Hasta La Gadget!

Mercedes-Benz fanatics are in for a treat, as the company has apparently released new shots of its upcoming 2014 CLA-class sedan. We’re pretty sure these shots – which were originally posted on AutoMonthly – are official shots from Mercedes, and at least they look the part, showing off the exterior and interior of the car with a professional flare you won’t often find outside the realm of promotional images.

The look of the CLA might be a little jarring for longtime Mercedes owners, as the company is taking some leaps of faith with the louder design. The new car has a lot in common with the A-class series, and its risky design can be attributed to Mercedes’ desire to net some younger customers for itself. Gernot Bracht explained the shake up in design to Car and Driver, saying that the 2014 CLA is “Definitely not a typical Mercedes-Benz.”

“The CLA is clearly informed by Asian tastes, and it symbolizes yet another departure from the traditionally purist German approach to design,” Bracht said. “But this is becoming a trend, and in a way the CLA reminds me of Opel’s approach with the new Adam.” Will this new design rub those longtime fans of Mercedes-Benz the wrong way? Perhaps it’s too early to tell, but we could definitely see this kind of car getting younger drivers interested.

We’ll have to wait until next month to find out more about the 2014 CLA, but for now, we have these shots to gawk at. Expect the the 2014 CLA to get a lot of attention as Mercedes-Benz reveals more about it, given that the car signals something of a departure for the famous car company. What do you think of the 2014 CLA’s design?

Mercedes-Benz unleashes 2014 CLA-class promotional shots early is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s more closure in the case of some Toyota cars falling victim to “unintended acceleration,” as the company has agreed to pay out a whopping $1.1 billion to settle lawsuits centering around the flaw. For those who have forgotten, Toyota was forced to recall a ton of 2010 Lexus RX 350s and 450s after it was discovered that the floor mats can entangle the pedals and force the cars to accelerate. Unfortunately, a flaw like this is normally discovered after drivers have accidents, which is why Toyota was hit with a number of lawsuits.

USA Today explains that for some of the cars involved in the case, Toyota will pay to have them retrofit with technology that aids in stopping the car in an emergency situation. For other cars that can’t be retrofitted with this tech, the owners will be getting cold hard cash. The important thing for Toyota was showing that this wasn’t a defect with the cars’ computers, but rather an issue with floor mats. With that little bullet point on the books, Toyota has agreed to pay out these settlements and put the whole thing behind them.

Toyota was recently fined $17.35 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to report the flaw in the allowed time frame, which is the largest fine the NHTSA can impose. The company now must meet with the NHTSA regularly to report its progress in fixing the issue, so a lot of headway has been made in this case lately.

It’s great to see Toyota doing things like this to get the issue resolved, but we’re sure the company just wants to move on from all of this controversy as quickly as possible. We probably won’t be hearing too much about this case now that Toyota has agreed to both the settlement and the NHTSA’s fine since there’s not much left for the company to resolve. Still, if you need a recap, you can find posts about the issue in our story timeline below.

Toyota paying out $1.1 billion to settle acceleration lawsuits is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you know anything about SUVs and trucks from General Motors, you’ll know that the company has largely been replicating their designs so that certain SUVs and trucks match each other. However, starting with their 2014 models, GM will be giving each of its vehicles a unique look to separate them from the pack.

The company has announced that they’re dropping the cookie-cutter approach to the interiors and exteriors of its full-size SUVs and pickup trucks, beginning with the redesigned 2014 models. We already took a look at the 2014 Silverado and Sierra from Chevrolet and GMC, respectively, but it looks like 2014 SUVs, like the Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon, will look a bit different this time around.

Chris Hilts, creative manager of interior design at General Motors, says that in the past, the company has “shared SUV and truck interiors. That is not the case going forward.” When the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Suburban, the GMC Yukons, and the Cadillac Escalades get their redesigns for 2014, they’ll be getting their own instrument panels, consoles, instrumentation, knobs, materials, and other design elements.

Previously, the Escalades and Yukons shared similar door panels, but since these two vehicles have different prices ranges that cater towards different types of people, GM thought it was necessary to finally give each of their SUVs a unique look that differentiated from one another. Essentially, GM says that a 2014 Silverado and a 2014 Tahoe will look completely different, and won’t have similar qualities that the two vehicles have shared for so long.

[via Car and Driver]

GM to differentiate SUV and truck designs with 2014 models is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back on October 27, we reported that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration had opened an investigation against Ford due to reports of sticky throttles. In a related matter, the NHTSA has now increased its investigation of other Ford models, which are said to suffer from stuck accelerators due to the carpeting in the vehicles. The investigation’s upgrade will allow the agency to better look into the issue.

This particular investigation targets 2008 to 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ models, all of which have been the cause of driver reports concerning unintended acceleration. The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation has a total of 52 reports of the issue. According to drivers, upon releasing the accelerator after quickly accelerating, the accelerator will remain stuck in position.

Although the investigation states that floor mats are being reported as possibly causing the stuck accelerators, it is worth noting that some of the symptoms don’t readily point at carpet being the problem. Users have reported having problems applying the brakes once the accelerator gets stuck, and likewise can only stop the stuck acceleration by shifting into neutral and turning the car off.

This investigation is similar to the one instigated in October, which looked into sticky throttles on the 2000 to 2003 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable models. Reports indicated that a cruise control cable collar could break and cause the throttle to remain open. Another investigation into sticky throttles was launched back in March of this year as well, regarding the 2001 through 2006 Taurus and Sable models.

[via Wall Street Journal]

NHTSA takes it investigation of Ford’s acceleration problem to the next level is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ford has been in the news quite a bit lately, with reports of recalls, malfunctions, and questionable gas mileage estimates, among other things. On December 1, we reported that Ford had initiated a voluntary recall of select 2013 Escape and Fusion vehicles due to issues with engine overheating, which could result in fire. Now, a little over a week later, the company has announced that the problem has been identified and will be corrected with software updates.

The overheating problem is caused by an issue with the cooling system, which was not capable of recognizing and adjusting to loss of pressure. To correct this issue, Ford will issue a series of software updates specifically for the cooling system, which it says will fix the issue. The problem, according to the press release, was identified by a “cross-discipline engineering team.”

The Ford Group’s Vice President of Global Product Development Raj Nair offered this statement. “We remain absolutely committed to continuously improving and providing the highest-quality vehicles to our customers. When a potential issue is identified, we act promptly on behalf of our customers, as we did this time.”

The recall only affects Fusion and Escape 2013 SE and SEL 1.6-liter models sold in the United States and Canada. While waiting for the updates to be released, owners are encouraged to take their vehicles to their local Ford dealership to get alternative transportation (for free) until the problem can be corrected. Continuing to drive one of the recalled models could result in an engine fire.

[via Ford]

Ford to correct Fusion and Escape overheating issue with software updates is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.