2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550 Night Edition news, pictures, and information

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL coupe/roadster line features the limited-edition SL550 Night Edition, which is painted in matte-finish designo Magno Night black with a black premium leather interior. Only 100 of this exclusive model are available in U.S. showrooms.

Specially developed for the SL550 Night Edition, the designo Magno Night black paint highlights the dramatic lines of the SL body. The Night Edition is also identified by the two-tone finish of its 19-inch AMG five-spoke light-alloy wheels, as well as silver front brake calipers with 'Mercedes-Benz' script and darkened headlights and tail lights.

A striking contrast of dark black premium leather and bright chrome trim fills the interior, with the sports steering wheel, shift lever and roof lining trimmed in black. Newly-designed seats have eye-catching arrow-type stitching and contrasting silver accents, including the vents of the AIRSCARF® system, which bathes occupants' neck area with warm air in cooler weather when the convertible top is down.

All 2011 SL coupe/roadster models now come with an enhanced tire-pressure monitoring system, HD radio and a satellite navigation system with SIRIUS real-time traffic information. Non-AMG SL models are also equipped with Direct Steer, which uses variable-ratio gearing in the steering rack to provide impressive on-center steering feel, with even higher responsiveness beyond the first five degrees of steering angle.

All Mercedes-Benz SL roadsters are available with AIRSCARF, an innovative feature that can extend the open-air driving season into the cooler months. Another first from Mercedes-Benz, AIRSCARF is an extra heating system built into the driver and passenger seats.

The AIRSCARF neck-level heating system blows warm air from the head restraints of the driver and passenger seats, allowing occupants to cruise comfortably with the retractable hardtop open in cooler temperatures. Testing revealed that warming just a relatively small area around the neck dramatically improves comfort in cooler weather.

Standard on the SL65 AMG model (and optional on the SL550 and SL63 AMG), the AIRSCARF heating system even compensates for changes in air temperature and vehicle speed. AIRSCARF uses a heating element made of barium titanate, which heats up in a matter of seconds when electrical current is applied.

At the push of a button, the SL's retractable hardtop can be fully opened or closed in just 16 seconds, dramatically transforming the car from a quiet, weather-tight coupe to a top-down, open-air convertible. A hydraulic pump and 11 computer-controlled hydraulic cylinders power the system, and roof operation is controlled by a switch on the center console. Its folding 'clamshell' design allows for a cargo area of 7.2 cubic feet when the top is down. With the top up, the trunk holds 10.2 cubic feet.

BMW 335i Convertible

BMW dealer handed me the plastic fob, he insisted I drive the 335i Convertible with the top down. Despite the cool, foggy San Francisco weather, I held the plipper’s unlock button down and watched the show. As the hardtop began its elaborate three part dance into the trunk, I felt that old familiar flutter. The feeling was born when I started driving lessons in my Dad’s 1963 Chevrolet Impala rag top, survived my first car (a 1962 VW Beetle convertible) and lead to my current stable of drop tops. Would the 335i live up to its predecessors?

The 335i Convertible’s roof design preserves its tin top twin’s clean lines. The drop top's rear deck provides the main visual difference between the two models; the convertible’s is significantly larger and thus, more handsome than the sedan's. Other than that, the convertible’s got a chrome strip outlining the retractable roof, a sat/nav dingus on the trunk lid (it wouldn’t survive roof origami for long) and panel gaps on the rear roof pillar. Both vehicles offer such an aesthetically elegant design that they almost seem, dare I say it, Italian.

I intended to drive with the top down for a few blocks. A few blocks turned into a few miles and before I knew it, I’d driven 60 miles, moving from the city fog to Napa Valley sunshine. The 335i Convertible’s windshield is pushed well forward; you feel quite exposed to the elements. Luckily, the air movement in the cabin is well controlled– to the point where I eventually noticed that I was driving lethargically. So I installed the roof and prepared to attack the back roads.

Exploring the gizmology, I became convinced that Bimmer’s boffins have decided to make it as difficult as possible to make adjustments, so that iDrive seems better by default. For example, I wanted to adjAnyway, with the roof in place, the 335i Convertible’s body integrity is luxuriously outstanding. Many retractable hardtops creak and groan on rough roads. Although footwear differences between the two models may account for the aural disparity, I swear the 335i Convertible is quieter than the 335i Coupe. The tin top dished all the silence I needed to fully enjoy the Bimmer’s superb sound system and my easily paired Bluetooth compatible phone.

