2012 Starfest Convention with Mercedes-Benz Club of America

For the month of December, Mercedes-Benz of Fort Wayne is teaming up with Crossroad Child & Family Services to help create good memories for Crossroad youth this holiday season.

You can save 25% off any service or repair in our service center, when you bring a new toy or 2 new items of children's clothing in for donation.

http://bit.ly/V3esBh

Review: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350

Sleigh bells.That’s the image that’s eluded me all these years: the precise chiming of an idling sports car, like the Lexus LF-A or Audi R8 V10. It sounds like sleigh bells. Happy sleigh bells.

There are no sleigh bells in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec diesel. The timbre of this machine is a dark, deep, damped, an organic ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. Bell-wise, this thing needs its own hunchback.

This, the company’s ground-up redesign of its Alabama-built, large luxury SUV with a high-mileage diesel (19/26 miles per gallon) under the hood, is an absolute hoss: 16.7 feet long, 6 feet high and 7 feet wide at the side mirrors. The GL350 doesn’t come around a corner so much as heave into view like a dangerous iceberg. It’s flipping Homeric.

If you can get over the sheer presumption of it all, and hike your hams up to the diamond-quilt leather driver’s seat, you will find yourself ahold of a very sturdy object, indeed. The new GL—seven-passenger, 7,500-pound towing, all-wheel drive—is roughly the same size as before (about the dimensions and weight of a Chevy Tahoe), but there’s a lot more standard content in that footprint.

Mercedes is also pleased to offer you an impressive list of optional driver-assist and cabin amenities, all of which add weight. Our test vehicle, which clocked in at a brisk $99,840, represented the Russian Girlfriend package: illuminated running boards ($670); chocolate leather-and-walnut “Designo” appointments ($4,800); Bang & Olufsen sound system ($6,700); 20-inch wheels ($750); dual-panel panoramic sunroof ($1,090); rear-seat entertainment system ($1,970); heated rear seats ($620) and more.

Mercedes claims 5,467 pounds for the GL350, but my luxed-out example was certainly closer to three tons (for reference, the new alloy-chassis Range Rover has a real-world curb weight of about 5,000 pounds). Frankly, I think the GL’s curb weight is unsustainable going forward and will ultimately shorten this design’s shelf life.

Meantime, a unique characteristic of this GL, practically worth the price of admission all its own, is its serene, even ceremonial, quiet. The truck’s lack of vibration, noise or resonances constitutes an alternate aural reality. Go ahead, slam that door shut. Whhompf! And then you press the start button on the dash and—in our 3.0-liter turbodiesel test truck—a moment’s delay, and then the tick-purr of the engine. The faintest shudder, coming from many decks below, is your only sign that a 52-pound crankshaft has suddenly accelerated to 800 rpm. It’s like firing up a Coast Guard cutter.

Part of this effect is due to the diesel’s BlueTec system, which includes a fuel-saving stop/start function, shutting down the engine while the vehicle is not moving. Firing up/shutting down a rattling diesel engine—particularly a V6, which has higher vibrational tendencies anyway—wants to impart a lot of noise and rocking motions to the chassis. In order to quell these transient vibrations, the GL’s engine and transmission mountings are effectively over-engineered. Once the engine is running, whatever torquing and vibrations sneak past the engine mounts dwindle to almost nothing in the vehicle’s huge, attenuating structure.

Here the careful reader will note I’m wildly out of my depth. The point is, Gitmo doesn’t have this kind of isolation.

Behind the handsome, purposeful grille is Mercedes’s evolved OM642 diesel V6 (72-degree bank, 48-degree crankpin offset, with center counterbalance shaft), connected to the GL’s standard seven-speed automatic transmission. Even under heavy throttle, the upshifts are creamy-smooth, and when the GL350 reaches highway speeds, the transmission slips into a nearly catatonic double overdrive. At 80 mph, the engine is turning about 1,800 rpm (redline is 4,500 rpm). With full tank of oil, the GL350 has a stated range of 600 miles.

