This month only, purchase Mobil 1 esp 5W40 Synthetic Motor Oil for only $6.50/QT!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Check out this great deal!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
MERCEDES-BENZ SL550: Icon of innovation
"The styling has the same heritage but the 2013 introduces a lot more technology and safety," said Arthur Diaz, Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz of North Palm Beach. "The new model is also lighter, smoother, faster and more fuel efficient than any SL we've ever had."
This two-seat iconic roadster is powered by a new, 4.6-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine that generates 429 horsepower and 516 ft. -lb. of torque. Not only does it have 46 more horsepower than the 5.5-liter V8 that was used in the previous model but, according to Diaz, it has as much power as the Mercedes-Benz SL63.
There's certainly no shortage of power under the hood of the new SL550, but when you consider that the roadster is also 275 pounds lighter than its predecessor, you get a better understanding as to how much the performance has been elevated.
The new generation of the SL550 is composed of 89 percent aluminum, which is how it shed those excess pounds.
"This is an extremely lightweight car, but also extremely strong," said Diaz.
The lighter weight, coupled with cutting-edge technology, has also made the new SL550 the most fuel efficient version of the roadster ever introduced by Mercedes-Benz. For 2013, the SL550 achieves 16 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.
These are truly impressive figures for a car that produces nearly 430 horsepower and goes from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds.
"Mercedes-Benz has offered 60 years of sports-car firsts, and the legacy continues with the new SL550," said Diaz. "It is pure driving fun."
The two-seat roadster has a retractable Panorama roof that, when open, reveals a remarkably spacious interior, which has also been completely redesigned.
In addition to the finest leather, aluminum and wood finishes available, you will also find a 14-speaker harmon/kardon audio system (a Bang & Olufsen BeoSound system is also available) and the new Mercedes-Benz mbrace2 system, which offers not only open Internet access, but many apps including Facebook, Yelp and Google.
"The SL550 is Mercedes-Benz's flagship roadster, and it now has many innovative electronics that connect the driver to the vehicle," said Diaz. "However, with advanced technology such as the new cloud-based in-car Internet features available with the mbrace2 system, the SL also connects you to the world."
Diaz says the new SL550 is extremely popular with previous SL owner, but that it is also attracting a great deal of conquest business.
"With its look, feel and performance capabilities, the SL550 embraces all the senses, and drivers of all ultra-luxury cars have definitely taken notice," he said. "How can you not be excited?"
2013 MERCEDES-BENZ SL550
Type: Two-door, two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive roadster
Engine: 4.6-liter, twin-turbo V8 (429 horsepower)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic with paddle shifters and ECO-Stop/Start System
Safety: Front airbags, front side-impact body airbags, front side-impact head airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, rollover protection bars, drowsiness monitor, stability control, crash-responsive exit aid
Fuel mileage: 16 (city)/24 (highway)
MSRP: Starting at $105,500
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Call us today to schedule a test drive on this beautiful car!
Check out this all new 2011 C-Class that we have! It's got a great listing price. 
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
2013 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL63 AMG
Disaster averted, we're back to enjoying the scenery. It looks familiar but slightly different. The palm trees are shorter and stockier and the sea ahead of us is a milky blue instead of the deep blue-green Pacific we see at home.
This could be Southern California. We could be minutes from home. If we weren't paying close attention, the roads leading into the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azure region of France look like California. And if you're not paying attention, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG looks like a normal SL550.
Stronger and Stiffer, Not Heavier
The 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 is based on the new 2013 Mercedes SL550 and thus gets all of the same treatments. The body-in-white of both cars is down by 220 pounds versus the previous model, yet rigidity is up by 20 percent. The latest SL chassis contains some 200 feet of robot welding and nearly 2,000 rivets; the firewall is the largest cast piece in the automotive industry. Stiffness is important when you've got a car with 429 horsepower from a twin-turbo V8.
It gets even more important when you, as AMG has done here, rip out that motor and fill the void with a 530-hp 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 hand built in Affalterbach.
Stiffness is also an issue when that same car doesn't have a roof. The magnesium power-folding roof is not only very sturdy, it shaves 13 pounds from last year's steel-framed roof. The old SL would shudder as the mechanisms whirred and the roof origamied itself into place, but there's none of that here. Hold the button for the top and, like a good stagehand, the SL63 changes the scenery without reminding the audience of the intricacies at play. We said it of the SL550 and we'll repeat it here: It's one of the tightest convertibles we've ever driven.
With the additional bodywork and larger wheels, Mercedes estimates the SL63 tips the scales at 4,068 pounds — only 100 pounds heavier than the SL550 and nearly 400 pounds lighter than a 2011 SL63 AMG we tested last year.
It All Starts With the Engine
Starting the engine begins with a familiar snarl, but from a different body. Gone is the lustworthy naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 from the outgoing SL63 AMG and in its place is a new forced-induction power plant that promises to satisfy our love for power and the government's love for fuel efficiency.
