HOLIDAY PARTY!

Thanks to everyone that already registered for the CVA Holiday Gala! We have a great group of members and non-members joining us. And, if you’re a new member the holiday party is a great opportunity for you to meet fellow Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts, while enjoying Rockett’s Landing.  Register online here – last chance, the event is this coming weekend!

When: January 16, 2009 – Dinner Saturday evening (6PM)

Location: The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing
4708 East Old Main Street, Richmond VA 23231 – Phone: 804-622-2628

The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing promises a truly one-of-a-kind, waterside dining experience never before available in Richmond. We’ll be enjoying the Harbor Master Room on the second floor overlooking the James River.

Register online here – last chance!

Mercedes-Benz News: Detroit – 2010 North American International Auto Show

Positive signals underline the Mercedes-Benz presence at the 2010 North American International Auto Show. The highlight of the opening day was the debut of the new E-Class Cabriolet, which is celebrating its world premiere in Detroit. The four-seater, year-round cabriolet completes the successful E-Class family and presents a world first in the shape of the AIRCAP® wind deflector, which considerably reduces air turbulence when the top is down. One further “eye-catcher” on the Mercedes stand is an automobile sculpture that uses a stunning approach to communicate the notion of the car as a new art form, and offers a glimpse of the future Mercedes design language. The stars of Detroit also include the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, as well as the ML 450 HYBRID and the globally successful S400 HYBRID, which set benchmarks for efficiency in their segments and demonstrate the brand’s expertise in hybrid technology.

“The new E-Class Cabriolet offers unique driving pleasure for four people and I am certain that it will further strengthen our successful E-Class family, plus deliver even more emotional momentum to the brand,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars at the Mercedes-Benz press conference. “It is our stated objective to continue to expand the leading position held by Mercedes-Benz in the luxury segment – with new, stunning models and intelligent solutions for sustainable mobility that we have in the pipeline and will bring to market in quick succession.”

The success of this course is confirmed through positive sales development worldwide – in the last quarter of 2009, Mercedes-Benz was the fastest growing premium brand in the world and also the strongest German premium brand in the U.S. In December, Mercedes-Benz reported an increase of 8.2 percent compared with the same month the previous year, with sales of 20,000 vehicles making it the best monthly performance of 2009.

The new E-Class Cabriolet: “Four seasons, four people”
The new Cabriolet sees Mercedes-Benz complete the E-Class family. Thanks to its classic soft top, the convertible four-seater delivers that unadulterated cabriolet feeling. True to the motto “four seasons, four people”, it combines comfort, elegance and year-round usability. This is helped along by features such as the AIRCAP® automatic wind deflector that can be deployed at the touch of a button to significantly reduce turbulence in the vehicle’s interior. It also dispenses with the assembly required for conventional wind deflectors and leaves the side profile of the Cabriolet undisturbed. Equipment on board also includes the next generation of the AIRSCARF® neck-level heating system integrated into the back rests of the front seats. It blows warm air from adjustable air vents in the head restraints and warms the neck area of the driver and front seat passenger like an invisible scarf.

The production standard sound-dampening soft top comes with extremely high-quality insulation to deliver comfortable travel with the top up. Thus, the closed E-Class Cabriolet offers one of the quietest interiors in the segment of four-seater premium soft-top cabriolets. The top can be open or closed at the touch of a button in only 20 seconds – even while driving at speeds of up to 25 mph (40 km/h).