It has been confirmed that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team. The full press release and a video interview with Schumacher is below:

AMG Market News/Press Release from Stuttgart/Brackley – The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team. With seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams. Michael’s return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships. The announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars. Continue reading » »

Charlotte Kiehle of the New York State Dept. of Tax and Finance Child Support Enforcement contacted us about a charity auction this Saturday, Dec. 5. She requested help in promoting the charity and here’s the info she provided (please pass it on, it is for a good cause – thanks).

NYS DEPT OF TAX & FINANCE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT took possession of a 1980 Mercedes Benz 450 SEL 4 door sedan, blue (not diesel).  Pictures attached.  This vehicle is going up for auction Saturday, December 5 at 11:30 am at Manasse Auction, Whitney Point NY 607-692-4540- website is www.manasseauctions.com and the cars being sold on Dec. 5 are listed here.

They will accept phone bids.   Please let your friends know and let’s get money for child support.

Provided by Charlotte Kiehe
Ph: 315-794-0062

AMG Market News/Daimler PR from Stuttgart – Nov. 2009: Readers of the magazine "Auto Zeitung" have voted the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class the best saloon in the luxury class, while first place for best super sports car was also taken by the new "Gullwing" Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, resulting in both cars receiving the prestigious "Auto Trophy."

The top-class awards were presented to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and to Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales and Marketing, at a ceremony held last night in Berlin.

This marked the 22nd occasion on which "Auto Zeitung" opened up annual voting for the best cars of the year. No fewer than 104,442 readers cast their votes, carrying the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to victory as the best car of the year in the luxury class. As the global leader in this segment, Mercedes-Benz easily fended off its 19 competitors.

Since its market premiere in spring 2009, the new E-Class has successfully made a name for itself with its dynamic design, setting new standards in terms of safety, comfort, environmental compatibility and economy. Contributing to this success is a new generation of engines which operate at previously unattained levels of efficiency.

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AMG Market News/Daimler Press Release – Stuttgart, Nov. 16: Mercedes-Benz will enter the Formula 1 World Championship with its own team, beginning with the 2010 season, and Daimler AG and McLaren Group will change their form of cooperation with effect as of 13 November 2009. This was announced by Daimler AG today.

Daimler AG together with Aabar Investments PJSC will take over 75.1 per cent of the Brawn GP team, with Daimler taking 45.1 per cent and Aabar 30 per cent. The rest of the 24.9 per cent will remain with the current stakeholders. With 9.1 per cent, Aabar is the biggest single shareholder of Daimler AG. This transaction is subject to the approval of the EU and the Swiss cartel authorities.

The background to this decision are the new terms and conditions for Formula 1. The “Resource Restrictions” set by FOTA and FIA effectively limit expenditure for the design, construction and running of the racing cars. In addition, there will be a significantly higher income available for a Formula 1 team generated by the commercial rights of the racing series following the signing of the new Concorde Agreement.

The partnership between McLaren Mercedes has been in place since 1995 and ended its 15^th joint Formula 1 season in 2009. The change to the form of cooperation is taking place by mutual agreement. Mercedes-Benz and McLaren will continue to co-operate with each other and the supply of engines could continue until 2015. Continue reading » »

Daimler has released press materials for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: the Gullwing super sports car from Mercedes-Benz and AMG

Laguna Seca (USA) – Automotive fascination and high-tech at the highest level: the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which is due to be launched in spring 2010. This Gullwing model captivates with a purist design, intelligent lightweight construction and superior handling dynamics, and is bound to cause a sensation in the super sports car segment. The new SLS AMG is nothing short of a masterpiece by Mercedes-AMG GmbH. As the first independently developed vehicle, the super sports car is the highlight in the company’s more than 40-year history. It not only takes AMG, the performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars, into a new era, but also demonstrates development expertise of the very highest order.

The new super sports car from Mercedes-Benz and AMG makes for an alluring proposition with its unrivalled technology package: aluminum spaceframe body with Gullwing doors, AMG 6.3-liter V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW/ 571 hp peak output, 650 Nm of torque and dry sump lubrication, seven-speed double-declutch transmission in a transaxle configuration, sports suspension with aluminum double wishbones and a curb weight of 1620 kilograms based on the DIN standard – this superlative combination guarantees driving dynamics of the highest order.  … Photo Gallery:

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Daimler announced the receipt of the “Golden Steering Wheel” award presented by Auto Bild and 25 associated European publications. Here’s the official press release and AMG SLS photos in our gallery:

More than a quarter of a million readers took part, and voted the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG the world’s best super sports car by a wide margin. Accordingly “Bild am Sonntag”, “Auto Bild” and 25 associated European publications awarded the new Gullwing model the “Golden Steering Wheel” – one of the most important automotive awards in Europe. This coveted award was officially presented to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars, in Berlin yesterday evening.

Eleven super sports cars competed in the large-scale reader’s vote for the “Golden Steering Wheel” award, which “Bild am Sonntag” and the motoring magazine “Auto Bild” organized on a Europe-wide basis for the first time this year. Almost one third of all votes were cast in favor of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which therefore headed the readers’ popularity list in the super sports car category by a wide margin over the runner-up.

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Ever wonder how the SLS AMG or the E-Class Coupé is created? Where is the future of Mercedes-Benz design headed?

This year at the 2009 International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is allowing auto enthusiasts to take a behind-the-scenes look at how professional Mercedes-Benz designers create new cars.  From the first design sketch to the finished model, spectators can witness the design process first hand.

