Latest news with #Swabian
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Heidenheim miss out on Bayern Munich's Gabriel Vidovic
Sport Bild reports that Bayern Munich striker Gabriel Vidovic will end up transferring to Dinamo Zagreb after all. FC Heidenheim were linked with a late swoop for the 21-year-old, but it appears as if Vidovic is destined to depart the Bundesliga. The initially reported upon deal with the Croatian League runners-up will end up going through. Heidenheim now turn their focus to other players. Kicker reports that FCH management are now attempting to hold onto Bayern talent Paul Wanner via a new loan deal. Heidenheim seek to outpace Swabian rivals Stuttgart in this matter. Stuttgart are known to wish to serve as Wanner's next loan destination. Advertisement Sky Germany, meanwhile, claims Heidenheim have expressed interest in French striker Rayan Philippe of Eintracht Braunschweig. The 24-year-old looks to make the step up to the German top division. The Lower Saxon Löwen seek a transfer fee in the €2.5-3m range. Philippe recently came close to joining Mainz 05 before the deal ended up falling through late. Werder Bremen and Union Berlin are also thought to be interested in Philippe, as are both newly promoted Bundesliga clubs Hamburg and Köln. GGFN | Peter Weis
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test Driving The Mercedes-AMG G 63, The Swabian Ibex Maximus Hot Rod
Mercedes-AMG G 63's 577-horsepower twin-turbo V8 wears the Swabian equivalent of the lake pipes immortalized by the Beach Boys in 'Little Deuce Coupe.' The enormous performance tires and twin exhaust tips popping out under the running boards are obvious indicators that G 63 is an on-road hot rod, no matter that it retains the architecture and much of the off-roading capability of its military relatives. Unlike its 6-cylinder brother, the G 550, which is an excellent choice to keep at a posh log structure in the Rocky Mountains, G 63 is more an exotic high-performance vehicle than SUV. Think of it as a factory engineered and built restomod. LET THE LAKE PIPES ROAR! Differentiation is found under the hood. G 63 possesses that most prized element of the Mercedes-AMG brand: a one-man/one-engine hand-built twin-turbo V8 hooked up to an AMG-sorted Mercedes 9-speed automatic. With subtle packaging and calibration differences, it's essentially the same 577-horsepower engine found in AMG's high-performance GT and SL, as fine as any V8 offered. You can find more radical V8s, more powerful V8s, even from AMG, but you won't find one that's better. SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTRIC TORQUE For 2025, the 48-volt starter-generator electric motor located in the forestock of the 9-speed transmission can add a significant 184 lb. ft. of torque at low speeds for short bursts. Torque grand total is 627 lb. ft. The motor gives an instant-on boost of pure electric torque during launch. Compared to the 2024 G 63, that electric boost cuts the sprint to 60 mph by 0.3 seconds, to 4.2 seconds…no mean feat considering G 63 weighs just shy of three tons. It's still a war wagon, tailored for urban combat. Sure, exotic GTs and sports cars that do the deed in 3 seconds or less deliver a more powerful emotional experience, a nearly surreal experience in some of those low-slung rigs. But doing it while seated so high and upright, perceiving the violent rush, the blurring of the periphery through a huge nearly flat windscreen instead of an exotic car's mail slot is without doubt a unique experience in the world. That you can sense the all-wheel drive apportioning power to the individual wheels with the best grip, the Geländewagen feeling absolutely alive, pouncing like a cartoon cat, well, that is truly an experience. POINT IT AND PUNCH IT As a child working stopwatches at Vintage Auto Racing Association events at Willow Springs and the many Southern California road courses that are now shopping malls, I often saw a phrase attached to cars powered by vicious American V8s: point it and punch it. Well, G 63 may have a state-of-the-art Swabian twin-turbo V8, but it's a point it and punch high-performance vehicle. If you want near-GT cornering capability in a tall SUV, the two Swabian performance car companies—AMG and that other one—both offer SUVs that will make you pucker attacking a big hairpin corner with elevation change. But that's not G 63's raison d'être. SPECIAL ORDER PAINT AND INTERIOR If one accepts my argument that G 63 qualifies as exotica and is not a pokey Tiger Mom SUV, then it's also best to special-order paint and interior, to go a little nutso with a wild color and a slightly kinky leather interior. In my part of LA, I see at least a dozen of these vehicles every single day: at school transportation, along boulevards, in parking lots of the area's best golf clubs. Sure, some are white, black or