I hope you got them when you could! Five of the designo colors for the E-Class Coupe, Cabriolet, sedan and wagon have been discontinued as of now.

• Mystic Blue
• Mystic Red
• Mauritius Blue
• Platinum Black
• Magno Platinum

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will begin production shortly for release this summer. There will be very few changes from the 2011 since we had a major refresh for 2010. We are expecting the S550, S550 4matic, S63, S600, S65, S400 Hybrid and the new-to-the-US S350 Bluetec. As usual, the S600 and S65 will have nearly all options as standard equipment. These details will apply mostly to the S550, S400 Hybrid and S350 Bluetec.

Standard Equipment

• S350 Bluetec – 241 hp, 429 lb/ft torque
• S400 Hybrid – 295 hp, 284 lb/ft torque
• S550 / S550 4matic – 382 hp, 391 lb/ft torque
• S600 – 510 hp. 612 lb/ft torque
• S63 – 536 hp, 590 lb/ft torque
• S65 – 624 hp, 738 lb/ft torque
• LED Daytime Running Lamps
• Adaptive Highbeam Assist
• Bi-Xenon headlamps with active curve illumination
• Cornering lamps
• Mercedes-Benz mbrace™ – in-vehicle services
• Heated and active ventilated front seats
• SIRIUS® satellite radio
• HD Radio®
• iPod/MP3 media interface
• COMAND with HD navigation
• ATTENTION ASSIST
• Power rear window sunshade
• Infrared reflecting glass
• harman/kardon LOGIC7® surround-sound system
• 6-disc DVD changer
• Ambient lighting
• Electronic trunk closer
• Soft close doors

Exterior Colors

• Black
• Jade Green
• Barolo Red
• Iridium Silver
• Palladium Silver
• Diamond White
• Magnetite Black
• Andorite Grey
• Lunar Blue
• Verde Brook (Special Order)
• Dolomite Brown (Special Order)
• designo Mystic Blue
• designo Mocha Black
• designo Mystic Red
• designo Mauritius Blue
• designo Graphite
• designo Platinum Black
• designo Mystic Brown
• designo Magno Alanite Grey
• designo Magno Cashmere
• designo Magno Platinum

Interior Colors

• Black – Leather, Exclusive Leather, Premium Leather
• Cashmere/Savanna – Leather, Premium Leather
• Ash/Grey – Leather, Premium Leather
• Chestnut Brown/Black – Leather, Premium Leather (both special order)
• Sahara Beige/Black – Leather, Premium Leather

Trims

• Burl Walnut
• Matte Natural Oak Wood
• Natural Maple
• Black Ash (special order)
• Star Galaxy Stone
• designo Black Piano Lacquer
• designo Champaign White Piano Lacquer
• designo Labrador Blue Pearl Stone Trim
• designo trims require designo packages or leathers

designo Interior Packages

• All Interior Pacakges Include: Rear Seat Package, Rear Side Roller Blinds
• designo Espresso
• designo Graphite
• designo Porcelain
• designo Saffron Beige
• designo Mystic Red
• designo Auburn
• designo Light Brown
• designo Armagnac
• designo Jet Black
• designo Deep White

Option Packages

Premium 2 Package – $3630

• Rear View Camera
• Parktronic with Parking Guidance
• Drive Dynamic Multi-Contour Seat with Message
• Comfort Headrests front
• Keyless Go

Sport Package – $5900

• Sport Body Styling and 19″ Wheels

Sport Package Plus One – $6650

• Sport Body Styling and 20″ Wheels

Driver Assitance Package – $2950  - Not “Active” in S400 Hybrid

• Distronic Plus
• Active Blind Spot Assist
• Active Lane Keep Assist

Rear Seat Package - $3040

• 8-Way power adjustable rear seats with memory
• Heated and Ventilated Rear Seats
• Four Zone Climate Control

Rear Seat Entertainment Package - $2450

• 2 Headrest mounted screens with remote and headphones

Rear Seat Comfort Package – $TBD

• Multi-contour rear seats
• Comfort headrests rear

Stand-Alone Options

• SPLITVIEW – $710
• Bang & Olufsen Sound System – $6400
• Night View Assist PLUS – $1780
• Active Body Control with cross wind stabilization – S550 only $4090
• Heated Steering Wheel – $490
• Panoramic Roof – $1090
• Power Rear Side Windo Sunblinds – $750
• Chrome Door Handle Inserts – $90
• Wheel Locking Bolts
• Illuminated Door Sills – $950
• Accessory Rear Entertainment System – $1910

Wheels – Hover over Image for description

All of this information and pricing is still preliminary can can change before the vehicle is released. I don’t even have a picture of the 2012 yet! The top image is the 2011. We expect all of the 2012 S-Classes to be available in July/August.

This video from MBUSA provides a simple yet informative view of the distribution and logistics process for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the United States. Enjoy!

The Distribution Story from BenzBlogger on Vimeo.

Atlanta Classic Cars looks forward to hosting our clients for this annual event! This years outing will be especially exciting as we will host individual golf and tennis events the same day. Each event will produce a two-person team that will represent Atlanta Classic Cars as they advance to the  Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championships Eastern Sectional at Pinehurst Resort in the fall. The Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championships is a nationwide amateur-only golf and tennis program for men and women, 21 years or older.