For petrol fans, Mercedes deploys three newish, turbocharged direct-injection V8′s: two 4.6-liter units producing either 362 horsepower (GL450) or 429 hp (GL550); or the heavy-breathing 5.5-liter, 550-hp mill in the GL63 AMG, which is, obviously, balling.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the diesel version of the GL, which has range, mileage and impeccable refinement on its side. The diesel’s 455 pound-feet of peak torque (1,600-2,400 rpm), is plenty capable of stirring the big truck to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds, give or take a Russian girlfriend. Fast enough. The OM642 is a tractable, effortless and flexible powerplant at urban speeds, with minimal inertia and almost nothing of what you’d call turbo lag.

However, the GL350 does start to run out of reserve acceleration at interstate speeds. On some of California’s more demanding freeways, I imagine the GL might feel a little pokey. The AMG’s 5.5-liter certainly has the cure for that.

Also, Mercedes’s product planners have decreed that the off-road package—low-speed transfer case, multimode driving selector, 12-inch extended ride height, skid plates ($2,850)—will be available only with the gas-engine GLs. I’m sure this is a carefully considered decision, but I bet it will frustrate a lot of diesel shoppers.

The GL’s 2013 updating brings along Mercedes’s current spread-wing dash design, with standard Eucalyptus or optional burled-walnut wood veneer flowing into the doors’ wainscoting. Our test truck’s quilted-leather “Designo” auburn upholstery, on the seats, doors and dash, was a wonderfully rich and expressive touch, and for $4,800, it ought to be.

Other notable cabin improvements include the power middle-row seats, which slew forward to ease access to the third-row seats; and the optional Surround View Monitor ($1,290), bundled with the Parktronic active parking assist system. Surround View creates a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle by compositing images from four cameras around the vehicle, helping drivers maneuver in tight situations. This system is a must-have simply because the GL’s outward visibility is so seriously constrained and the sprawl of the vehicle makes it hard to tell where the corners are. Honestly, parts of this beast might as well be in Burma.

Like other high-end SUV manufacturers, only maybe more so, Mercedes continues to try to improve on these big vehicles’ manageability. The GL offers standard crosswind stabilization and trailer-stability assist (both are overlays of the stability-control system). Optionally, there’s the adaptive/driver-selectable four-mode air-suspension system; and the “Active Curve System,” which uses active antiroll bars front and rear to limit body roll in sweeping turns.

Other technologies to help drivers keep it between the lines: standard Collision Prevention assist (warns of, and braces for, potential impacts with vehicles ahead); and the Driver Assist package ($2,100), including blind-spot monitoring, active lane-keeping and Distronic adaptive cruise control.

Still, even with these interventions, the GL feels large, lane-spanning and tall, a creature of barely constrained momentum whose road-holding is never entirely convincing. Yes, the ride is pretty great in a softly padded way. But there’s entirely too much piloting, too much beating-upwind-in-a-dirigible, especially on a country road. The steering is lazy and resolutely vague. The GL sort of hates to be hustled at all, frankly.

If they asked me what’s the one thing I’d want more of in the GL, the answer would be “reassurance.”

And sleigh bells.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec

Base price: $63,305

Price as tested: $99,840

Powertrain: 3.0-liter, 24-valve turbodiesel V6 with variable valve timing; seven-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode; permanent all-wheel drive

Horsepower/torque: 240 hp at 2,600 rpm/455 pound-feet at 1,600-2,400 rpm

Length/weight: 201.6 inches/5,467 pounds

Wheelbase: 121.1 inches

0-60 mph: 8.3 seconds

EPA fuel economy: 19/26 mpg, city/highway

Cargo capacity: 16 cubic feet (behind third-row seats); 93.8 cubic feet (middle and rear rows folded)

Courtesy of: http://on.wsj.com/TiuN5Z

Experience the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 at Mercedes-Benz of Fort Wayne

This vehicle defines perfection. It's the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK350. This vehicle is outstanding inside and out. Stop in today and enjoy a test drive. Click here to learn more about the GLK350.

