Lexus Cars And Automotive Reviews

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The company is highly respected as one of most innovative automotive companies, improving the level of excellence and standards of all other cars on the market. Here are the concept models that complement the most celebrated car of all time.

The Mercedes-Benz C111 is a sports car and test vehicle for several different high performance engines. (This includes wankel and diesel engines).

The Mercedes-Benz Auto 2000 is simply a four-door saloon.

The Mercedes-Benz NAFA is a unique microcar.

The Mercedes-Benz C112 acts as both a sports car and a developmental mule. Also referred to as a “test mule” these vehicles are for experimental purposes as far as mercedes accessories and other critical components.

The Mercedes-Benz F 100 was introduced in early 1991.

The Mercedes-Benz F 200 Imagination is a two door coupe that was introduced to the public at the Paris Motor Show in 1996.

The Mercedes-Benz F 300 Life Jet is a three-wheel car or motorcycle that was released in 1997 at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

A Mercedes-Benz Vision SLR was a prototype of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren which was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in 1999.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision SLA is a convertible Benz with identical details of the SLR, but based it is based off of the A-Class platform. It was shown at the 2000 North American Auto Show.

The Mercedes Benz F 400 Carving is a two-seat roadster Benz that was first released to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2002.

The Mercedes-Benz F 500 Mind was introduced at the same show the following year. This model was a four-door fastback saloon.

The Mercedes-Benz F 600 HYGENUIS was a compact fuel cell car, which means that electricity is generated through the fuel tank and it was first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005.

The Mercedes-Benz Bionic was a model that was inspired by the boxfish and it was released at the 2005 Daimler Chrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington.

The Mercedes-Benz Ocean Drive is a four-door convertible which was based on the beautiful S600.

The Mercedes-Benz F700 is a large luxury saloon. It features a high output DiesOtto engine and it was unveiled at the Frankfort Motor Show in 2007.

The Mercedes-Benz Concept FASCINATION is known as a shooting-brake, basically a 2-door car body style with a rear that is squared off. This gave us a preview of the W212 in the 2008 Paris Motor Show.

Other newer concepts for the Benz includes the Mercedes-Benz S 400 Blue HYBRID and the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Roadster.

The recent 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) conducted by J.D. Power and Associates shows that Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus luxury division and General Motors’ Buick brand ranked as the highest vehicle nameplates in terms of dependability. J.D. Power and Associates said that this is “the first time that another brand ties with Lexus for the highest-rank position.”

So how does J.D. Power and Associates rank these vehicles? Well, J.D. Power staff based their rankings for the 2007 Vehicle Dependability Study by measuring the problems stated by vehicle owners in three years of ownership. J.D. Power calculates these problems with the unit called “problems per 100 vehicles” or PP100. J.D. Power and Associates conducted a survey from more than 50,000 owners and gathered the data from January to April 2007. Among the tested vehicle brands, Buick and Lexus scored a tie with only 145 PP100. This only shows that Lexus offers high quality auto parts like Lexus ball joints. Other brands like Cadillac, Mercury and Honda also performed well in the PP100 ranking.

“With three non-premium nameplates — Buick, Honda and Mercury – ranking within the top five, and particularly with Buick tying with Lexus for the top rank, consumers seeking a vehicle with strong dependability have good choices at various price levels. Consumers don’t necessarily need to pay premium prices to obtain high quality and dependability.” said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis for J.D. Power and Associates.

Oddes added: “Automakers may reap numerous benefits from producing dependable vehicles – not only in higher residual values, decreased warranty costs and opportunities for remarketing their vehicles, but also in higher customer satisfaction and increased likelihood of customers recommending or purchasing newer dependable models.”This is why it is especially important for automakers to successfully launch new vehicle models with high initial quality and appeal — models that perform well in these regards tend to exhibit particularly strong dependability later in their life cycle.”

J.D. Power and Associates also ranked vehicle models for each segment. Toyota’s Lexus brand dominated the list and earned five segment awards including the GS 300/GS430 (Midsize Premium Car), GX 470 (Midsize Premium MAV), LS 430 (Large Premium Car), LX 470, (Large Premium MAV) and the SC 430 for the Premium Sporty Car segment.

Toyota models also performed well in the segment awards. The Japanese automaker obtained four awards for the RAV 4 and Sequoia sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and Tacoma and Tundra pick up truck models. Other brands in the list that earned segment award include Ford, Honda Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet, Infiniti, Mazda and Scion.

Oddes concluded:

“As owners experience vehicle problems — particularly ones that require components to be replaced — they are less likely to repurchase or recommend their current model. Automakers can improve upon customer loyalty by working closely with their component suppliers to monitor quality, since failure of a component ultimately reflects upon the quality of the vehicle brand in the minds of consumers.”