Mercedes® Chrome Shift Surround, 129 Chassis, 1996-1999 on 2040-parts.com

Ghosn wants to expand Daimler ties; calls alliance a ‘powerhouse'

With chatter swirling about potential expansion of the Renault-Nissan alliance, CEO Carlos Ghosn on Thursday put his support directly into expanding the automakers' relationship with Daimler AG. “We know we have a powerhouse,” Ghosn said in a media roundtable at the Paris auto show. “When you add the R&D of Renault, Nissan and Daimler, we are the largest in the industry,” Ghosn said.

BMW US revives ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ +video

BMW 5-Series Refuel Advert - Ultimate Driving Machine As car slogans go, the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine‘ from BMW has probably been one of the most successful slogans in car history. Which made it all the more surprising when they dropped it. Their arguments for changing their marketing direction were sound, but always seemed a bit misguided.

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.