
Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Fisker, Electric, Luxury The Fisker Atlantic extended-range plug-in vehicle will start production about a year after its previously estimated mid-2013 date, Inside EVs blog reports, citing leaked company documents that were dated "a few weeks ago." The Atlantic, formerly known as Project Nina, will compete pricewise against the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series sedans, as well as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class, Jaguar XF and Audi A4 and A6. That would put the model in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, according to the publication. The model, which will still be produced at Fisker's Delaware plant, will have 300 horsepower, a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds and emissions of 50 grams per kilometer of CO2, Inside EVs reports, citing the documents. "As these documents are obviously leaked investor documents and highly confidential, I am not prepared to comment any further," a Fisker representative tells Autoblog sister site, AutoblogGreen. The status of the Atlantic has been in question since plans for the former General Motors plant in Delaware were put on hold once the U.S. Department of Energy froze most of the $529 million in loans earmarked for the California-based company. Fisker unveiled the Atlantic at the New York Auto Show last month, saying that the car's price tag would be "a much lower price point" than Fisker's Karma sedan.Leaked Fisker Atlantic documents reveal big production delay, specs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

'You know, you can't trust anyone in this business,' pop star tells GQ.By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber Photo: Lester Cohen/ WireImage It's not always easy being Justin Bieber. At least that's what the latest profile about the teen superstar in GQ suggests. While Bieber does open up a bit about his personal life, he remains mostly guarded, sharing very little about what goes on when the cameras aren't rolling or he's not in the recording studio. "I mean, I keep my guard up a lot, because you know, you can't trust anyone in this business," Bieber says in the June issue of the magazine. "That's what's sad. You can't trust anybody. I learned the hard way." The article notes that Bieber seems to mostly go from his house to his car to the studio, with little time for spontaneity. While he remained tight-lipped in the interview, he confesses that he does on occasion let his guard down. But even then, he tries to never let anything get out of hand. "For me, it's just like, I like to be in control of myself," he said. "I mean, I've had a beer, like, before. ... But I never get out of control." Bieber seemed most relaxed during the interview when his pricey new car, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, is sent to him at the studio. With his friends, handlers and associates on hand, he proclaims to everyone that they should head into the studio with him and celebrate by listening to some of his new music. "I'm 18 years old and I'm a swaggy adult!" he says. "Come on, swaggy bros!" That swagger is noted later on in the article when Bieber says, "I've never made a bad song." Another candid Bieber moment comes later on. When hanging in the studio after working on a track for Believe, which drops next month, one of his pals bashes his onetime crush Kim Kardashian, and he quickly comes to her defense, saying, "People say she doesn't do anything; she actually does do stuff. ... She works hard." When MTV News sat down with Bieber to premiere his "Boyfriend" video recently, he told us that he always tries to be the best he can be. "I think it's about getting better at everything and never stopping. You can be the best but you can never stop growing," he shared, before noting that he always enters interviews fully aware that anything he says could be taken out of context. "Right now, I have to think two seconds in advance, like, 'What am I gonna say?' But I try my best to moderate what I'm gonna say, to say it so I don't make any mistakes," he admitted. "So people aren't, like, twisting my words." Related Videos MTV First: Justin Bieber Related Artists Justin Bieber
![First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG [w/video]](/files/pictures/1921/192118.jpg)
Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Mercedes-Benz, First Drives, LuxuryAffalterbach Additions Transform Benz's Heavy-Hitting Droptop Saint-Tropez is a charming town in southeastern France nestled along the Mediterranean Sea. Internationally recognized as a summer playground for the wealthy and famous, it is also famed for its "clothing optional" beaches where more than just noses and shoulders get burned in hot weather. While still a couple months shy of warm weather and the influx of tourists, Mercedes-Benz chose to get an early start on the topless party by flying us to the Côte d'Azur for some seat time in its newest high-performance droptop, the 2013 SL63 AMG Roadster. Our first taste of the new SL-Class was behind the wheel of the standard SL550 in Spain less than two months ago. The two-seater impressed us with its stout chassis, strong engine and lavish appointments - but it failed to stir our emotions. The base SL long ago steered away from being a driver's car, and its latest incarnation proved no different. It was, in effect, just a very capable and posh GT. But the SL63 AMG, boasting upwards of 557 horsepower thanks to a burly twin-turbocharged V8, still seems promising. Its luxury appointments are nearly identical, yet it wears AMG attire and its entire powertrain has been upgraded to appease warm-blooded automotive enthusiasts. Do fresh duds and a new muscular system make a more compelling athlete? We roughed in the French Riviera to find out.Continue reading 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG [w/video]2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen Before financial Stargate opened in September of 2008 and transported us to an entirely new economic dimension, it was oh so common to read about domestic automakers hammering Tier One suppliers to lower their prices. Of course, suppliers are still asked to find efficiencies, but pre-2008, it seemed a point of honor to hold a supplier's feet to the fire. No more: in the latest Working Relations Index survey of suppliers by Detroit firm Planning Perspectives Inc., General Motors and Chrysler rocketed up the charts to bring the bunch much closer together. Admittedly, the two companies are still in last place, with GM just ahead of Chrysler and Toyota and Honda still up top. But perspective and improvement is the issue here: in 2005, Toyota scored 415 and GM scored 114. In this year's survey, Toyota scored 296 and Chrysler scored 248. It is the first time in the 12 years of the survey that the six automakers covered have been separated by less than 50 points. Chrysler's jump was led by the efforts of the the late Dan Knott, whle GM's improvement has been led by Bob Socia. And yes, this is also a matter of the perennial leaders, Toyota and Honda, suffering a dip: in 2010 Toyota scored 327 and Honda 309, two years later, Toyota has dropped 31 points. Every automaker, however, from top to bottom acknowledged that they still have work to do with supplier relations. The benefits of good feelings are that suppliers tend to present their newest tech to, and make better parts for, the automakers with whom they have the best relationships. Naturally, it has been found that the reverse is true as well. Nissan and Ford make up the middle two spots, where they've been for years. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Hyundai aren't on the list yet; PPI feels it doesn't have enough data on the Germans to yet to officially include them, and it doesn't have enough data on Hyundai to rank it at all. If the data gathered on the Germans was included, though, they would sandwich the rest of the field: BMW and Mercedes at the top, Volkswagen at the bottom a point shy of Chrysler.Toyota, Honda top supplier survey with lower results, GM and Chrysler improve originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mercedes Benz India plans to regain top spot in the Indian luxury car market with measures including extending its model range.

What kind of wallpapers do you like the most?
RSS Feeds