The newest car engines by Mercedes require a very special oil. The new Top Tec 6300 0W-20 by Liqui Moly is one of the first oils to be officially approved by Mercedes for them. “This is a double leap in development – both for the engine technology of Mercedes and for our oil technology,” says Oliver Kuhn, deputy manager of the liqui moly oil laboratory.
Bridgestone tyres have been approved as original equipment on the latest Mercedes A-Class. The Turanza T005 is the tyre of choice, and Bridgestone Europe reports it will supply Mercedes-Benz with dimensions to fit the full 17- to 19-inch high-rim range, including 17- and 18-inch tyres with run-flat technology.
It won’t be a surprise to learn that Germany’s premium car brands are the most expensive to run long-term. However, when you put Audi, BMW and Mercedes alongside each other, less of us may have guessed that Audi would be most expensive.
Recent research conducted by whocanfixmycar.com analysed more than 180,000 data points relating to the brands, and has found that Audi is 24 per cent more expensive to repair than BMW and Mercedes models and nearly 10 per cent more expensive than BMW.
Valeo Service UK has launched 14 new steering column switches and four clockspring and steering angle sensors specifically designed for Mercedes models.
Lewis Hamilton won the last grand prix run on the current Pirelli Formula One tyre range in Abu Dhabi, but was pipped to the drivers’ championship by Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who finished second, using identical two-stop strategies. The tyre supplier called the Yas Marina-hosted grand prix “the last race in the era of deliberately high tyre degradation”, with its latest, larger range of P Zero slicks and Cinturato wets unveiled in the emirate before the weekend’s racing began. The final development test for the 2017 will begin on Tuesday, 29 November, with Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari appearing on track together in modified 2015 mule cars.
This year’s National Franchised Dealers Association Summer 2016 survey, published today, had 1,746 respondents from a total participating dealer network of 4,090, which equates to a response rate of 43 per cent. This is the highest return ever, surpassing last winter’s high of 39 per cent. There were 28 franchise networks in the survey which represent a range of dealer sizes and ownership type from across the UK.
Pirelli said that a number of different strategies were in play at the German Grand Prix, with mostly three stops seen and many teams splitting their race strategies. Mercedes was one of these teams, with race winner Lewis Hamilton alternating the supersoft and soft tyre. Polesitter Nico Rosberg started with two sets of supersoft and then ended the race on two sets of soft.
Pirelli has revealed its first test of the new, wider 2017 specification Formula One tyres will be on 1-2 August at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit, near Modena in northern Italy. The tyre supplier will use a modified Ferrari SF15-T, at the test, during which the track will be artificially dampened in order to carry out tests with Cinturato intermediate and full wet tyres. Testing will continue immediately on 3-4 August, when Red Bull will test the new P Zero slick tyres at Mugello.
Several online sources are reporting that a number of German car manufacturers are planning to recall large numbers of vehicles as part of the ongoing vehicle emissions scandal. Sources suggest Mercedes, Opel and Porsche as well as Volkswagen and its Audi brand are to recall certain diesel vehicles. BBC news reports that over 600,000 cars are set to be recalled, citing German media reports.
Daimler AG has confirmed that it is conducting an “internal investigation regarding its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States”. This action follows a request from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result the company says it will “investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions.”
Goodyear has announced that it is supplying 19- and 20-inch OE tyres for the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. As you would imagine, smooth ride is an important part of this particular OE deal, so it is interesting to note that the associate OE fitments feature Goodyear’s SoundComfort Technology integrated into the tyres.
Although the name Mercedes isn’t mentioned even once, there’s no mistaking that a statement issued by Pirelli yesterday aims to finally put an end to the conspiracy theories circulating since last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Dunlop has launched a series of videos themed on the brand’s technical partnership with AMG. The release of the first short videos is timed to coincide with Dunlop’s first anniversary as the AMG Driving Academy’s official tyre partner, which extended its four-year technical partnership with AMG Customer Sports. Each of the five videos offers behind-the-scenes access to Dunlop’s technical team, which designs, develops and tests tyres to meet Mercedes-AMG’s highest standards. The first two episodes in the series are available to watch in the main body of this article.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the British Grand Prix was inspired by an early pit stop to fit Pirelli’s Cinturato wet tyres, having conceded pole position to his Williams rivals at the start. Mercedes made the right strategy call a second time, when Hamilton was brought in for his second stop (for intermediates) just as proper rain hit the end of the grand prix.
There is chaos in the Russian light vehicle market, with some of the fastest contractions on record. The Russian light-vehicle market posted a the highest rate of monthly contraction since the accelerated decline of 2009 of 42.5 per cent year-on-year to 139,850 units, according to the latest data set released by the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
The chairman of the AEB’s vehicle manufacturers committee blamed the pull-forward effect of the government’s scrappage scheme and the heavy price inflation. The latter is no doubt a bigger reason for the collapse as the general macroeconomic environment in Russia continues to deteriorate alarmingly as the rouble weakens and sanctions bite,
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