2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon

• Competes with: Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Volvo XC70
• Looks like: Private schoolchildren have a new ride
• Drivetrain: 268-hp V-6 with seven-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
• Hits dealerships: Mid-2010

While most of the cars we’re hearing about in Frankfurt are of the fanciful supercar variety, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its most utilitarian of non-SUV models, the new E-Class wagon. The sedan and coupe versions of the E-Class were redesigned this year and are on sale now, but the new wagon won’t make it stateside until later next year as a 2011 model.

Because the new E-Class design — and Mercedes’ design overall — has a lot more hard lines and creases than the competition, the wagon’s wedge shape seems an easy transition for the designers. The profile is handsome and the front looks menacing; only the rear seems to be somewhat staid. It’s a wagon — what are you expecting?

Cargo volume is listed as 68 cubic feet, which would make it larger than the Audi A6 Avant (63.8 cubic feet) and the BMW 535i xDrive Sports Wagon (58.3 cubic feet).  

The E-Class will go on sale in only one trim level to start, the E350 4matic, which has a 268-horsepower V-6 and Mercedes’ new seven-speed automatic. It will also have a self-leveling suspension for the rear to adjust for heavy loads.

Pricing won’t be announced until closer to the on-sale date, but the 2010 E350 4matic sedan is $2,000 less than the 2009 it replaced. The 2009 E350 4matic wagon starts at $57,250. The 2011 will also come with high-tech options like a collision warning system and Attention Assist, which alerts you when you’re drowsy. More photos below.

2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG at Frankfurt Motor Show

• Competes with: Audi R8, Ferrari California
• Looks like: A classic shape with a modern front end
• Drivetrain: 420-hp, 6.3-liter V-8 with seven-speed dual-clutch transmission
• Hits dealerships: Mid-2010

Mercedes’ last gasp in the supercar game was the SLR McLaren, which ended its run of wowing car-show patrons last year. Although it was a gorgeous car, it had been around for six years, and Mercedes wanted to break away from the McLaren partnership to build the $500,000 car. The all-new SLS AMG was designed completely in-house, and it features some retro aesthetics, namely gull-wing doors.

To get to those gull-wings, you first have to get past the front end with its flattened grille and gigantic Mercedes emblem. It’s easy to pick apart a grille these days — it’s the blank canvas that automakers feel free to deface. However, the SLS AMG’s profile and rear are much more minimal in design and would even be considered understated by some. The interior is supposed to evoke the feel of an aircraft cockpit, and the numerous buttons on the center console certainly help with that.

Performance isn’t neglected for style as the 6.3-liter V-8 is a terrific engine, and teaming it to a lightweight body — 3,571 pounds — leads to a zero-to-60 time of 3.6 seconds. Weight is distributed in a 47/53 front-to-rear ratio, and the transmission is a dual-clutch with seven speeds.

The big question is how many of the SLS AMGs — believed to be around $250,000 — will we ever see. The very limited SLR McLaren  sold around 3,500 units in its lifetime, and it looks like the price of the SLS will put it in more rarified air than the likes of the Audi R8.

Mercedes-Benz Readies S500 Plug-In Hybrid

The Frankfurt Motor Show will get a little greener next week when Mercedes-Benz rolls out a plug-in hybrid version of its S-Class sedan. While a traditional hybrid S-Class has already been planned, Mercedes says this plug-in will travel 18 miles on electric power alone. That’s 18 miles of S-Class luxury. The base S550 with no fancy-pants hybrid system starts just south of $90,000, not a realm where owners worry about gas prices.

These hybrid buyers will definitely be the green elite.

They’ll be driving a V-6 engine paired to a 60-hp hybrid power pack and lithium-ion battery.  They’ll also be driving briskly; Mercedes says the hybrid can go from zero to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.

There’s a rumor that Mercedes will make all future S-Classes hybrids when the car gets a redesign around 2014. However, we doubt they’d drop the AMG model and its blistering V-12 for a plug-in.

