2012 London Olympic Games may be in for a 'green' ride.

A seven-seat electric taxi was awarded Most Economic & Environment Friendly Multi-Purpose Electric Vehicle at the Royal Automobile Club's (RAC) Future Car Challenge.

The Mercedes Electric Vito (eVito) Taxi, which was a collaboration between Mercedes Benz, Zytek Automotive, and Valence, is powered by Valence batteries.

The challenge was to produce a concept of a pollution-free fleet vehicle that could be used as taxis during the Olympic games.

The eVito beat out 59 other vehicles by finishing the 57-mile run with about 30 percent of its … Read more

The 2012 Mercedes SLK's retractable hardtop will offer a new darkening technology for its glass roof called Magic Sky Control, according to an article in The Independent.

Magic Sky Control is an ethereal-sounding name for technology that uses an electrical surge to distribute light-blocking particles across glass. With the touch of a button, the glass changes from transparent to opaque, giving people additional privacy or the ability to block light. In the Mercedes SLK, the application enables occupants to control the amount of light that enters the vehicle through the glass roof of its retractable hardtop on hot days--or … Read more

The days of selling your used video games back to retail stores may be over sooner than we thought. The SF-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals recently made a ruling in the case of Vernor vs. Autodesk (LOL) that software publishers have the right to restrict the resale of their products to another users.

In the same way that many software companies require second round users to re-register for access, the ruling is major news for companies that buy back and sell video games, DVDs, books, and music.

But GameStop is definitely one of the bigger companies affected, as used game sales make up 46-percent of the company's gross income of $260 million per quarter. We knew the demise of GameStop would happen eventually, but thought it would because of games moving into the cloud.

And here's yet another reason not to join Facebook, if you haven't already. If you live in Victoria, Australia, police now have the court's approval to serve you papers via Facebook as a last attempt following prior attempts to contact you.

The subpoena comes in the form of a private message and even includes a video shot of the order that reads "as if the Respondent was being directly spoken to." They can also serve via text message as well, so just don't commit any heinous crimes and you'll be fine.

Tune into the rest of today's episode of The 404 Podcast to hear some personal stories about our high school jobs (yes, one of us was a dishwasher), as well as a long overdue Calls From the Public!

Mercedes-Benz today unveiled two new engines for the 2011 CL-Class.

The first of two all-new direct injection biturbo V8 engines is for the 2011 CL550 4MATIC. According to Mercedes, the 4.6-liter V8 engine has 20 percent smaller displacement than its predecessor, but delivers 429 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, which is 12 percent more horsepower and 32 percent more torque. It also has an improved fuel economy of about 10 percent. The CL550 4MATIC will have an MSRP of $114,025.

The second new engine is for the 2011 CL63 AMG coupe ($151,125) and S63 AMG sedan ($… Read more

Mercedes entered the race to integrate Pandora and other streaming-media applications with its Media Interface Plus (MIP) accessory, enabling users to control smartphone music apps through its vehicle infotainment systems. But how much functionality you get with MIP depends on the device you're using.

The MIP is an accessory that plugs into a Mercedes' media interface outlet (available on most Mercedes vehicles since 2009) located in the glove compartment or center armrest. On its most basic level, the device makes it possible to stream audio tracks from a Bluetooth enabled device, eliminating the need to carry around cords for … Read more

Convertibles are a blast in sunny weather but lose their charm on cold, rainy days. Mercedes-Benz couldn't do anything about the rain, but the E550 Cabriolet is still comfortable when it is cold out. Heated seats and its Air Scarf technology, a system that blows warm air over your neck from the headrests, coddle the driver and front passenger in a cozy cocoon when the mercury drops.

Mercedes-Benz accentuates the E550 Cabriolet's other luxury appointments with some fairly impressive sport handling, giving the car an exciting edge.

Check out our 2011 Mercedes-Benz E550 Cabriolet review.

During the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Euro NCAP presented nine awards to automakers for new, advanced safety technologies. The awards covered crash prevention and mitigation technologies as well as emergency telematics services.

Here are the nine winning technologies:

Audi Side Assist A blind-spot detection system, Audi Side Assist shows a warning light when a car is detected on either the right or left rear quarter of the Side Assist-equipped vehicle.

BMW Assist Advanced eCall When onboard sensors show that a BMW has been involved in an accident, this system dials a BMW call center, sending data about the severity of … Read more

PARIS--Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz will bring to the United States several vehicles based on platforms smaller than what they currently sell there.

BMW will bring a new front-wheel-drive family of cars in a class known as UKL, a German abbreviation for lower-compact-class cars.

"It will be a relatively big segment because we have several body styles," Ian Robertson, BMW AG board member for sales and marketing, told Automotive News last week at the Paris Motor Show.

He didn't disclose what body styles BMW is developing but confirmed that the vehicles will have a four-cylinder engine in the … Read more

A decade ago, Bang & Olufsen started up its automotive division. Now it has hit the trifecta, partnering with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, the three major German automakers.

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, we saw examples of Bang & Olufsen stereo installations in the Audi A8, the BMW Concept 6-series Coupe, and the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid.

Bang & Olufsen is a high-end Danish manufacturer of audio components, and has shown a flair for the dramatic in its automotive installations. Speakers rise up out of dashboards while grilles are made of brushed aluminum and include ambient lighting around the edges. … Read more