Mercedes- Benz’s Class warfare Brand to re- name SUV lineup in order to compete with rival BMV
Hot on the heels of Cadillac announcing it will rename most of its lineup, Mercedes- Benz will begin rebadging its SUV lineup at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.
According to reports, Mercedes will begin with the M- Class, which will be renamed GLE in a bid to bring it in line with the rest of the automaker’s SUV lineup. The move is being put forth in a bid to better compete with BMW, which means we’ll see a fourdoor coupe version of the M- Class/ GLE. It will be known as the GLE Coupe and will be pegged as a competitor to the BMW X5.
Mercedes also hopes the move will better align its SUVs with their passengercar counterparts. The GLE will refer to the E- Class sedan, while the GLK will likely be renamed to GLC and the GL will be called the GLS.
The move is also expected to eventually trickle into Mercedes’ passenger- car lineup. Although no specifics were given, one particular example is the CLS- Class “fourdoor coupe” could be renamed to the ELS.
GM reveals Z06 tech specs
GM has officially detailed performance specs of the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and just as we expected, its supercharged 6.2- litre V8 is quite fast.
Equipped with the new eight- speed automatic and Z07 performance package — which adds Brembo carbonceramic brakes, a handful of aerodynamic tweaks and a set of super- sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires — GM says the Corvette Z06 can sprint from a standstill to 100 km/ h in only 2.95 seconds. Opt for the seven- speed automatic and the Z06 is a few ticks slower at 3.2 seconds.
Not that zero- to- 100 km/ h in 3.2 seconds can be considered “slow”.
Keep on going in a straight line and the Corvette Z06 can clock a 10.95- second quarter- mile time with a trap speed of 203.2 km/ h. The manual Z06 punches in with an identical trap speed, but does the quartermile sprint in 11.2 seconds.
GM says the Brembo carbonceramic brakes haul the car from 96 km/ h to a complete stop in 99.6 feet, establishing the Z06 as the bestbraking car GM has ever evaluated.