Auto News 5

The evening before Mercedes-Benz's public relations department flew us from Frankfurt, Germany -- where we'd seen the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG roadster make its official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show -- to the South of France to drive the car, they took us to dinner. Our Mercedes Viano shuttle van made its way from the glass towers of the financial district to the village of Konigstein, northwest of the city, where it wended its way along tree-lined roads through a large park before pulling up in front of a spectacularly grand old hotel. As we alighted from the Viano, we recognized the setting, Villa Rothschild Kempinski, and remembered when and why we'd been there before. It was July 2007, and it was to drive the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren roadster.