There was a time when “land yacht” was not a nice thing to say about a Buick Riviera car, but these days it seems de rigueur. Range Rover has brought in naval architects to take on their sport-ute, Rolls-Royce uses teak decking on its Phantom DHC, Audi’s gone out to see with the Q7 Coastline concept, even Volvo has given its wagons the Ocean Race theme. Now Mercedes-Benz is following the same lead with its latest show car, er…van.

Benz has taken one of its Viano vans (a model not available on these shores) and turned it into the Vision Pearl concept. Dubbed a “yacht on four wheels,” the Viano Vision Pearl is decked out in a unique matte pebble-grey paint job, but it’s the interior treatment that sets it apart: White and grey leather, wood floor, brushed aluminum trim, auto-tinting windows, on-board wi-fi and a Bang & Olufsen sound system.

All-in-all, it brings us back to the Nautica edition Mercury Villager and the Plymouth Voyager when it had that little sailboat badge on the nose we knew as kids, but then maybe there’s a reason both those marques went under. One way or another, the Viano Pearl Vision will come to port at the Frankfurt Motor Show come September, but you can check it out now with the pair of high-res images below and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz Viano Vision Pearl concept van sets sail for Frankfurt

Mercedes-Benz Viano Vision Pearl concept van sets sail for Frankfurt originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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General Motors jumped into the Guangzhou Motor Show with 23 production and concept vehicles, the most interesting of which was the Chevrolet Sail Electric Concept Vehicle. The pint-sized EV was worked up through a partnership between Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center. While the new EV uses the recently-introduced Sail for most of its bones, it ditches the internal-combustion engine in favor of an electric motor and lithium-ion batteries. Under the hood, an 87-horsepower motor spits out 162 pound-feet of torque. According to GM, that amount of grunt is enough to kick the Sail Electric Concept Vehicle to a top speed of around 80 mph.

And what about range, you ask? Word is that the tiny EV can cruise up to 93 miles before needing to be recharged. That’s not enough to cruise across a continent on a whim, but it would likely handle day-to-day commuting without leaving you stranded. As of right now, there’s no indication as to whether GM will actually produce the Sail EV or anything like it, but it’s no secret that The General wants to greatly expand its electric vehicle lineup here in the United States. We wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar sitting on dealer lots in a few years. Hit the jump for the full press blast.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM unveils Sail EV Concept in China

GM unveils Sail EV Concept in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 26 Dec 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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