Mercedes-Benz Star Magazine Receives 13 Medals In 19th International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA)

The official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA), the Star, led all publications with 13 medals at the 19th International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA), recognized by the automobile industry as the Academy Awards of automotive journalism. The Star magazine won two gold, four silver, and six bronze awards as well as the Best of Graphics Award.

This year’s IAMA’s awards is the highest medal count in the publication’s history. And, The Star earned its first “Best of” Award for Jean Constantine’s photography for the feature article “W154: Back on the Track.” The article discusses the private restoration of one of the legendary 1939 W154 Mercedes-Benz “Silver Arrow” race cars.

Here’s the official press release provided by Lisa Juhl, Marketing Director with MBCA:

AMG Market News (amgmarket.com) from MBCA/COLORADO SPRINGS, CO/July 16, 2010/ –  “The Star, the official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, led all publications with 13 medals: two gold, four silver, and six bronze plus the Best of Graphics Award” at the 19th International Automotive Media Awards (IAMA), recognized by the automobile industry as the Academy Awards of automotive journalism. Continue reading » »

AMG Market News/Daimler PR/Affalterbach/January 21, 2009: With immediate effect, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is also available with the AMG sports package. This new, optional package includes sporty and dynamic features, some of which are not available individually. The AMG sports package can be combined with all engine variants and all E-Class design and equipment lines.

The new AMG body styling makes for a more sporty appearance and greater
emotional appeal. It comprises an AMG front apron with large cooling air intakes, striking AMG side skirts and an AMG rear apron. The exhaust tailpipes are further attractive features: in the four-cylinder petrol models these polished stainless steel tailpipes are of twin oval design , while four-cylinder diesel models have a single, oval tailpipe in polished stainless steel. All the six and eight-cylinder models feature twin, rectangular tailpipes of polished stainless steel integrated into the AMG rear apron.

Other eye-catching details include the completely newly designed 18-inch AMG light-alloy wheels, which are painted in sterling silver with a high-sheen finish and are shod with 245/40 R 18 wide-base tires at the front and 265/35 R 18 tires at the rear. Perforated brake discs and silver-painted callipers bearing the Mercedes-Benz logo at the front, plus the sporty DIRECT CONTROL suspension lowered by 15 millimeters, are also included in the AMG sports package as standard. Continue reading » »

It was here. It was gone and now it is back! Download the latest Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape release. The Mercedes-Benz promo includes music tracks by international newcomers; nice variety of rock, pop and jazz music you likely have not heard before.

Here is the newsletter content I rec’d earlier today (it includes a link to download the free mp3 files/Mixed Tape CD):

The Mercedes-Benz promo has included hundreds of songs during the marketing campaign. The program will provide 10 free music tracks (mp3 files) every two months. Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive the notices. I’m glad it is back. Enjoy!

A word of caution, there are numerous scams connected to buying and selling automobiles. The crooks aren't the smartest people in the world, but as it turns out several unsuspecting people have been taken by these scams.

To help protect our site visitors, here are a few resources to check if you are purchasing or selling a Mercedes-Benz in the near future:

• U.S. Department of Justice: Contact the Internet Fraud Division if you've been victimized.
• Automotive Scam Alert - Buzz Trader
• Top Ten Car Scams - Car Buying Tips 
• Car Buying Advice – Cars.com
• European Anti-Fraud Office: Help if you're a victim of fraud in Europe.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.: Advice on how to avoid being the victim of a scam or counterfeit check issue.
• Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection: Contact this agency if you've been victimized by fraud.
• SL Market News: Get current values for Mercedes-Benz SL cars from the newsletter (subscription required).
• Hemmings Motor News: Values for special-interest or collectible cars.
• National Association of Attorneys General: List of all 50 state attorney general offices; contact the consumer protection division to report fraud.
• National Automobile Dealers Association: Retail used-car values.
• National Consumers League: Tips for using escrow services online.
• National Fraud Information Center: Info about Internet and telemarketing fraud.
• U.S. Postal Service: Mail Fraud Complaint Form, report frauds committed via U.S. mail.
• U.S. Secret Service: Get information on check and currency scams from the Counterfeit Division.

The last few years have seen a flood of 500 horsepower sedans almost pouring out of Germany from BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. Earlier this month, however, representatives from Mercedes and AMG announced that the "horsepower wars" were over, saying that outright power would no longer be the "main focus" for future sports sedans.

Apparently, no-one sent that "war over" memo to RENNTECH.

RENNTECH announced a new "stage 3" tune for the 2008 65 series AMG models, which makes use of what the company calls "next-generation ECU software" to get 695 hp and 890 lb-ft of torque from the AMG's twin-turbo V12.

"Power will always be important to many customers, especially torque." explains Hartmut Feyhl, RENNTECH's president and ex technical director of AMG North America. "Our cars have always been able to make considerable torque, and have been praised in magazines for their drivability. Still, we are constantly trying to improve our product."Commitment to constant improvement is one reason RENNTECH has become known as one of the world's premier tuning firms…

RENNTECH believes their new software will further cement that knowledge in the public mind. they have two full-time in-house software engineers and others that work with the software on a part-time or contract basis.

The latest software takes advantage of the increased power of the new engine computers, and offers a number of small improvements that add up to a big 'overall' improvement," Feyhl explains. Continue reading » »