For this week’s Media Monday, then, we’re sharing the “Top Gear” segment from February, 2011, in which Mr. Clarkson waxes rhapsodic about the Mercedes-Benz CLK AMG Black.

A mile-wide tornado that touched down in Tuscaloosa, AL, and caused damage in parts of the city, also caused minor damage to the Mercedes-Benz International plant north of town. While the facility didn’t lose power, and the only damage was to siding and the roof, neither of which would harm production, the decision to close was made, according to company spokesperson Felycia Jerald, in order to help employees, “…who needed to support their families, friends and communities that were severely impacted.”

The Vance plant builds the GL, M, and R-class vehicles for Mercedes. According to Jerald, no estimate of lost units was released, but the company will make up the output sometime in the future.

While it’s common to evaluate cars based on their cost, and hybrids and diesels do tend to cost more than gas-powered cars, even when fuel savings are taken into account, when value retention (higher resale value) is taken into account, these alternative-fueled vehicles come out on top.

The researchers at Carnegie Mellon compared the Volkswagen Jetta TDI with the Jetta 5C and 4C, the Toyota Prius with the gasoline-powered Toyota Camry,the Honda Civic Hybrid and standard versions, and the Mercedes-Benz E320 diesel with the E350 (gas powered). The Jetta TDI and Toyota Prius were the clear winners in the comparison study, retaining the greatest portion of their original purchase prices.

Data for the resale value was based on auction prices provided by Manheim Auctions, and was based on vehicles sold after three years of ownership. The project was underwritten by the diesel technology firm Bosch, and conducted by members of CMU’s Tepper School of Business. It was clear that Bosch wanted to prove that clean diesel is a wise choice for consumers, but the study confirmed that hybrids provide a similar resale benefit, as well. This was especially evident based on data from the summer of 2008 when gas prices were at their highest, but still evident, though less so, when fuel prices dropped in 2009.

This year, prices for both diesel and gasoline fuel are rising again, and are predicted to continue creeping upward over the next few years. This trend lends credence to the economic argument for fuel efficiency as a desirable feature that will help a car retain its future resale value.

According to Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi is increasing production of the A1 to meet greater demand. The car, which was originally meant only for the European market, will be offered globally (except for China and the United States) in 2011. Schwarzenbauer added that this smallest of Audi’s models will be available in China sometime after 2011, but that it wouldn’t be available to U.S. consumers until the model’s second generation “at the earliest.”

The Audi A1, which is designed to compete with BMW AG’s 1-series and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz A-class, will go on sale this Friday, August 27th, and – at least in Germany – the base price will be 15,800 euros.

Schwarzenbauer said that it was interest generated from the Audi A1′s website that spurred the plan to expand sales of the car. In an interview on Tuesday, he said, “We will expand our production capacities by 20 percent” for the A1. The original production plan was for only 100,000 A1s per year, all coming from the company’s factory in Brussels.

Audi, which could set a record sales goal of more than 1.08 million cars and SUVs this year, has set its sights on dethroning BMW as the world’s largest luxury carmaker by 2015, when it wants to reach annual sales of 1.5 million vehicles.

All of the German big three automakers, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, have seen increased sales this years, thanks to greater demand in China, the largest car market in the world, and a rebound in the United States.

Enjoy!

This year, a new test was added – the roof test. While the results of this test caused a lower number of vehicles to be granted overall Top Safety Pick status, more and more new vehicles are being tested for roof strength, and numbers will eventually balance out. Other tests vehicles must pass include front, side, and rear crash tests. As well, electronic stability control systems are now required.

Among this years Top Safety Picks are the 2010 Hyundai Genesis and the Mercedes-Benz e-Class. There were no American brands represented in the top ten this year.

Those tax credits were part of a national program offering clean vehicle incentives beginning in 2005, and provided up to $3,400 each for 60,000 buyers per automaker, before a 16-month phase-out period. When Ford reached 60,000 hybrids sold sometime before April 1, 2009, that meant that as of April 1, 2010 there are no tax credits left for any Ford Hybrids. Other automakers – specifically BMW, General Motors, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, still have credits left for the purchase of hybrids and clean diesel vehicles, but most of those brands sell only low volumes of hybrids, with the possible exception of Volkwagen’s Jetta TDI.

Currently, hybrids account for less than 3% of the new car market, which means analysts and advocates of the green car market are left wondering if hybrid tax credits have been phased out too early in the process. As the folks at HybridCars point out:

After a decade in the market, hybrids have become more commonplace and therefore, with tax credits and other incentives, could reach a much larger part of the mainstream market. Incentives could encourage automakers and consumers to put millions of high-mpg low-emission hybrids on the road—the original goal of the tax credits.

Instead of doing more work to encourage the purchase of very viable hybrid vehicles, however, most legislators have jumped on the newest tech bandwagon: electric cars, and plug-in hybrids. There now exists a combination of local and national credits including up to $7,500 federal dollars plus a $2,000 for the installation of charging equipment, in addition to state-based incentives, which are available to private buyers of green electric-drive vehicles.

So, what’s the problem? First, these vehicles are not yet available to the general public, and when they do come on the market later this year, even with tax credits they will be very expensive, and not very numerous. While some see this as a good reason for generous tax credits, others point out that the first wave of consumers to buy these cars are those who would likely do so without any tax credits, because they believe in the cause, and the viability of plug-in cars. Meanwhile, mainstream buyers who might consider a hybrid purchase with a bit of a nudge, won’t receive one.

What does this mean for the future? Some analysts believe that we could be looking at a several year gap in the right incentives for the right buyers of greener cars and trucks.

So, the three finalists for Car of the Year were:

- Hyundai Genesis
- Ford Flex
- Volkswagen Jetta TDI (a diesel)

And the three for the truck nod were:

- Ford F-150
- Dodge RAM
- Mercedes-Benz ML320 BueTEC (also a diesel)

Without a doubt, the Genesis is a big step in the right direction for Korean automaker Hyundai in its quest to grab a share of the “upscale” market while trying to hang on to its reputation for affordability. The V6 version of the Genesis opens at $32,000 and reviewers consistently say it drives like a Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. (Exactly the goal Hyundai set for itself from the beginning with this model.)

As for the F-150, really, what is there to say about a truck that has been the best selling model in America for 27 years? Not even a recession, plummeting auto sales, and $4 gasoline did this one in. For 2009 the F-150 is more angular and has a flatter nose while sporting a lighter chassis for better fuel economy and even higher safety ratings. (It’s the Top Safety Pick with the Insurance Institue for Highway Safety.)

While lots of people are not in the market for new wheels at the moment, when that does become possible again — hopefully sooner than later — these models are six to consider.