Car Moon

Our team of spy photographers have snagged the production version of the upcoming 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class dressed in a see-through plastic wrap as the car was being loaded off the transportation truck.

Clearly descended from the current-generation of Stuttgart’s mini-MPV model, the new B-Class follows a more conservative styling language than its smaller sibling, the 2012 A-Class, official patent images of which we showed you in May (see here).

The five-seat 2012 B-Class is based on a new front-wheel drive platform which brings an increase in dimensions and consequently, improved interior space for both passengers and the luggage area.

The new B-class, dubbed W246, will benefit from an updated lineup of turbocharged four-cylinder engines with direct-injection and start/stop technologies in both diesel and petrol flavors.

It is believed that Mercedes-Benz will lift the covers off the new B-Class at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show this September with sales to follow next year. Mercedes-Benz officials have not revealed any plans to bring the B-Class to the USA.

Stay tuned for more spy shots as well as the actual production versions of both the 2012 A- and B-Class models as we’re nearing closer to their launch.

Not too long ago, we brought you official design images of the brand new 2012 Mercedes-Benz A-Class sporting a five-door hatchback body styled after the impressive A-Class concept seen at the New York and Shanghai Auto Shows in April. Now we have some revealing spy shots of the upcoming 2012 B-Class minivan. Being that the next A-Class and its larger B-Class sibling belong to the same family, you would expect a similar design philosophy between the two models.

However, as these latest scoops demonstrate, that is not the case with the new 2012 B-Class. We had a very hard time telling the differences between the current B-Class and its successor, as the overall shape and styling of the small MPV have been kept intact. Nevertheless, the new B-Class is slightly longer than the current model, with the front and rear ends influenced by the latest crop of Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs.

We first saw Mercedes-Benz’s intentions for the upcoming 2012 A-Class series at both the New York and Shanghai auto show in mid-April with the unveiling of a sexy-looking, three-door concept model, but now, we can offer you a look at the production version thanks to these images from the European patent office.

The model seen here is the five-door hatchback version of the new A-Class, which, if our sources are correct, will make its world premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany this September. The production A-Class appears to be closely modeled after the concept version, albeit with less dramatic body surfacing and detailing. For example, the nose has been lifted up and is less aggressively styled than on the prototype study.

Following a world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this week, Mercedes-Benz showed off its dynamic A-Class concept to the crowds of New York, and confirmed that the production model will head to North America.

In Europe, the production A-Class will launch next year. As for the US, Autonews reported that Joachim Schmidt, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz Cars, would not specify a time frame vaguely stating that the A-Class would arrive “some time in this decade.”

Mercedes-Benz has taken the wraps off its all-electric A-Class E-Cell electric vehicle that will enter production this fall. The company plans to build 500 A-Class E-Cells and lease the car to selected customers in several European countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

The 750,000th A-Class and 500,000th B-Class rolled off the production line at Mercedes-Benz' Rastatt plant in Germany. The two milestone vehicles, a lotus blue A 180 CDI and a horizon blue B 180 NGT with natural-gas drive will be delivered to customers in Germany and Great Britain respectively. Overall, the Stuttgart based automaker has produced a total of more than 2.35 million units of the two model series since the introduction of the first-gen A-Class in 1997 (second-gen model was launched in 2004) and the B-Class in 2005.

Since Mercedes has nothing truly new to offer on its A-Class subcompact hatch, the German automaker decided to make a special edition version that comes equipped with an array of -yep, you guessed it- special features and extra equipment. On the outside, the A-Class "Special Edition 2009" is characterized by the black radiator louvres, 16-inch titanium silver light-alloy wheels in a new 9-spoke design shod in tires 195/55 R16 and a "Special Edition" badge on the mirror triangle.

Inside, passengers will be greeted by a two-tone color scheme in black and grey, velour floor mats with grey edging and an embroidered Edition label, leather covered multifunction steering wheel, shift/selector lever and parking brake handle and an upgraded audio system with CD player and Bluetooth hands-free.

The special edition version also comes equipped with a Light and Sight package that includes rain sensor, automatically dimming rear-view mirror, an illuminated vanity mirror in the sun visor, separately adjustable reading lights in the rear, a reading light for the driver and illuminated front footwells.

Production of the new A-Class Special Edition 2009 will be limited to 5,500 units.

On the cover of its August issue, German car magazine Autozeitung features a rendering of the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz GLA compact SUV that’s said to arrive in 2011 as a 2012 model. Although Mercedes-Benz hasn’t officially confirmed the GLA, back in June the German carmaker did announce that it will replace the current A and B-Class with four distinct compact-sized models. Having said that, a compact SUV seems totally reasonable especially since Audi and BMW are readying the Q3 and X1 compact-sized SUVs respectively.

Via: Autozeitung

In it latest issue, German car magazine Autozeitung supports that one of the four distinct models that will replace the current A and B-Class in Mercedes-Benz’ compact car line-up (read more here) will be a four-door coupe named CLA. As you can see in the scanned picture above, Autozeitung’s artists came up with a CGI (computer generated image) to give us an idea of how a “baby” CLS model could look like. -Continued

While it is certain that Mercedes-Benz will abandon the costly sandwich structure of the A and B-Class in all four derivatives of its new compact car line-up, it remains unclear whether the German luxury carmaker will continue to use a front-wheel-drive set up or if it will opt for a rear-wheel-drive platform.

Via: Autozeitung

Citing inside company sources, German newspaper “Automobilewoche” is reporting that Mercedes-Benz will market an electric version of the current A-Class in 2010. According to an unnamed senior manager in the automotive industry, the current generation A-Class’ sandwich construction with its double floor is ideal to fit the batteries without performing any serious modifications to the vehicle.

The newspaper also supports that Mercedes-Benz is currently in talks with Tesla for the supply of the lithium-ion batteries. Compared to nickel hydride units, lithium-ion batteries are not only more powerful but they also weigh less.