Houston Cars

Not content to leave Lexus alone in the luxury hybrid segment, Mercedes-Benz is readying it’s own entry.  Called the S400, this car will mate an electric motor with a V6 for a total of 275 HP.  Nothing exciting yet, right?  The cool part is that reportedly, Mercedes is going to use lithium-ion batteries, rather than the current favorite NIMH batteries. 

Estimated fuel economy is an average of 30 MPG.  That would be a pretty darn impressive number for a full-size luxury sedan like the S400.  And I’m surprised to see MB differ from Lexus’s path of going for more power rather than more MPG from the hybrid powertrain.  Pricing isn’t known at this point, but it’s a Benz hybrid - it’s not going to come cheap.