Tobias Moers, chief engineer at Mercedes AMG, is quick to remind us that this is not the first application of AMG's new M157 5.5-liter turbocharged V8. It already sits in the E63, S63, CL63 and the CLS63 AMG cars and we've had our hands on nearly all of them. As with the S63, the SL63 AMG makes 530 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque in its standard tune.
Mercedes didn't provide them in their normal state, however. The cars we were driving were equipped with the AMG Performance package — a $9,000 option that "relimits" the top speed to 186 mph, increases power to 557 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque (via cranking the boost to 18.5 psi from 14.2 psi) and adds a limited-slip differential. Equipped with this pack, Mercedes estimates that the SL will hit 60 mph in under 4 seconds.
Controlling the Launch
Achieving this number, however, isn't as easy as smashing the go pedal and riding the wave of boost. Try it that way and the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 drags itself to about 10 mph before the turbos drop their full payload and the 285/35ZR20s out back scorch the asphalt. Fun, but not fast.
Instead, this SL, like the other AMGs is fitted with a Race Start (RS) feature that manages wheelspin, gearshifts and rpm to get the perfect launch. But it's a multistep process. Trying to use RS for light-to-light racing is like using an over-under shotgun to mow down zombies; you may get the first few, but eventually you'll get caught.
On the open road, the twin-turbo V8 has startling midrange. Passing a slow-moving Dacia — and the six cars it's holding up — is a non-event that requires zero forethought. All of that torque we wanted at launch is available and only too happy to get things moving.
Whether we shift the seven-speed automatic (a wet clutch replaces the torque converter in AMG cars) via the upgraded aluminum paddles or dump it in Sport Plus mode, the shifts are lightning-fast and send just enough shock through the system to make you feel like something happened. Along with the shift comes a distinct pop. Less a pop, per se, than a huff covering a yelp. Sound matters to AMG. Just because they can't get overrun on deceleration anymore doesn't mean they can't make some inappropriate noises.
The ABC of AMG
There are three buttons on the center console next to the shifter in the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG. The first is the familiar skidding car representing traction control. The third is the AMG button that sets all systems to a preset level of attack. Between them is the familiar graphic of a shock absorber that allows for adjustment of the suspension.
In normal mode, the SL63 glides with the solidity and effortlessness of the megayachts moored in the St. Tropez bay below us. Impacts flow through the suspension and into the cabin to remind us that the car is still connected to the road in the traditional Germanic way. The goal isn't isolation; it's control. As the road tightens, the body pitches over in reaction to the precise but finger-light steering.
Press that shock absorber button and the Mercedes-Benz Active Body Control springs into life. Immediately the steering changes. There's more weight in the wheel and the SL63 is far more reactive. The ratio never changes. Rather, Mercedes simply tinkers with the levels of assist as the ABC adjusts the suspension to simulate a quicker ratio. Turn-in is immediate in this mode and takes some getting used to, as does the ultra-flat cornering.
Peerless?
"There aren't any," a representative for Mercedes tells us when we ask about competitors. "Buyers don't cross-shop the SL."
According to the company, SL buyers are also, on average, 56 years old, predominantly male (84 percent), college graduates (77 percent), married (75 percent) and earn an average household income of $516,000 per year. Up to 40 percent of these buyers opt for an AMG version.
They're also repeat Mercedes-Benz buyers and often repeat SL buyers. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG is better in every measurable way than its predecessor — something we look forward to proving on our track back home — and Mr. $516,000-per-year will count himself deserving to park one next to his S- or CLS-Class AMG.
We'll mourn the loss of the naturally aspirated V8. We always liked the way it would pop and burble under engine braking, explode with natural sound on an upshift and fly through its rpm range with a wicked quickness.
Mr. $516,000 will briefly mourn the loss of $181,240 (as tested) and bask in the Mediterranean sun while his car slowly depreciates as he waits to buy the next best SL63 AMG ever.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Mercedes-Benz to pass Audi in sales by 2015, become world's second-biggest luxury car maker
The famous tri-star brand was the world's best-loved luxury automaker until 2005, when it lost the title to rival BMW, which has held it since.
In 2011, it suffered another blow when it slipped behind Audi into third place, selling 1.26 million vehicles compared to 1.3 million for Audi and 1.38 million for BMW.
Now, though, the fight back appears to be beginning, with German newspaper Handelsblatt reporting new sales projections from the Center of Automotive Research at the university of Duisburg-Essen.
According to the researchers, BMW will sell 1.76 million vehicles in 2015, compared to 1.68 million for Mercedes-Benz and 1.63 million for Audi.
That will put Mercedes-Benz within striking distance of its well-publicized goal to become the world's best-selling luxury automaker again by the end of the decade.
It won't, however, be an easy fight -- Audi is planning to push 2 million cars out of its factories by 2020 and wants to take the crown for itself with the help of the U.S. market, where it is currently ramping up in a bid to take on its two dominant competitors.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Looking for a great used vehicle with low mileage?
Come on down today and get into this superb 2009 Mercedes-Benz R-Class! This SUV gives you all the luxury features that you would expect, and more. 
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)