60 Years of the SL Roadster – Mercedes-Benz Video
By Greg Magnus
Mercedes-Benz has produced a video that visually walks you through the evolution of the Mercedes-Benz SL. It is a one and a half minute video published on YouTube that SL enthusiasts will enjoy.
Here’s what Mercedes-Benz PR says about the video, “For 60 years the Mercedes-Benz SL has been an automotive icon, synonymous with outstanding innovation and refined athleticism. From the 1954 300SL to the new SL63 AMG, this classic luxury roadster continues to set standards for what a car should be.”
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Daimler Gives Up on Maybach
By John Olson
The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported this past weekend that the Maybach brand will end in early 2013. CEO Dieter Zetsche explained that studies for a new generation of Maybach models vs. expanding the next S-Class Mercedes-Benz, also due in 2013, give more certainty of success to the latter. Plans are proceeding for a next S-Class in three wheelbases, including an S 600 “Pullman” limousine.
Collectors tend to value defunct brands; Tucker and Packard are good examples. The Maybach name will always be revered in Daimler AG history due to Wilhelm Maybach’s innovative engineering assistance during Gottieb Daimler’s founding years. It is possible Maybach will be enshrined more after production ends than when built.
The current Maybach was launched in 2002 in two wheelbases, built on the W140 S-Class structure of 1991-1999, due to their larger dimensions. Unfortunately sales of Maybach never even approached expectations. The ultra-luxury segment was flooded with new models after Volkswagen bought Bentley and BMW took over Rolls Royce. The notion that the best Mercedes-Benz required separate branding was obviously just a notion in hindsight.
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Understanding the Pebble Beach Concours
By John Olson
Many of you have entered cars in a “concour d’Elegance” at least once. Some have taken up the challenge to win or become interested enough to learn judging. MBCA among others conducts judging classes around the country every year. That’s how it happened for me. A few years later I was invited to organize a concours in Minneapolis and even select/create the judging format. National club-wide judging criteria is now common but with little inter-club standardization except perhaps the use of a 100 point yardstick.
This year I had the honor of judging post WWII Mercedes-Benz at Pebble Beach. The biggest different at Continue reading »
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