Jalopnik: Mercedes CLK

2009 Mercedes Benz CLK Has The Snake Eyes

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EDT

The lens jockeys at KGP have managed to snag us a darn good look at the upcoming 2009 Mercedes Benz CLK. While we've seen the shape of the car before we haven't seen the new split-design headlights and the very bizarre trunk lid design. According to our spies, that headlight styling will be migrating across the Benzie lineup and acting as the new snake eyes for the E-class next. What we're not so sure about is the butt-end of this thing. The Germans may be having a tail war.

Take a look a that 'protrusion' poking off the trunk. It's not really a spoiler but not quite a Bangle-butt; however, it is strange looking. Unless the lid is plastic or composite, that's one hell of a stamping draw to make the thing. Also, we're not sure how we feel about the styled-by-Duplo tail lights. They really don't go well with the smooth style of the rest of the car. Funny, the spy didn't say anything about 'em in the report:

A new Mercedes CLK prototype has shown itself in Germany, giving us our first unobstructed look at the new coupe's split-headlight design. A similar (perhaps identical) headlight design is expected on Mercedes' next E-class. But even on the very latest E-class prototypes — which are running around with much less camouflage than this CLK — we haven't seen such a revealing look at the front lights.

"Weekend Cars" On The Way Out?

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Every day seems to bring more doom and gloom for the American public. With everything made of oil skyrocketing, food getting pricier, houses going down and movies like Indiana Jones in theaters, there is little to encourage fun car purchases. Business Week is wondering openly about the future of "weekend cars" — convertibles, two-door coupes and other impractical but generally delightful machinery. They think cars like the BMW 6-Series, Mercedes-Benz CLK, and even the beloved Chevy Corvette are doomed to disappear. Though our rational mind says 'probably,' the rest of it says 'Noooooo!' [Business Week]

Remploy Bosses Rewarded With Mercedes For Firing Disabled Workers

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:45:00 EDT

Okay, that's an admittedly sensationalist headline, but completely true even without context. Remploy is a British company in the business of hiring out disabled workers to jobs where they can be effective. It was incorporated after the WW2 to manage all the disabled workers now within Her Majesties court. Until recently things had been going along dandy with 5,000 people in their employ across many plants in Britain. That is until a couple of weeks ago, when the company laid off half of the total workforce.

Despite the seemingly drastic measures, and here's the rub, the upper management will be driving around in Mercedes Benz CLK's for their hard work. The total corporate fleet of 443 cars figures in at about 8 million British pounds, with an average vehicle price of 19,900 Quid. We're no experts in labor relations, but we're betting this really chuffs the knickers of all those out of work disabled limeys. Bet there's about the be a big row over this one. [This IsLondon]

2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK

Ray Wert — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:15:00 EST

The boys over at the Road that is not only bendy, it's Winding have snagged themselves some shots of what they're told is the 2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK out on the mean streets o' Stuttgart. They've also been told the new CLK will look "more sporty" and "more luxurious" — and the new model will still be built off the C-class platform. So rather than "aluminum und shteel," is the new CLK "shporty und luxoorious?" Maybe, but only if we get the hard-top version. [via Winding Road]

2009 Mercedes CLK

Ray Wert — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:30:00 EDT

It would appear, based on the shot above (and gallery below), Mercedes is actively working on the next generation CLK. It looks to be bigger and longer than the outgoing model as this new CLK (and we're assuming, CLK convertible) — which we'd expect as we're hearing it will be based on the bigger and longer new C-class sedan. It goes without saying, however, that refinements will probably need to be done to that chassis to meet expectations of the somewhat more ambitious coupé-drivers of the world. We're also hearing that the frame won't be the only bit o' metal the CLK will take from the new C-class. We've heard the engines will also come from the C-class line-up and will include a V8 for a CLK 500. It's expected the newly sexed up coupé will arrive at dealers in summer 2009 with the soft-top following just a few months later.