Reserve your space now for a great day of friendly competition, food, fun, awards, prizes and more. All skill levels are invited to participate.

We look forward to seeing you May 16th at TPC Sugarloaf!

Please contact me for more details and the registration form. I look forward to seeing you there!

Autoblog recently posted Five Mind-Blowing Innovations from Mercedes-Benz.  It is a wonderful sampling of just a few of the technologies that Mercedes-Benz is developing for improved safety and vehicle enjoyment. I know a lot of you have probably seen this…because people keep forwarding it to me! 126 years ago horses were your only option to get to town…Now, we are just a few years away from the car driving itself in a traffic jam and optimizing the suspension for the potholes while you talk to “Gloria” about taking a detour! Thanks to Autoblog for highlighting these five!

For Model Year 2012 the Accessory Navigation System (ANS) will replace the Nav + 4 system in the SLK-Class and C-Class Sedan and Coupe. The ANS will equip cars without the COMAND system with Navigation through the standard screen (Audio 20). The standard screen for these vehicles is larger for 2012 with enhanced clarity and better display. The system is also fully integrated with the central COMAND controller.The features of ANS include:

• Reality View Pro
• Display of highway intersections and exit ramps
• Image display of road signs and lane information
• Lane Guidance Pro
• Recommends the optimal lane
• Destination input via map
• Real Time Traffic

Unlike the Nav + 4, ANS does not include iPod adapter, USB connection, or Bluetooth Audio streaming. The Nav +4 will still be available on the 2012 GLK-Class. The ANS MSRP is $1290.

I’m riding with Michael!

You can see more Mercedes-Benz videos at Mercedes-Benz.tv.

Atlanta Classic Cars ran a trivia contest for our Twitter followers over the last 10 weeks. Our weekly winners have enjoyed dinners, golf lessons and other great prizes. Our Grand Prize winner was announced this week and it happened to by one of my owners! Congratulations to Susan! She will be enjoying a weekend at Barnsley Gardens including a spa package and a car for the trip! Please do follow us on Twitter and be our friend on Facebook to be included next time we have a contest!

The all-new third generation M-Class will arrive later this year. The world premiere will be in Germany at the beginning of June. It will launch in the US in September of 2011.

Standard Equipment

• ML350 4matic with 302 hp and 273 lb/ft torque
• ML350 Bluetec with 240 hp and 455 lb/ft torque
• 19″ Wheels
• Sunroof
• PRE-SAFE
• ATTENTIN -ASSIST
• AGILITY CONTROL suspension
• ADAPTIVE BRAKE with HOLD function
• 9 Airbags
• HD Radio

Colors

• Black
• Arctic White
• Dakota Brown Metallic – NEW
• Obsidian Black Metallic
• Steel  Grey Metallic
• Pearl Beige Metallic – NEW
• Iridium Silver Metallic
• Palladium Silver Metallic
• Capri Blue Metallic
• Diamond White Metallic

Interior

• Black MB-Tex and Leather
• Almond Beige MB-Tex and Leather
• Grey MB-Tex and Leather
• Trim – Eucalyptus is Standard and Burl Walnut is optional

Option Packages

Premium 1 Package

• iPod/MP3 Interface Cable
• Rearview Camera
• Driver Seat Memory
• Navigation
• SIRIUS Satellite Radio
• Double Sun visors
• Power Liftgate
• Auto dimming mirrors
• Power folding Mirrors
• 115V AC Power Outlet

Premium 2 Package

• All components of Premium 1 Package
• Climate Controlled Cupholders – NEW
• harman/kardon LOGIC7 Premium Sound
• KEYLESS-GO

Dynamic Handling Package

• Adaptive Dampening System
• Anit-Ross Stabilization
• AIRMATIC
• 20″ Twin 5-spoke Wheels

Leather Package

• Leather
• Burl Walnut Wood
• Multi-Color Ambient Lighting

Lighting Package

• Bi-Xenon Headlamps with  active curve illumination
• Corner illuminating lamps
• Adaptive Highbeam Assist
• Headlamp cleaning system

Lane Tracking Package – NEW

• Lane Keeping Assist
• Blind Spot Assist

Driver Assistance Pacakge – NEW

• DISTRONIC  PLUS with PRE-SAFE Brake
• Active Blind Sport Assist
• Active Lane Keeping Assist

Stand Alone Options

• Active Parking Assist with PARKTRONIC – NEW
• Wood/Leather Multifunction Steering Wheel
• Panorama Sunroof – NEW
• Heated Steering Wheel
• Trailer Hitch
• Stainless Steel Running Boards
• Rear Seat Entertainment  or pre-wiring
• Heated Rear Seats
• Heated Front Seats
• KEYLESS-GO

All of this information is preliminary and could change before the vehicle is launched. More details will be available in early June when the official pictures are released. Until then, I am sure you can find the spy photos!

As mechanics, they are great drivers! Just one week until the Malaysian Grand Prix.