This book gives an up-close look at Mercedes-Benz roadsters, convertibles, and two-and four-seat coupes from the mid-1950s to present. With roadsters, starting with the 300SL's from the mid-1950 and continuing through the current SLK's - up to the 2003 model year. Coupes and Cabrios, this book details the 220SEb/300SE cars of 1960 and continues on up to the current CLK's to the 2003 model year. This approach better serves those who are in the market for "personal cars" by not spreading the book too thin to cover the entire Mercedes-Benz lineup. Explore all the traditional elements of the Buyer's Guide series, such as the basic histories of each model or model type, Garage Watch photos with inset photo callouts, tables of common replacement parts, quotes from contemporary magazine reviews, owner testimonials, rating charts, and specification tables.

His name is Lavan Firestorm, a young man blessed—and cursed—with a special talent for firestarting. His legend has haunted the darkest corners of Valdemar, yet the truth has never been told. Here, at last, is his story.

Watch the complete MR. MERCEDES series on Peacock WINNER of the EDGAR AWARD for BEST NOVEL and #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! In a high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from murdering thousands. “Mr. Mercedes is a rich, resonant, exceptionally readable accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses” (The Washington Post). The stolen Mercedes emerges from the pre-dawn fog and plows through a crowd of men and women on line for a job fair in a distressed American city. Then the lone driver backs up, charges again, and speeds off, leaving eight dead and more wounded. The case goes unsolved and ex-cop Bill Hodges is out of hope when he gets a letter from a man who loved the feel of death under the Mercedes’s wheels… Brady Hartsfield wants that rush again, but this time he’s going big, with an attack that would take down thousands—unless Hodges and two new unusual allies he picks up along the way can throw a wrench in Hartsfield’s diabolical plans. Stephen King takes off on a “nerve-shredding, pulse-pounding race against time” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) with this acclaimed #1 bestselling thriller.

Mercedes Lackey's triumphant return to the best-selling world of Valdemar, Take a Thief reveals the untold story of Skif--a popular character from Lackey's first published novel, Arrows of the Queen. Skif was an orphan who would have died from malnutrition and exposure if he had never met Deke the pickpocket. By the time he was twelve, Skif was an accomplished cat burglar. But it wasn't until he decided to steal a finely tacked-out white horse, which was, oddly enough, standing unattended in the street, that this young thief discovered that the tables could turn on him--and that he himself could be stolen!

This stand-alone novel in the Valdemar series continues the story of prickly weapons-master Alberich. Once a heroic Captain in the army of Karse, a kingdom at war with Valdemar, Alberich becomes one of Valdemar's Heralds. Despite prejudice against him, he becomes the personal protector of young Queen Selenay. But can he protect her from the dangers of her own heart?

From the earliest workshop days to the grandest marque in the automotive world, the story of one of the most important enterprises of the twentieth century comes alive in this complete history. The rich history of Daimler-Benz (now DaimlerChrysler) has its roots in the early experimentation with the use of the internal combustion engine by three men: Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, and William Maybach. Benz, working alone, and Daimler and Maybach, working together, the two shops separated by a mere sixty miles, in the late 1880s simultaneously laid the foundation of what would become the German automotive industry. At first there was competition between Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, as they engineered and styled the earliest motorwagens and began to develop markets for their products. These early efforts led to the establishment of an entire industry by the start of World War I. But the war and its aftermath devastated these two companies, as it did the German economy overall. By the early 1920s it became apparent that the only way to survival was a merger, and thus, on June 29, 1926, the stockholders of both companies gave approval to the new company, Daimler-Benz, which led directly to the birth of one of the world's best-known brands: Mercedes-Benz. In the hands of noted automotive photographer, author, and editor Dennis Adler, the history of the marque and the company unfolds through the decades, as Mercedes-Benz advances in fame, from the racing glory years to the present, becoming the standard that all automakers strive to meet. With archival (many never before published) and the author's own photographs, the beauty and power of the automobile comes alive, from the earliest models to the first crop of twenty-first-century Mercedes-Benzes. It is a story of excellence that is in many ways unmatched in the history of any industry. Today, as a global leader in design, safety, and overall excellence, Mercedes-Benz continues to lead the way.