1981 Mercedes Benz 380sl, Title: Clean, Automatic Transmission on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog drives to the Arctic Circle

In Which Mercedes' Sprinter Becomes A Long-Distance Sherpa
In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.
As I am about to nod off on my long leg flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage ahead of driving to the Arctic Circle, the friendly twenty-something Alaskan knitting furiously in the seat next to me pauses and says, "When you're driving up there, don't open your windows." In the dead of winter? I hadn't planned on cruising alfresco, but her warning to keep the glazing snugged against the weatherstripping is one I would take to heart. She continues: "If you leave 'em open, a fox is liable to jump right in. There are lots of rabid foxes up there, and they leap into your car and just Go. To. Town." And here I was, thinking that a curious bear or maybe an ill-placed moose in the road was going to be my biggest potential four-legged threat. In the wintery wilds of northern Alaska, even the cute little critters want to kill you.

World Car Of The Year down to its final four

Judges for the World Car of the Year Award have narrowed down the finalists to just four vehicles. Out of a total of 42 entries, only the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86 and Volkswagen Golf remain standing. For Volkswagen, this marks the second consecutive year the company has had an entry among the finalists, and the fourth time since 2009. In order to qualify, a vehicle must be on sale on two continents during the span of time between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2013. A panel of 66 journalists from 23 countries then vote on the finalists.
Three vehicles have made the cut for the last round of voting on the 2013 World Performance Car as well, with the Cayman/Boxster and FR-S/BRZ/GT-86 running against the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Meanwhile, the Renault Zoe, Tesla Model S and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid are duking it out for the World Green Car Award. Finally, the World Car Design of the Year Award is up for grabs between the Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar F-Type, and the Mazda6. Check out the full press release below. Overall winners will be presented at the 2013 New York Auto Show.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class caught totally undisguised

Based on the lightly camouflaged spy shots of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class we've seen lately, it hasn't taken a vivid imagination to picture what the next iteration of this big luxury sedan will look like. Even so, we now we have our first unobstructed views of the redesigned S-Class, codenamed W222, as it has just been caught out flaunting for some promo shots.
The first thing we notice about the new S-Class design is the disappearance of the last generation's flared wheel arches. Yet the new design adds even more character with bodyside creases similar to the CLS-Class and some elements reminiscent of 2007's F700 Concept, including the massive grille and vertical LED taillights. Other key details include a large panoramic roof and the narrow exhaust outlets, but the large LED-trimmed headlights and the aggressive front fascia are probably the biggest departure from the current design. With these spy shots, we also catch a blurry shot of the interior, but we've seen a practically uncovered look at the new S-Class' cabin back in January.
Overall, the next S-Class sports an expressive and premium new look, but as far as all-new designs go, it's quite conservative - a move no doubt fitting for these lean financial times.