2013 SL-Class Overview -- Mercedes-Benz Hardtop Roadster

Have you seen this beauty yet?

It's the all new Mercedes Benz CL600! Check out this great offer currently going on.

Visit our website for more details!

L.A. Auto Show preview: Mercedes-Benz to debut SLS AMG Black Series

Because the extreme version of Mercedes-Benz's current supercar, the gullwinged SLS AMG GT, clearly needs more power and less weight, the company announced Friday that it would be bringing to the 2012 L.A. Auto Show, you know, a faster model.

The car is the SLS AMG Black Series.

Black Series is to AMG what AMG is to Mercedes. Only four other production models have had a Black Series variant, the most recent being the 2013 C63 AMG. The philosophy is very simple: turn everything up to 11. We love you, Cleveland.

This SLS Black Series ups the ante by boosting the SLS GT's 583 horsepower to 622 horsepower, while torque actually drops from 479 pound-feet to 468 pound-feet. The engine's redline jumps to 8,000 rpm and it gets other revisions like revised mapping, a new oil pump, new crankshaft bearings and a revised cooling system.

The seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission now sits a scootch lower, and two of the gearbox's four drive modes have been retuned for more aggressive and faster shifts. The SLS Black Series also gets a completely revamped suspension system with two selectable modes, the car's track has been widened, and the speed-sensitive steering has been revised. This SLS also benefits from standard carbon-ceramic brakes.

Further weight savings come from a lithium-ion battery (a loss of 17.6 pounds) and a titanium sports exhaust system (a loss of 28.7 pounds).

All told, these changes add up to a weight savings of 154 pounds from the SLS GT, for a total curb weight of 3,417 pounds. The car will do 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds (.1 second faster than the GT) on its way to a 196-mph top speed.

Mercedes says the car draws its exterior design inspiration from the company's SLS AMG GT3 racecar. The Black Series gets flared fenders, tinted headlights, carbon fiber side skirts all around, a rear diffuser, a carbon fiber hood, and matte-black alloy wheels (19-inch in the front, 20-inch in the back). Buyers can also specify the carbon fiber rear wing you see here.

Inside, the car comes with Alcantara trim in red or black, a flat-bottom steering wheel, a carbon fiber-lined center console, and an 11-speaker, 1,000-watt Bang & Olufson sound system.

Unfortunately, as is the case on the SLS AMG Roadster we tested in early 2012, the car still has Mercedes' outdated center console setup and design. Customers who want to really save weight can delete this Comand multimedia system, a move Mercedes says saves you another 13 pounds.

If all this sounds like something you'd like to drive, you'll have to wait for it to go on sale the summer of 2013, and though there's no official word on pricing, expect it to close in on $300,000. If you'd like to stare at it in person before next year, head to the L.A. Auto Show -- which is open to the public Nov. 30 to  Dec. 9. -- to see this and several other Mercedes-Benz products the company will debut at the show.

2013 C-Class "Through and Through" Commercial -- New Mercedes-Benz 4 Door Sports Sedan

Purchase 8 quarts of oil and receive a FREE oil filter. That's right FREE!

Luxury SUV -- Discover Off Roading in the G-Class -- Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz USA Donates $1,000,000 To The American Red Cross For Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort

"The devastation that Hurricane Sandy left behind will be felt for a long time in the communities in which we live and work," said Steve Cannon, president and CEO, MBUSA.  "It's our hope that this donation can provide some small measure of relief for the families and businesses affected as the recovery and rebuilding begins."

The company has a strong presence in the Northeastern United States with its headquarters in Montvale, New Jersey, a regional office in Parsippany, New Jersey, Parts Distribution Center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, Vehicle Preparation Center in Baltimore, Maryland and 83 dealerships throughout the Northeastern corridor.

In addition to monetary support, the company is encouraging its employees to volunteer in their local communities (for which the company offers time off from work for qualifying employees) and to donate individually, taking advantage of the company's matching gifts program. 

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/31/4952379/mercedes-benz-usa-donates-1000000.ht...