Mercedes-Benz has made no secret of its desire to develop a new platform for its future A and B-Class models, and has even gone so far as at arrange formal talks with both Fiat and BMW over a possible deal to share development. It’s now been revealed that Mercedes’ Smart brand also wants to expand […]
Turbocharging is quickly becoming the must-have technology for carmakers looking for proven methods of boosting the performance of an engine without bumping up displacement. Most diesel passenger cars come equipped with a blower, and the number of turbocharged petrol models is growing at a rapid rate. Despite this growing dependence, most carmakers still rely on […]
Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler have approved the company’s new name ‘Daimler AG’ and have also agreed to rename the car division ‘Mercedes-Benz Cars.’ Following the split of DaimlerChrysler earlier this year, shareholders were required to vote in a new name for the group. Many of the investors still wanted to honor one of the carmaker’s founders, […]
German weekly Der Spiegel recently sat down with Dieter Zetsche, CEO of DaimlerChrysler, to discuss hybrids, the environment, the split from Chrysler, and cooperating with BMW. No punches were pulled in this ballsy interview, and Zetsche did an admirable job of actually answering each question, rather than giving some marketing-speak non-response.
SPIEGEL: Not too long ago, […]
BMW makes some of the best engines in the business so it comes as little surprise the CEO of Daimler, Dieter Zetsche, is open to jointly developing new engines with the Munich-based rival. In a recent interview, Zetsche revealed that he would be open to a partnership if it made financial sense.
Speaking with Germany’s […]
The man originally behind the concept of Smart cars, Swatch chairman Nicolas G. Hayek, has said he’s planning to build a new, greener car.
Hayek’s previous auto project, the Smart Fortwo, was originally designed as an all-electric vehicle. However, such technology was either not feasible or not affordable when the car was developed in […]
The Daimler name is actually owned by a small UK carmaker owned by Ford Premier Auto Group’s Jaguar, which sells re-badged Jaguar XJ saloons as the Super Eight. Jaguar attained the rights to the company in 1960 when it bought the UK subsidiary established by Germany’s Gottfried Daimler in 1896.
DaimlerChrysler “will now be allowed to […]
One of the key challenges of turning around the misfortunes at Chrysler will be to improve the levels of warranty claims, which last year cost it and German parent Daimler a staggering $6.1 billion. Though the data didn’t separate which carmaker within the group had the highest claims, Chrysler’s vehicles have consistently ranked below industry […]
DaimlerChrysler’s tiny Smart car is a popular model for tackling Europe’s tight inner-city streets and exorbitant fuel prices, but in the US, where it’s common to see 4,500 pound SUVs, fears are rising that the minicar won’t stand much of chance in a serious accident with one of these Goliaths of the road. This hasn’t […]
DaimlerChrysler’s ultra-luxury brand Maybach, suffering from poor sales and a limited lineup, could expand its range with rumored convertible and SUV models in an effort to increase profitability. Though chances of a high-end SUV are slim, the likelihood of a convertible model based on the current 57 limo is high considering that sister-brand Mercedes-Benz has […]
DaimlerChrysler is set to follow the lead of BMW by making mild hybrid and engine stop-start systems available in some of its more popular models. At an announcement in London, officials announced that the first car in the DCX fold to feature the eco-friendly tech will be the Smart Fortwo Micro-Hybrid due by the end […]
Smart has just released details about a couple of hybrid variants of its new Fortwo minicar, with the ultra-efficient offerings coming in three different flavors including one of the industry’s first diesel-hybrid drivetrains. It’s likely these designs will eventually lead to new production versions of the Fortwo, but so far only an engine stop-start equipped […]
DaimlerChrysler has received a ton of flak for its Smart car brand from both its shareholders and motoring journalists ever since the label was launched back in 2002, and with good reason. It has just been revealed that the minicar offshoot has lost close to €3.9 billion ($5.21 billion) between 2003 and 2006, according to […]
Daimler will be testing the waters with its own automatic stop-start fuel-saving technology when it introduces an updated Fortwo minicar later this year. Already introduced in several BMW models, the system works by automatically shutting down the engine when the car stands still in traffic and causes the motor to spring back into life when […]
Now that Daimler is on its own and no longer suffering the financial setback of the loss-making Chrysler brand, the luxury German carmaker will be very tempting as a possible takeover target in the eyes of cash-rich private equity investors. Until recently, most takeovers in the auto industry were between other carmakers, but now, for […]