2008 Mercedes Benz Ml320cdi , One Owner, Garage Kept, 65400 Miles on 2040-cars

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BMW expects China to pass US as its top market in 2013

When you combine two billion citizens, 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants and an economy that's as unrestrained as Jim Cramer on an Adderall binge, China's explosive auto industry growth shouldn't be a huge surprise. Audi already lists the communist country as its largest market, while Mercedes-Benz is expecting it to be there in the next few years. Now, according to a report from Automotive News, BMW is expecting the People's Republic to overtake the United States in sales by the end of 2013.
We already discovered the extent that BMW is going to in establishing a dedicated Chinese stronghold, when we explored BMW's Shanghai-based DesignWorks studio ahead of April's Shanghai Motor Show. And while we argued that DesignWorks Shanghai hasn't really borne fruit, it isn't due to a lack of sales.
BMW China has seen a 16-percent jump in year-over-year sales, lead by a 28-percent gain in 5 Series sales. Part of BMW's growth strategy comes from an ever-expanding dealership network. Remember those 100 cities we mentioned with over one million people? According to Karsten Engel, CEO of BMW's Chinese operations, those 100-million-plus city dwellers don't have access to a premium dealership.

Brabus 800 Roadster is a power-mad aristocrat

If we're being completely honest, we haven't exactly been in love with the aesthetics of the sixth-generation Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. It's mostly a front-end issue, with its glowering eagle-eye headlamps and upright, dinner-plate-sized Three-Pointed Star coming across to us as overwrought. That's particularly troublesome for a roadster whose history has of the most elegant designs of all time in its back catalog. Somehow, the new R231 generation's brash visuals seem more at home on this Brabus 800 Roadster to us.
That's probably because the high-dollar German tuner has turned up the wick on the SL's visuals even further, with carbon fiber bodywork, a more aggressive aero kit, matte hood scoop and complex two-finish wheels. It's all-the-way committed to its brashness, in other words - and justifiably so. Anything with 800 horsepower and 1,047 pound-feet of torque has earned the right to look however it wants, right?
Brabus started with the SL65 and its not-exactly-underpowered 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12, and went to town, fitting their own turbocharger and intercooler system, along with a less-restrictive exhaust system with driver-selectable sound levels and new engine electronics. The result is a 3.7-second 0-62 mph time, an electronically limited top whack of 217 mph... and one seriously compromised toupée.

Mercedes-Benz GLA Concept crossover leaked ahead of Shanghai debut

With just a few days left before the start of the Shanghai Motor Show, images of the Mercedes-Benz GLA Concept compact crossover have emerged online. The little 'ute is based on the small A-Class hatchback, and though it shares an identical wheelbase, is larger in every other dimension.
Looking like a rough-and-tumble five-door hatchback on the tippy toes of its 20-inch wheels, the GLA is most certainly destined for production in a toned down form that will borrow many bits and pieces from other cars based on this platform like the aforementioned A-Class and the CLA-Class sedan. Carscoop reports that the production version of the GLA will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September of this year, with sales to the public starting in 2014.
Since it's based on the A-Class, we expect that the production GLA-Class will be powered by your choice of Mercedes' 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine and a diesel or two, and will offer transmissions that include the company's seven-speed DCT and perhaps a six-speed manual (at least in Europe). If the GLA follows the same path as the two cars before it, expect a GLA45 AMG producing over 300 horsepower, as well. As for what powers the GLA Concept, that just might remain a mystery until the vehicle is officially revealed in China.