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2009 Mercedes ML 63 AMG "10th Anniversary"

The successful ML 63 AMG will shortly be launched as the especially exclusive “10th Anniversary” variant. The 375-kW/510-hp top M-Class model fascinates with its striking appearance and extraordinary standard features. With the ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary”, Mercedes AMG is celebrating ten years of high-performance SUVs. The ML 55 AMG with a 255-kW/347-hp AMG 5.5-l V8 engine, launched in 1999, is considered the trendsetter and founder of an entire vehicle segment.

The ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary” jubilee model was developed in the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO and showcases AMG’s expertise in catering to the wishes of individual customers. The experts at the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO were also responsible for developing the new SL 65 AMG Black Series, as well as Official F1™ Safety Car and Official F1™ Medical Car.

The newly designed front end dominates the extraordinary appearance of the ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary”: the bonnet with power domes catches the eye, as does the radiator grille with fins painted Himalaya grey. A matching Himalaya grey underseal and fog lamp fittings form a delightful contrast to the exterior paintwork in metallic obsidian black, metallic iridium silver and calcite white. Shaded Bi-Xenon headlights add the finishing touch to the front view.

Viewed from the side, the exclusive 21” AMG light alloy wheels with a five-spoke design commands attention: the combination of Himalaya grey paintwork and the high-sheen surface creates a lasting impression. The 10 x 21” AMG light alloy wheels are fitted all round with size 295/35 R 21 wide-base tyres. On the rear end of the ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary”, the underseal in Himalaya grey mirrors the design of the front end.
Exquisite two-tone nappa leather upholstery in the interior
The AMG sports seats can be adjusted electronically, and feature a multi-contour function and seat heating. A new feature is the exquisite two-tone nappa leather upholstery available in two different colour combinations: black/alpaca grey and black/beige. The AMG sports steering wheel is also two-tone, designed to match the interior colour scheme. Perforated leather covering the grip area ensures optimum handling, and the AMG switch paddles enable manual gear changing. The exclusive tone is emphasised not just by the upper part of the dashboard clad in designo leather and the black roof lining, but also the charcoal poplar wood trim.

The ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary” will be available to order in spring 2009; the first vehicles will be delivered to customers in summer 2009.
ML 55 AMG: Worldwide trendsetter and first ever high-performance SUV
With the new ML 63 AMG “10th Anniversary”, Mercedes AMG GmbH is celebrating ten years of AMG high-performance SUVs. The ML 55 AMG, the high-performing top model from the popular first generation of M-Class vehicles, was launched in September 1999 at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt on Main. As the founder of the new “high-performance SUV” segment, the ML 55 AMG quickly became a best seller in the AMG range of models. With a maximum output of 255 kW/347 hp, an engine displacement of 5.5 litres and eight cylinders, the ML 55 AMGoffered a level of driving performance previously unthinkable in this segment: it could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.8 seconds, and had a top speed of 235 km/h. The extraordinary combination of its superior drive train, greater off-road suitability, outstanding driver comfort, unrivalled safety and generous interior delighted AMGcustomers all over the world. Over 11,000 ML 55 AMGs were sold between 1999 and 2003.

smart reaches milestone in United States

Yesterday, Dallas resident Patrick Zipper took delivery of the 20,000th smart ForTwo sold in the United States, marking an early milestone for the small car manufacturer. smart’s 20,000th sale comes just 10 months after the brand was introduced to U.S. consumers - and well ahead of the company’s U.S. distributors’ expectations.

smart USA’s president was on hand at smart Center Dallas, one of the nation’s top-selling dealerships, to help Zipper take delivery of his new car. He told the Dallas Morning News that he expects smart to see a small uptick in sales next year even as gas prices have dropped substantially in the last handful of weeks.
“People are buying for more reasons than fuel consumption,” he said. “We are selling a lifestyle, a journey.”

Click here to find a smart for you.

MileOne 2008 American Cancer Society Wrap-Up

October 26, 2008: MileOne Automotive joined the fight again by participating as a flagship sponsor in the 7th Annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Baltimore, MD.  As a flagship sponsor for The American Cancer Society, MileOne provides additional monetary support and guarantees at least 100 walkers each year for the event. This year, with the help of all MileOne employees, friends and family, nearly $18,000 was raised to support the foundation.

In order to reach the donation and participation goals set forth by the American Cancer Society, MIileOne depends on 11 team leaders from the various dealership locations to collect donations and recruit walkers. They sold everything from danglers to bracelets to gift baskets, car maintenance packages and candles while also holding luncheons and “Power Pink Thursdays” to surround everyone with the feeling of hope during the month of October.

In addition to those funds raised by the support of great flagship sponsors like MileOne, many other volunteers contributed to a combined total of over $450,000 raised in the 2008 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative. The donations will support life-saving breast cancer research, education, and advocacy and patient services to those lives which have been affected by this disease.

MileOne has already agreed to be a flagship sponsor again in 2009 and will begin planning for the 2009 Relay for Life event next spring. With the partnership MileOne will donate a New Saturn Aura to the American Cancer Society to be raffled off at the last Relay for Life event in the Baltimore area. Tickets will begin selling shortly after the new year. Check online to see how you can get involved in your area and possibly become the next lucky winner of a brand new 2009 Saturn Aura from MileOne Baltimore Area Saturn Retailers.

