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Mercedes-Benz USA announced that it has received a CNET Editors’ Choice award for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.  The CNET Editors’ Choice award recognizes outstanding consumer electronics choices for quality, performance, design, service and value.

Winners of the awards are recognized as top products in their respective technology categories.  A key selection requirement is that it must also change the competitive landscape of its market, whether through innovative features, exceptional value for the price, remarkable ease of use, or a demonstrable boost to the lives of its users.

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG features Continued » »

Powering a New Class of Hybrids

Mercedes has announced plans to produce the first hybrid cars with
powerful lithium-ion batteries. The cars won't roll off the assembly
lines until 2009, but the Germans are hoping to break Japanese
dominance of the electric-motor market.

Mercedes-Benz will unveil a new car battery this week. It uses about
as much space as a conventional lead battery (meant only to start
engines), but it packs a whopping 120 volts — about ten times the
power of its more ordinary cousin — and it will be used, starting
next year, in the luxury Mercedes S-Class line of hybrids.

The S-Class will be the world's first

Continued » »

Rarely does Mercedes-Benz AMG get mentioned when you're talking about having the most fun with a car priced at $25,000 or less. But in this Car & Driver video, the 1999 E55 makes the cut. Here's an excerpt of what they say on the video, which can be viewed below:

One hundred and eighty-three thousand. That’s how many miles have been rolled up on the odometer of the 1999 E55 AMG currently owned by Bryan English. English has driven the hell out of the big Benz, accruing all but 16,000 of those miles since purchasing the car in 2003. His E55 feels extremely tight and is in exceptional condition despite the high mileage, a testament to how well English takes care of his ride as well as to the Germans who built it. Squeaks and rattles are nonexistent, and the Mercedes dealers and independent specialists we’ve spoken with characterize the W210 E55 as bulletproof.

The AMG Mercedes-Benz E55 is the fifth car in the video:

You can read about the E55 AMG Mercedes-Benz from the video at Car & Driver here.

How do you get an extra 100 horsepower out of a standard Mercedes-Benz AMG C63? One name should immediately come to mind, Hartmut Feyhl; the former technical director at AMG North America before forming his own company, RENNtech, in 1989. During the past two decades, Feyhl has built a reputation as one of the world's premier tuners and America's foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz high performance.

The AMG C63 is a return to the concept of bigger engine in a smaller car. What does Feyhl think of the AMG C63? Feyhl says,

"It is a very special car, as the C class has grown to about the same size as the 6.3 and the W124 Hammer, but with much more power. We want to see how far we can go with this car."

How far is RENNtech taking the AMG C63? The best writeup on this topic is from the tuners themselves and you can read it at, RENNtech for C63. RENNtech has posted a set of AMG C63 photos on flickr here.

Our friends over at Jalopnik also have a nice article that covers the mods performed by RENNtech on the Mercedes-Benz AMG C63, which you can read here.

For those tracking price trends for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, consider the results of a recent Silver Auctions event. Silver Auctions has organized auctions for over 24 years and the Silver Collector Car Auction focuses on in demand cars, instead of the high-priced or celebrity owned automobiles. Basically, Silver has aimed for the affordable section of the collectible car market. Their annual Hot August Nights auction held in Reno, Nevada is widely recognized as one of the nation's premier collector car auctions.

The following auction results are for Hot August Nights event held in Reno, Nevada on August 7–10, 2008. Two AMG Mercedes-Benz were auctioned but didn't sell; the "high bids" are provided:

2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG Convertible $72,000

2005 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG Convertible $48,000

Mercedes-Benz vehicles that SOLD:

1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Convertible $58,320

1965 Mercedes-Benz 220S Sedan $5,400

1965 Mercedes-Benz 220S Sedan $3,780

1973 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $7,668

1974 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $3,780

1975 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $4,968

1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $4,320

1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $8,640

1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Convertible $4,536

2000 Mercedes-Benz 500SL Convertible $22,572

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SL Convertible $17,820

1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL Convertible $11,610

1994 Mercedes-Benz 600SL Convertible $21,600

All of the auction results, including a "condition" ranking for the vehicles that sold, can be found at Silver Auctions here.