silver—boring rental fleet colors—but most are finished in black cherry, pearlescent gold from the AMG GT color palette, groovy shades of blue, orange, crazy red, screaming lizard green. If you must have a camo shade like my test vehicle wore, at least pick a distinctive shade of green, grey, tan or the test car's titanium. Leave white to the annoying Tiger Moms. Both Mercedes and that other Swabian sports car maker call their eats-and-treats atelier department MANUFAKTUR (all caps, please). Available colors for G 63 are incredible. Some rich and subtle, some eye-popping outrageous. If you're spending close to $200K, which is the borderland of exotica, then drop the extra cash for cool paint and leather. WALKING TALL Geländewagen stands tall, has running boards, and a stubby flat hood, all of which remind of cars from the 1920s. Climbing aboard is a physical event that requires left foot to sideboard, right-hand grip on the steering wheel, and then a hop, arm pull, and hip rotation to smoothly land hindquarters on the most excellent leather-wrapped chairs. This is not the Steve McQueen sports car entrance taught in acting schools. But with practice, one starts to feel like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood swinging a leg over the saddle of a trusty steed and turning towards the sunset. Or maybe a military officer heading on patrol. I'll say it again to Mercedes: it might help having a grab handle on the A-pillar, or the extreme left of the upper dash panel. MAN-MACHINE CONNECTION Man-machine relationship is ideal, expected of a purposeful military vehicle. It works particularly well for tall males. Clearly the basic architecture is meant to accommodate full field dress: boots, sidearm, plate hanger, the works. You're not squeezed in, as with a GT or 2-seat sports car. Tall and nearly flat, Geländewagen's windshield offers a commanding view forward over the stubby hood and flat fenders. The fendertop turn indicators serve double duty, giving subconscious information about the placement of front wheels, the corners of the vehicle when navigating tight circumstances. A big help working through choppy paths in a warzone, or just placing the car in a parking spot at your local deli. Tall side glass is also a big help. And of course it has all the sensors, cameras and needed real-time software to project useful images onto the flatscreen when maneuvering in an old, cramped downtown parking garage. No vehicle is perfect. In G 63, the areas where a driver must accept compromise relate to ride characteristics and steering precision. If you want a limo ride combined with fierce acceleration, well, turn to other luxe gasoline or electric SUVs found on the Mercedes dealer lot. Geländewagen is stubby, with a relatively narrow track. But with the addition of meaty tires, the result is bobbling side to side on uneven pavement, and the occasional entertaining hop over water channels at boulevard intersections. On harsh sections of LA roadway, well, it's that Walt Disney favorite, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. But in the case of G 63, all that hippity-hop is charming, a big part of the fun. With its high seating position, it starts to feel like a restomod based on a classic car from the Teens or Twenties. Also, damping and springing is excellent, and combined with the equally excellent seats, Geländewagen does not kidney punch like the more primitive off-roaders produced in Detroit. It's amusing, not painful. The other issue is steering, and here is the one place I do not recommend the AMG or MANUFAKTUR optional upgrade. I've never had much interest in off-roading since my uncle the motorcycle desert racer taught me how to ride on a Hodaka, but I've done it, even in an LM002 in the Rocky Mountains. No matter the AMG-spec wheels and tires, G 63 has legit off-roading capability thanks to its sophisticated drive system. One would be hard pressed to find a luxury log structure in the Rocky Mountains or Sierra Nevada that G 63 cannot reach. Steering is slow, particularly coming off top dead center, a good trait in an off-roading situation, like crawling over culverts and ditches or crossing a short bridge comprised of two felled trees. Wrist-flick steering is great in a track day GT car, but off-roading, with the vehicle jostling the driver about, slower is gooder. But here is a point where brand imagery needs to be adapted to reality. AMG is all about performance and high-performance. Mercedes-AMG builds one of the best Formula One Grand Prix powertrains of 2025, and has won many a world championship. But a steering wheel wrapped in microfiber with carbon-fiber sections top and bottom is not the right choice for this vehicle because it's slippery, and to navigate a 90-degree or tighter corner, one must shuffle steer, repositioning hands, getting a fresh grip while cornering. AMG