It is a great opportunity for show visitors to learn about auto design. The official press release from Daimler is below: Continue reading » »

AMG Market News/Mercedes-Benz PR from Stuttgart/Affalterbach/Sept. 10:  The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which is about to celebrate its world premiere on 15 September 2009 at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main, embodies a blend of consummate automotive fascination and high tech. The super sports car delivers a compelling mix of purist styling, consistent lightweight design and superior driving dynamics. At the same time, the SLS fully lives up to all the expectations of hallmark Mercedes everyday practicality and optimum safety. In essence, the new ‘Gullwing’ offers the ideal synthesis of the strengths of Mercedes-Benz and AMG. (Continue reading for link to SLS AMG Gullwing photo gallery…)

Continue reading » »

Mercedes-Benz has always been known for going above and beyond when it comes to safety. Now, data collected by the Federal Office of Statistics suggests Mercedes drivers are safer on the road. I hope my insurance agent is reading this! Here’s the press release from Stuttgart for you:

Stuttgart – The evidence is now clear: drivers of Mercedes vehicles are safer on the road than drivers of other car brands. This is the result of a study of Mercedes accident research based on official, anonymous data samples from the Federal Office of Statistics. Having looked at 18,748 accidents resulting in personal injury during the period from 2003 to 2007, the study found that the risk of being seriously or fatally injured as the driver of a E‑Class, is 10.4 percent lower than for comparable vehicles of other brands.

The study did not even allow for the fact that Mercedes-Benz vehicles are involved in accidents less frequently than the vehicles of other brands – primarily because, among other reasons, Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to introduce ESP® across the board. The study of accident severity only took into account accidents resulting in personal injury. The criteria were initial registration from 2002 onwards, as well as a performance and weight class corresponding to the E‑Class.

The result represents clear evidence of the contribution made by the passive safety systems of Mercedes-Benz to reducing the consequences of an accident. Thanks to adaptive front airbags and belt-force limiters, which can adapt to the severity of an impact, rollover sensors, windowbags as standard and an intelligently designed body structure which provides occupants with excellent protection even in the event of severe collisions, at the time of its world premiere in 2002 the E-Class became the new benchmark for passenger car safety in the luxury class.

In the course of a facelift of the E-Class in the spring of 2006, the Mercedes engineers continued to achieve further substantial advances in the field of high-level safety, equipping the E-Class with safety systems which no other passenger car in this class was able to offer. At the time PRE-SAFE® was introduced, the interlinking of systems for accident prevention with occupant protection marked the start of a new era in this vehicle class. This Mercedes invention takes advantage of the time between detecting an accident-prone situation and possible accident damage for occupant protection. With the new E-Class, Mercedes-Benz has continued to build on the advances being made in the field of safety. Around a dozen new or enhanced driver assistance systems contribute to preventing accidents and reducing the severity of an impact. These include the ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection system, as well as the optional DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control system and PRE-SAFE® Brakes with autonomous emergency braking. For the first time, PRE-SAFE® can also make use of information from the short-range radar sensors in the front bumper to tighten the front seat belts in the very last split second before an unavoidable accident, thus helping to reduce the loads suffered by the driver and front passenger in a crash.

With nine airbags as standard, four seat-belt tensioners and belt-force limiters as well as crash-responsive NECK-PRO head restraints for driver and front passenger, the new E-Class provides an even more comprehensive level of safety equipment than its predecessor. As well as the air cushions, which can be activated in milliseconds in the event of an accident, there are also two adaptive airbags for the driver and front passenger, a kneebag for the driver, two sidebags in the front seat backrests, and also two generously sized windowbags which span the area from the A to the C-pillar in the event of a side impact. For the first time, pelvisbags have also been incorporated for the front seat occupants. These can also help to reduce loads in the upper body and pelvic areas in the event of a side collision. Sidebags are also available as an optional extra for the rear passengers, while another safety innovation includes automatic adaptive belt-force limiters in the rear, now available for the first time as an option from Mercedes-Benz. These adjust automatically to the size and weight of the passengers.

The AMG Driving Academy announced that Tommy Kendall will be the inaugural celebrity driving instructor and Master of Ceremonies for the AMG Driving Academy. Here’s the press release from Mercedes-AMG:

Tommy Kendall is best-known for his dominating SCCA Trans-Am Series career where he won four championships in the 1990’s, including a near perfect season in 1997 where he won nearly every race on the schedule. Tommy is a successful television broadcaster and analyst today, and is currently hosting the Speed Test Drive on SpeedTV.

“I’m very excited about being a part of this incredible program with Mercedes-Benz and AMG says Tommy Kendall. I’ve had a great relationship with Mercedes-Benz and the AMG Challenge for many years, but as a racer, you are always looking to push the performance envelope to the limits of both yourself and your equipment.”

“People always tell me that I have the greatest job in the world on ‘Test Drive’ because I get to push incredible vehicles to the limit on great race tracks, and then evaluate how they perform. The AMG Driving Academy gives people the chance to do just that by really picking up the pace from where the Challenge leaves off, and push participants and AMG vehicles to the limit at three of my favorite tracks in the U.S. Graduates can then advance through higher levels of the AMG Academy systems both here in the U.S. and in Europe, which is another great benefit of this program.”

You can join Tommy Kendall at the U.S.-debut of this world-renowned high performance driver training program this Fall, continuing the global expansion of the AMG Driving Academy founded by AMG in Affalterbach.

We are privileged to offer you the exciting opportunity to be one of the first participants here in the United States. Experience the true performance capabilities of a selection of the latest AMG vehicles ­by getting behind the wheel, on a racetrack, and receiving coaching from world-class professional racers and instructors at three legendary racetracks: Laguna Seca Raceway (CA), Lime Rock Park (CT), and Palm Beach International Raceway (FL).Only a limited number of seats are still available for a discount of 20% at Palm Beach International Raceway and Lime Rock Park if you enroll by August 31, 2009.

AMG Driving Academy Registration Center phone: 800-217-6916
For program info, including dates and track details, visit the
AMG Driving Academy Website.