#daimler

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney isn’t the only one that’s skeptical about electric vehicles and their development. At an industry panel in New York, executives expressed their criticisms of the electric vehicle market as automakers have quietly shelved strong pushes towards developing EVs.

Smart just announced pricing for its ForTwo Electric Drive, making it the cheapest electric car on the market today at $25,825

The Smart Fortwo hasn’t exactly been the resounding success Daimler had hoped it would be, but now the German automaker is hoping its electric vehicle variant will lift the brand’s sales. 

American electric automaker Tesla is enjoying great success, at least in terms of the EV market, and its CEO Elon Musk credits Daimler for saving the automaker in its time of need.

Entering its third generation and built in partnership with French automaker Renault, spy photos of the next Smart ForTwo have just surfaced.

Marking a milestone in one of the key hindrances to plague electric vehicles (EVs) thus far, eight of the word’s automakers have agreed to unify on a harmonized charging system capable of a 15-minute recharge.

It’s been two years since Daimler and BYD of China announced a partnership to develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market, but the collaboration finally has a name: Denza.

Car enthusiasts probably cringed during Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” video as the duo mangled a Maybach 57, but the joke seems to be on them now.

The irreverently-altered Maybach was supposed to bring between and estimated $100,000 and $150,000 at auction. That money was meant to go, at least in part, to the Save the Children Charity.

Unfortunately, as the audacious music stars learned, people don’t really like the idea of spending that kind of money on what amounts to a disfigured and outdated Maybach. The car earned $60,000 — an less than a quarter of its original value. While that’s chump change to own an ultra-exclusive Maybach (especially because the company is gone), it’s still a lot to pay for junk.

It’s too bad one of the music moguls didn’t just “give” it to the other as a memento of the video shoot. They could have collectively donated more to the charity without breaking much of a sweat. Heck it wasn’t so long ago that Birdman gave his brother and Lil Wayne Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Mulsanne respectively.

Nonetheless, Save the Children is probably grateful for whatever money it got, regardless of wasted potential. At least it still raised more than Justin Bieber‘s Hyundai Genesis, though even that is questionable considering the Hyundai sold for more than its original MSRP.

You can watch the music video after the break.

Wikipedia is known to the world as the open encyclopedia that anyone can edit on the Internet. While it may seem like the foundation of a disaster, Wiki contributors have, for the most part, kept things accurate and factual.

Although Daimler has announced the discontinuation of the Maybach brand, young money ballers, shot-callers now have the opportunity to bid on what’s arguably the most notorious Maybach of all.

Starring in the Jay-Z and Kanye West “Otis” music video, the chopped “Mad Max” Maybach will be put on the block by auction house Phillips de Pury & Co. at the New York Contemporary Art Evening sale on March 8. All proceeds of the Maybach auction will be donated to Save the Children. Previously, this vehicle was also up for auction to benefit the victims of drought in East Africa.

Burning rubber in four-wheel drifts and spitting fire in the process, Rockafella’s insane whip is estimated to raise between $100,000 to $150,000. Considering Jay-Z and Kanye’s handiwork left us with half a car, it seems appropriate for its estimate to be half the value of a Maybach 57 when new.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a funky, but rugged luxury SUV from the German automaker, and it appears that it’ll be in production until at least the year 2020.

Daimler got caught with their pants down this year when Audi passed Mercedes-Benz for the first time in history to become the world’s number two luxury car maker. That won’t be the case if they have their way next year.

Ernst Lieb is heading to court, continuing to insist that he did not misuse Mercedes-Benz‘s funds improperly and that his dismissal back in October was unjustified.

The long rumored Aston Martin-Daimler alliance appears to be taking shape, with a report in the Financial Times suggesting that the British sports car builder has approached Daimler with a request for assistance regarding engines, safety systems and other technology.

Remember Maybach? Of course not, we’re in a recession. But back in the day, when the grass was green and birds sang sweetly in the forests, Mercedes’ experiment with ultra-luxury was quietly shuttered after people decided that two-tone paint wasn’t compelling enough a reason to buy what looked like a melted S-Class owned by Simon Cowell.