Even though it’s not the best of things to happen, it’s always useful to know when and why your vehicle is being called in by the manufacturer. The latest recall in the States concerns the 2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. According to the German automaker, due to a manufacturing process flaw from the supplier’s side, the radial knuckle of the front strut may fail after significant mileage accumulation combined with exposure to high continuous stress by driving on rough roads. If the radial knuckle happens to fail, then the steering control of the vehicle may be affected. Merc said that the recall is expected to begin in December and that its dealers will replace any problematic front struts free of charge.

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Who needs a complicated and apparently expensive, hybrid drivetrain when you can achieve an average fuel consumption of 7.6 lt/100 km (31 mpg US) in a fully equipped large saloon like the S-Class simply by using a diesel engine and a few supplementary measures? Even Merc’s own S400 Hybrid isn’t that good sipping an average of 7.9 liters of petrol for every 100 km (29.8 mpg US). And even if the S320 CDi is a tad slower than the S400 Hybrid completing the 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) sprint in 7.8 sec instead of 7.2 sec (top speed for both models is 250 km/h), the difference is insignificant for your typical S-Class owner that that will most likely use the vehicle as a highway cruiser and not a highway racer

The latest variant of Merc’s luxury saloon, which is due to take over from the S 320 CDI from the end of this year, is equipped with the same V6 turbo diesel powerplant as before delivering an output of 235 HP and 540 Nm. But thanks to the BluEFFICIENCY package that includes on-demand power steering, a 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission with standstill decoupling, as well as 17-inch light-alloy wheels shod with reduced rolling resistance tires, the German automaker has managed to reduce the standard S320 CDI’s average consumption by 0.2 lt /100 km.

Adding to its allure, pricing for the BlueEFFICIENCY S-Class model in Germany remains the same as the S320 CDI at €70,864.50 (incl. VAT) and at €78,718.50 for the long-wheelbase version. Continued

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Mercedes-Benz USA has designed a special edition version of its S550 sedan to help raise funds for Saks Fifth Avenue’s KEY TO THE CURE, a women’s cancer initiative developed in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s (EIF) Women’s Cancer Research Fund. The Special Edition S550 that will be available in 1,000 pieces, is distinguished by the sport bodykit that includes a front air dam, side skirts and rear bumper with dual stainless-steel exhaust tailpipes, 20-inch AMG 5-spoke alloys, the Diamond White metallic paint and the exclusive Sahara Beige / Black Leather interior that’s combined with Burl Walnut trim. The German automaker said that it expects to contribute $1 million through the sale of the 1,000 exclusive S-Class vehicles scheduled to arrive at Mercedes-Benz dealerships this month bringing the total raised to date by MBUSA for women’s cancer research to over $6 million.

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The German-based tuning firm Inden-Design has released a new performance package for the Mercedes-Benz S500 4MATIC. In the standard S 500 4MATIC, the 5.5-litre V8 engine produces an output of 388 HP accelerating the all-wheel-drive luxury sedan from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 5.4 seconds. Thanks to the reprogrammed engine control unit (ECU), Inden-Design has managed to add another 27 HP to the 5.5 V8 raising its total output to 415 HP. Other than that, the Inden-Design prepped S500 4MATIC’s suspension has been lowered by 45mm and it also features a sport exhaust system with four tailpipes and new 20-inch BBW LeMans alloy wheels in 245/35R20 tires in front and 285/30R20 at the rear

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