The Crank: Mercedes’ don’t-call-it-a-wagon CLS Shooting Brake a go

By John LeBlanc After trotting it out as a “Vision” concept (code for “we’ve already signed-off on the tooling”) at this year’s Beijing show, to no one’s surprise, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that its CLS Shooting Break, above, would go on sale in 2012. Share:

The Crank: When is a “spy shot” not a “spy shot”?

By John LeBlanc Because you’re reading The Crank you probably want to know about the latest and greatest in the car world, right? Keep track of what’s not only new today, but what’s coming down the pipe as well. It’s the reason why publications will pay big money for so-called “spy shots” of yet-to-be-released models, […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 4MATIC

[svgallery name=”2012_Mercedes_CLS_hirez”] Four-door fashion Second gen of world’s first “four-door coupé” nips at BMW’s ride-and-handling heels By John LeBlanc FLORENCE, Italy – It was no coincidence Mercedes-Benz’s new CLS was publicly unveiled during the clothing industry’s twice-a-year Paris Fashion Week. Although the new SLS AMG super sports car has garnered plenty of attention for its […]

Paris 2010: It wasn’t all champagne and frog’s legs…

By John LeBlanc PARIS — While there were many delightful surprises and forward thinking concept and production car debuts at this year’s Paris auto show, you can’t have two days of presentations without a few duds showing up…

Paris 2010: Design Disasters

By John LeBlanc PARIS, France – Is it me, or is car design in a bit of a funk? Maybe it’s the new pedestrian laws—that are demanding higher hoodlines and subsequently taller (i.e. odd) proportions. Or maybe the financial demand of making the tougher fuel economy and emissions regulations has crunched automotive design department budgets. […]

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