should recognize the difference and develop a very thick-rimmed fatboy wheel wrapped in perforated leather or another material that is grippy, preferably with big stitches on the backside where the palm-side of knuckles can dig in. I know, how 1980s, but a fatboy leather-wrapped wheel would work very well. The solution is easy: don't order the gorgeous GT car steering wheel and all will be well. Thanks to the military DNA, the cargo hold is huge, a tall, flat-sided cube ideal for stowing long rifles headed into the field or to a range. And you can even order it with cherry wood flooring. For our family friends who live in the northern plains of Canada, well, if you buy a G 63, have the dealer set up a winter wheel/tire package and save the big wheels for summertime. Mercedes is offering a special edition of Geländewagen with a bias to off-roading, dubbed the Better Than The 1980s Edition. The wheel/tire package off that rig would ably handle winter in Winnipeg or Manitoba. Ancestry and residual off-roading capability notwithstanding, G 63 is not meant for battling Soviets in the Fulda Gap, or serving with UN blue helmets in Bosnia or southern Lebanon. G 63 is an exotic hot rod for blasting along boulevards or cutting a fine figure on the upgraded Main Street of a once-sleepy Rocky Mountain village, a big rumbling war wagon that never, ever fails to bring a big grin and a chuckle.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The €500bn plan to restore Germany's army and bring peace to Europe
When Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, Chancellor Angela Merkel quipped that 'one should have just asked a Swabian housewife…she would have told us that you cannot live beyond your means'. The jibe, referring to thrifty southerners who run their households on a tight budget, became emblematic of German frugality and a deep aversion to racking up government debt. But times have changed. On Tuesday night, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a €500 billion (£414 billion) special fund for German infrastructure and an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending. Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr Merz said: 'I want to make it very clear: in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the following must now also apply to our defence: 'Whatever it takes'.' While that half-a-trillion euro package for infrastructure is a big borrowing pledge, the reform to defence spending limits could prove much more significant for European security. Since the financial crisis, German governments have laboured under its famous 'Schuldenbremse', or debt brake, a strict limit on government borrowing which has hampered efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German military. Mr Merz now wants to make defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP exempt from the debt brake. In theory, that means the sky would be the limit for how much Germany spends on defence; the only constraints would be political. This is a historic moment for German fiscal policy, and a particularly bold move for Mr Merz, a Right-winger whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has always been allergic to debt – most famously so under Mrs Merkel herself. But fears that Europe can no longer rely on Donald Trump for security have forced Mr Merz and other EU leaders to seek creative ways to find more cash to support its armies. It came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, issued a parallel pledge of an €800 billion (£663 billion) increase to EU defence spending. Mrs von der Leyen said the 'ReArm Europe' strategy reflected her conviction that 'the stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now'. Britain has vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, albeit only from 2027 onwards. Emmanuel Macron has urged EU allies to reach a target of three per cent of GDP on defence spending. Meanwhile, shares in EU defence firms such as Rheinmetall, the German tank and artillery producer, are already rising as arms manufacturers brace for a surge in demand. Germany's aversion to debt is the stuff of legend, perhaps best captured by the double meaning of the word itself in German, 'Schuld.' Depending on the context, it can mean either 'debt' or 'guilt'. Germany's intense allergy to debt can partly be traced back to bitter memories of the reparations-induced poverty of the Weimar Republic era, which in turn fuelled the rise of the Nazis. But their spendthrift nature arguably dates back even further, to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in France paying out 120 million gold marks to Germany in 1871. Instead of investing those reparations, the German victors stashed much of the gold away in treasure chests inside the Juliusturm tower of Spandau Citadel – where they were left untouched for the next four decades. The