Which was just as well: BMW could have phoned-in the 335i Convertible’s dynamics. All its controls and responses felt heavier and more remote than the coupe’s. Turn in wasn’t nearly as crisp. Braking seemed far less immediate. Worst of all, the convertible’s tardy throttle response evoked an unreasonable facsimile of turbo lag. In the 335i coupe, simply thinking about the go-pedal brings immediate satisfaction. In this application, you have to step on the pedal like you mean it.

ust the turn signal so that it winked thrice when lightly touched. The manual doesn’t explain this procedure, so I will.

Buick Envision – a vision of something else?

Buick is one of, if not the, most successful and well-known ‘import’ car brand in China. GM has reaped the rewards of investing heavily in China so clearly, there’s some logic in taking the brand into the Crossover/SUV space, a market that’s set to mushroom in the next few years. Yet this Buick concept confused many observers, including us. It’s not bad, per-se, yet nor, crucially, does it bring anything new or innovative to the SUV concept party. Most worryingly it also fails to feel in any way authentically Buick.
Strip the clumsily-resolved waterfall grille from the front and you’re left with a car that feels like a mixture of design elements we’ve seen from other OEMs recently, particularly Mazda. It’s clear to see that some of the ideas behind its surface treatment were interesting and powerful in their own right, but zoom in on them and there’s an awkaward clash of lines and some difficult surface intersections. In fact, many of these are so sharp and acute that, considered as a whole with its interior (which in theme and colour and trim treatment reminds us of the ULC concept), we actually think this vehicle would fit better under GM’s Cadillac brand. The question is, does this matter for the Chinese market? Thoughts in the comments please.

Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE - Front Right

This is the Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE, One of the classic product of the British luxury sports car manufacturer. This car is a witness of William & Kate’s wedding on Friday, 29 April 2011 date last. This classic car was chosen to be a ride by William and Kate to attend the wedding ceremony of the largest in this century. Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE MKII Band, in Seychelles blue. It belongs to Prince of Wales, who has had the car since 1969.

Exterior

Asron Martin DB6 and DB5 almost identical twins, the biggest difference is on both side panels and rear wheelbase profiles are equipped Kammback. The back of the car, combined with the rear axle was moved-and wheelbase (95 mm) 3.75-inch extended, the other significant change is the higher car windshield, rear seat space in the wider, optional power steering, air conditioning optional. Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE Wedding’s Car of William & Kate, in other modifications like the bridal car. Front plate using writing the letter “L” in red, with a heart in each corner, which means “new driver” or maybe “the new bride.” Then the front plate using the words “JU5T WED”, and some heart-shaped colored balloons adorned the rear of the car like any other bridal car.

Interior

The atmosphere is very classic feel while in the car, antique chairs, steering wheels a classic, with panels that are classic as well, as if we are in the 60′s when driving this car. Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE to be very luxurious when used William and Kate at the wedding, perhaps the drive was a British prince and his wife.

Engine

Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE Wedding’s Car of William & Kate is using the engine 4.0 L (3.995 cc/244 in ³) is configured cylinder straight-6 and tech twin-overhead camshaft (DOHC). This machine is capable of producing up to 282 bhp (210 kW, 286 PS) at 5.500 rpm (standard engine), and 325 bhp (242 kW, 330 PS) at 5750 rpm (optional Vantage engine). With power like that, Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE Wedding’s Car of William & Kate capable of driving 0-60 mph (97 km / h), it only takes 8.4 seconds. and is capable of driving a classic car with a maximum speed of up to 150 mph (241 km / h).

Price

Prices at auction have ranged from $ 200,000 to more than $ 400,000 in recent years. But now the car is identified with the royal couple, the audience is only likely to grow and prices will almost certainly rise. It’s a very expensive car for the size of a classic car. But you will get the same car at The Royal Wedding William and Kate, Aston Martin DB6 VOLANTE.

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2011 Icona Fuselage

The Shanghai Auto Show came and went with one star-studded concept slipping under the radar from a little unknown company called Icona Shanghai. Icona is a design studio based out of China and focusing on projects in China and Asia. Their latest project comes to us in the form of the , a concept that incorporates a design that is on a completely different level than many concepts we’ve seen in awhile.

The Fuselage owns the futuristic look with a unique body structure that starts with that sleek and defined front end. The front of the car paves the way for the rest of the body’s look which takes the shape of rippling waves going down the side and ending at a slightly upturned back end. The look is completed with polycarbonate alloy wheels and those sick gullwing doors.

The interior of the Fuselage seat four and gets a clean look with controls that remind us of the buttons found on a massage chair. No specific details were given on the goodies provided, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words and clearly, this interior is speaking volumes.

Considering this is a car for the future, no engine could possibly fill the space that only a motor can provide. The electric motors are placed next to the wheels and are powered by a 79 lb battery pack placed in the center. The Fuselage is said to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and will hit a top speed of 124 mph.