Exclusive: First look at the Mercedes S500 Plug-in Hybrid debuting in Frankfurt next week (USA Today)

Mercedes' E-Class Wagon Coming Stateside

Mercedes-Benz confirmed that the wagon version of its redesigned line of E-Class models will arrive in the U.S. in June 2010. It will be sold as a 2011 model and go by the official moniker of “E350 4Matic wagon.”

It’s the only wagon Mercedes plans for the U.S., and it should relatively resemble the E350 4Matic sedan in price (though it may perhaps cost a bit more than that car’s $52,000 price tag) and mileage numbers (16/24 mpg city/highway for the sedan).

The wagon will have a 268-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 under the hood with a seven-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive.

The E-Class wagon has a diesel version in Europe, but Mercedes said the automaker has no plans to bring the diesel to the U.S.

The redesigned E-Class sedan has been selling well since it went on sale a few months ago.

Mercedes E-Class Wagon Is Heading to U.S. (Wheels)

Hood Ornaments' Last Stand

Unruly teens have often found solace in ripping hood ornaments off their high-school principals’ sedans. Lucky for principals now, hood-mounted crosshairs, half-naked flying ladies and big, leaping cat or ram heads carving through the wind are practically nonexistent these days. Only a few luxury automakers still use classic hood ornaments.

Hood ornaments of all shapes and sizes used to grace foreign and domestic cars in order to instantly give recognition and status to the car underneath. A combination of new car design aesthetics and European pedestrian safety regulations — to prevent hood ornament versus pedestrian contact — led to the demise of the classic upright hood ornament. Although, if you’re going to be hit by a car, you likely have more to worry about than an automaker’s emblem imprinted in your forehead.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the few makes to still widely use a traditional ornament on its sedans, displaying its classic “Star” emblem on many new sedans, including the newly redesigned 2010 E-Class. For Mercedes, it’s a matter of tradition that keeps the emblem mounted vertically on the hood, says spokesman Robert Moran. Other Benz models that still use the classic emblem include the 2009 C- and S-Class. The Benz models do use an emblem overseas and still pass all European safety regulations; theirs is designed to collapse upon contact. 

Through Ian's Lens: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL550

With so many models, trims, engines, SUVs, coupes, roadsters, convertibles, crossovers, sedans — sometimes I wonder how anyone holds it together on the showroom floor at a Mercedes-Benz dealership without exploding with confusion. As Mercedes continues the daunting task of updating the designs of its many models, I want them to leave one class intact and as-is.

Lincoln MKZ, Mercedes-Benz R-Class Are Top Safety Picks

Two models recently earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick rating for 2009. The 2009 Mercedes-Benz R-Class and 2010 Lincoln MKZ both earned Good ratings in frontal offset, side-impact and rear crash tests.

For the R-Class, the designation applies to models manufactured after September 2008 with the standard side airbags. The MKZ rated is the new 2010 model that recently went on sale.

IIHS.org

2009 Mercedes-Benz CL550 Coupe Video

Not much has changed for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz CL550 since the previous model year, except for a bump in price and a system to help you parallel park. Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder decides to try out the car’s parallel-parking abilities, but wonders if the system can possibly help justify the car’s enormous price tag.

2009|Mercedes-Benz|CL550

Reader Review of the Week: 2009 Mercedes-Benz C350

“Dawud” from Georgia recently bought a 2009 C-Class from Mercedes-Benz. While he finds the car to be impressive, there is a reason he’s not taking it on any long-distance trips. Find out why in his full review, and then post your own car review here.

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe: Up Close

Earlier yesterday, I had a chance to check out Mercedes’ latest creation, the E-Class coupe. Its proportions are more akin to the six-figure CL-Class than the smaller, tubbier CLK, and if you dig the CL you’ll probably like its latest sibling. I feel the same way about it as I did about the sedan: Apart from those quad headlights, the face looks sharp. The tail, on the other hand, is derivative of half a dozen others.