Special thanks go to all the 2008 MileOne Making Strides captains: Candice Lloyd (Allstate Auto Rentals), Barbara Bentley (Heritage Volkswagen Subaru Owings Mills), Louise Fisher and Linda Cromwell (Heritage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Chevy Buick Mazda Owings Mills), Pete Martin (Heritage Honda Westminster), Jackie Huber and Susanne Mackenzie (Heritage Cadillac Mazda Jeep Bel Air), Brianna Hickey (Mercedes-Benz Annapolis), Paul Amick and Marie Cavey (Herb Gordon Subaru, Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Tischer Audi BMW Porsche), Valerie Mettee (Baltimore Area Saturn Retailers), Erica Frey (Heritage Chrysler Jeep Volkswagen Parkville), Penny Novak (Heritage Honda Parkville and Towson Service Center), Robyn Schuerholz (Corporate offices) and Jeannetta McGettigan (overall team leader and event manager).

My Garage, With Jay Leno

Ken Gross

Jay Leno, popular host of The Tonight Show, may be one of America's funniest comedians, but he is also a serious car enthusiast. His three garages near Burbank are packed with sports and special-interest cars, antiques and classics, old motorcycles, oil company signs and "automobilia." He hasn't counted everything up recently, but he owns more than 50 cars and about as many vintage and modern bikes.

When you walk in, you don't know whether to dive for the bright yellow 1913 Mercer Raceabout, complete with monocle windshield, or ogle his five stunning Duesenberg Js, parked together in a row. Further on, there's a rare 1915 shovel-nosed Franklin with a California-built body by Earl (as in Harley Earl and his father, before the younger Earl headed to Detroit to start GM's Art and Color department).

Is there a theme in his collection? "If there is a theme," Leno says, "it's probably a car that's ahead of its time. Everything here does a hundred with a few exceptions. There are no Model Ts. I like a reasonable level of performance."

Among other vehicles, the Leno garage houses a 1939 Lagonda V-12, a brace of Bentleys, including a handsome Speed Six, a dignified 8-liter sedan and a 1926 roadster with a twin-turbocharged eight-liter Bentley engine. Built especially for Leno by a team of British craftsmen, it'll light up its skinny rear tires in any gear. Ask Leno what the horsepower is and he just grins: "Probably over 500," he says.

No car or bike in Leno's collection is a museum piece; he drives everything and nearly everything runs at all times. Blessed with an assigned parking space at NBC Studios, Leno takes a different vehicle to work every day.

Two full-time mechanics help keep things in shape, although Leno (who once worked at Foreign Motors of Boston, near his hometown of North Andover, Mass., before his comedy career took off), likes to do things himself. He's capable of starting and running even the ancient machinery, like his two Stanley Steamers, which require a delicate combination of priming, heating and lighting--like starting up an old-fashioned furnace.

While Leno isn't averse to modern cars, he doesn't own many. There's a Turbo R Bentley and a pair of mildly modified Dodge Vipers, plus a stealth car--a souped-up Renault LeCar with a Ford Taurus SHO motor and a nitrous setup.

Leno likes horsepower, lots of it. While he'd never admit to being a hot rodder, there are vehicles here that could only be called hot rods. Take his Cobra replica. It started life with a pushrod 427 side-oiler. Now it has a gleaming 429 SOHC Ford V-8 under its hood.

"Yep, that's the cammer-motor," he says, lifting the hood, with a knowing leer. "It pulls like a train. I got this engine out of a powerboat. It's a much better engine than the 427. And it runs a lot cooler. You ever heard one-a these things go to eight grand? Oh geez... 'Whee, whee, wheeeeeeeeee!'" Leno expertly imitates the noise. "It's a frightening sound," he says.

Although Leno's a stickler for originality on his Pebble Beach Concours-winning Duesenbergs and his two real Bugattis, he also owns two replica Bugattis: a Type 37A that's all Bugatti parts but they didn't all come from the factory at the same time, and a stunning Type 57SC Atlantic that you couldn't tell from Ralph Lauren's Pebble Beach prize winner, except for the paint color. And who really cares? The real thing (they only made three) is arguably too valuable to drive.

If you want to see Leno get really enthusiastic, just ask him for a ride in his 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with its 1,000-horsepower Merlin V-12. His eyes light up like Mr. Toad's in The Wind in the Willows: "I mean it's so stupid!" With Leno, stupid is sometimes a compliment. "It's got 1,806 pounds of torque. There's nothing like it. That's real power."

Does it have some sort of tank transmission to handle all that torque? We're surprised to learn it's a Moss four-speed, just like on a 1950s Jag XK120. "It's pretty strong," says Leno, "But you're not dumping the clutch. Once you're rolling, you put your foot down and Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!; it just keeps pulling like a train."

Leno would rather hang out in the garage than do almost anything else--except write and tell jokes. So his spare time is spent tinkering with his cars, or riding his bikes. He turns up at local car shows, rides one of his bikes up to the Rock Store on Sundays and often invites friends over to look at new acquisitions.

Leno's passionate about his cars, but ask him which one is his favorite and he gives you that sideways look familiar to so many fans of The Tonight Show. "Which one of your children is your favorite?" he retorts.

However, Leno is partial to Duesenbergs. "This car is not a myth," he insists, pointing to a J. "Any 70-year-old car that can keep up with modern traffic in L.A. and drive like a normal car is pretty amazing. At a time when the speed limit was 45 mph, a Duesenberg could go 120 mph."

How does he decide what to buy next? "I just see something. If it catches my eye, it's like a pretty girl...But I'm quite happy with everything I have. I don't lust for new things. But, if I do see one and think, 'Oh, that's nice...' Well, that's cool, too."

And his wife, Mavis, is tolerant of this passion? "Yes. It's cheaper than hookers and cocaine," he jokes. "Most guys in Hollywood have 20 girlfriends and one car and I have 20 cars and one girlfriend. She always knows where I am. I'm here in the garage.

"'What's that fragrance?'" Leno says in a fake falsetto voice? "'It's gasoline, honey. It's not cheap perfume.'"

"Having these cars is great fun," Leno says. "And there's a sense of history to all this stuff. We don't really own these cars, we just keep them for the next owners."

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