Mercedes CLA concept previews expanded compact line

hat's the message Mercedes-Benz plans to pitch as it prepares to unveil the CLA Concept Style Coupe at the Beijing auto show. The concept will offer design hints for the new Mercedes-Benz A/B compact vehicles coming to U.S. showrooms in late 2013.

The luxury automaker previewed the CLA concept this week in Los Angeles and will provide a more detailed look in Beijing with the 2.0-liter, 208-hp, four-cylinder-powered Concept Style Coupe.

The coupe will be revealed in Beijing with a four-door body. Mercedes said it will be priced below the automaker's C class.

Mercedes parent Daimler AG has invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.9 billion) to build a new generation of compact premium cars in China, Hungary and Germany. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said last month that the automaker will improve the profitability of its compact cars by expanding the lineup from two models -- the A class and B class -- to five cars and building significantly higher volumes.

The CLA represents new territory for Mercedes-Benz, a brand traditionally known for its spacious luxury sedans.

"The Concept Style Coupe is expressive and powerful in its design," Zetsche said in a statement. "We are staking our claim very clearly here. This is the model against which sporty vehicles in the executive segment will have to measure themselves in future."

 

The concept features a large gaping grille known to insiders as a soft-nose treatment, headlamps with LED graphics, frameless side windows, panoramic roof, integrated dual-flow exhaust system and interior design cues from the Concept A-Class, with carbon-fiber trim instrument panel, suede trim steering wheel, chrome trim, Command Online multimedia system and the ability to browse the Internet when the vehicle is stationary.

Daimler did not say when it will begin building the CLA, although press reports say production of the car will start at year end and that it will arrive in showrooms early next year.

Sources told Autoweek, an affiliate of Automotive News, that the CLA styling is largely faithful to the production version of the new sedan.

"Certain design elements have been subtly altered to lend a more powerful look for added presence on the show stand, but as a whole the exterior and interior reflect the true design of the car we will build at our new manufacturing plant in Kecskemet, Hungary," an unidentified source told Autoweek.

The Concept Style Coupe is expected to undergo mild styling changes before the CLA lands in showrooms, Autoweek reported.

The CLA sedan's luxury-brand rivals will include a sedan version of the third-generation Audi A3, due in 2013, and a new sedan version of the BMW 1 series that is undergoing conceptual development and an expected introduction in 2015, Autoweek reported.

Mercedes said it has so far received more than 100,000 orders for the B class since its launch in Europe in November 2011. The B class is built in Rastatt, Germany, and Kecskemet.

The new A class, which also will be assembled in Rastatt, will go on sale in Europe in September and is scheduled to arrive in the United States in 2014.

Coolest Car Ever

Coolest Car Ever

This week Citroën unveiled their latest concept car at the Paris Auto Show, called the Citroën GT, and all I can say is… damn, I want one for my living room. This has to be one of the coolest concept cars I’ve seen in a while. The car was built as a joint venture between Citroën and Polyphony (the makers of Gran Turismo) for the upcoming 5th game in the popular Gran Turismo Playstation series. Check out those blue LED headlamps! Slick.

New Saleen supercar in the works

Now that Steve Saleen, founder of tuning firm Saleen Autosport and creator of the original Saleen S7 supercar, has won back the right to the legal use of his name on new products, the former racer-turned-automotive-entrepreneur is now looking towards his next big project.

Saleen is still at the helm of his latest tuning firm, SMS Supercars, and churning out a number of high-horsepower muscle cars.

However, the 63-year-old still has ambitious plans to launch more high-end models, including a new supercar based on the S5S Raptor Concept unveiled at 2008’s New York Auto Show.

"We're still planning on doing something like that," Saleen told Autoweek during a recent interview. "That's still a part of our plan. The S5S is still in our planning."

Saleen wasn’t willing to reveal when we might see the new car, though he did say that when it finally arrives it will likely be called something else.

Before that, Saleen will make a new-vehicle announcement that he says will be somewhat of a different direction. The announcement will be made within the next three months so we should have more details on it very soon.

The original S5S Raptor Concept was built around a lightweight aluminum chassis and powered by mid-mounted supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine delivering 650 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque. It was claimed to be capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds and reaching a top speed of 200 mph.

Jaguar F-Type, the E-Type’s successor and Jag’s first two-seater in over 50 years, arrives in 2013

Jaguar says after 37 years it will build a spiritual successor to its iconic E-Type roadster called, logically enough, the F-Type. Based on the C-X16 concept shown last year, Jaguar says the new F-Type will be officially revealed late this year and go on sale in 2013. The company also claims that the car will accelerate to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and achieve a top speed of more than 180 mph.  To further whet our appetites, it provided a few shots showing an F-Type prototype hiding in plain sight.

The long-nose E-Type ranks among the greatest cars ever built -- one that not only won on racetracks around the world but set a style standard that Jaguar has reached for ever since. In 1996, the Museum of Modern Art in New York added an E-Type to its permanent collection.

Over the years the company has considered building other successors, even showing another F-Type concept in 2002, but years of financial trouble led Jaguar to focus on higher volume, higher profit models. With sales rising under ownership by India's Tata Motors, Jaguar has enough capital to restore a classic.

Arizona man survives after impaling himself through the head on pool fence

A man in his early 20s was impaled through the head Sunday as he climbed over a pool fence in Mesa, Ariz.
The man, who was not named, fell while climbing over the fence at approximately 3:00 pm local time at an apartment complex in the center of the city, 15 miles east of Phoenix, myFOXphoenix.com reported. He was impaled through the lower jaw.
Witness Katherine Metz told KNXV-TV, "I heard a moan and a scream and I walked outside and saw him there with the [top of the fence] completely in his neck and jaw area.
"His feet were on the ground, but the entire tip and three of the four side barbs were in his neck and jaw. He was spitting up blood and at times it was like his knees were giving out, so I just held his head as much as I could."
Fire crews took 20 minutes to free him, before he was transported to Scottsdale Osborn Hospital for treatment.
The man avoided injuring any vital organs and is expected to recover, authorities said.

2012 New York Auto Show