phrase 'Juliusturm' has been known ever since as a colloquial term for guarding a massive state surplus of funds. If Mr Merz follows through on his Tuesday announcement, that somewhat miserly streak in the German fiscal psyche is now truly a thing of the past. The next step is a crunch vote in the Bundestag, the German parliament, to approve the infrastructure fund and the lifting of the debt brake on defence investments. This vote will take place under the current, pre-election makeup Bundestag, where Mr Merz should be able to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass amendments to Germany's constitution. Dr Maximilian Terhalle, a German political scientist at Stanford University, said Mr Merz's ambitions on defence spending should be taken 'very seriously' as they reflect his view that Russia now poses an 'unprecedented' challenge to Europe. 'Merz's threat perception is deeply strategic, in that it views Russia as a ruthless revisionist power intent on re-erecting its empire,' he said. 'It views Russia, therefore, as an actor that can be trusted to break any treaty as it sees fit, and [Merz] realizes the unprecedented challenges, that a decreasing commitment of the US to Nato's Article 5 could have serious implications.' Article 5 of Nato states that an attack on any Nato member is an attack on them all, and forms the alliance's strongest non-nuclear deterrent against Russian aggression. Mr Merz is still locked in negotiations on forming a new coalition with the SPD, following last month's elections. That is often a drawn-out affair in Germany that can take months to finalise. But the relative ease with which he has agreed on a defence package with the SPD bodes well for the rest of the negotiations. Perhaps Mr Merz will meet his floated Easter deadline for a new coalition after all. 'We are aware of the scale of the tasks ahead of us,' he said on Tuesday night. 'We want to take the first necessary steps with today's decisions.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The €500bn plan to restore Germany's army and bring peace to Europe
When Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, Chancellor Angela Merkel quipped that 'one should have just asked a Swabian housewife…she would have told us that you cannot live beyond your means'. The jibe, referring to thrifty southerners who run their households on a tight budget, became emblematic of German frugality and a deep aversion to racking up government debt. But times have changed. On Tuesday night, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a €500 billion (£414 billion) special fund for German infrastructure and an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending. Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr Merz said: 'I want to make it very clear: in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the following must now also apply to our defence: 'Whatever it takes'.' While that half-a-trillion euro package for infrastructure is a big borrowing pledge, the reform to defence spending limits could prove much more significant for European security. Since the financial crisis, German governments have laboured under its famous 'Schuldenbremse', or debt brake, a strict limit on government borrowing which has hampered efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German military. Mr Merz now wants to make defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP exempt from the debt brake. In theory, that means the sky would be the limit for how much Germany spends on defence; the only constraints would be political. This is a historic moment for German fiscal policy, and a particularly bold move for Mr Merz, a Right-winger whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has always been allergic to debt – most famously so under Mrs Merkel herself. But fears that Europe can no longer rely on Donald Trump for security have forced Mr Merz and other EU leaders to seek creative ways to find more cash to support its armies. It came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, issued a parallel pledge of an €800 billion (£663 billion) increase to EU defence spending. Mrs von der Leyen said the 'ReArm Europe' strategy reflected her conviction that 'the stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now'. Britain has vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, albeit only from 2027 onwards. Emmanuel Macron has urged EU allies to reach a target of three per cent of GDP on defence spending. Meanwhile, shares in EU defence firms such as Rheinmetall, the German tank and artillery producer, are already rising as arms manufacturers brace for a surge in demand. Germany's aversion to debt is the stuff of legend, perhaps best captured by the double meaning of the word itself in German, 'Schuld.' Depending on the context, it can mean either 'debt' or 'guilt'. Germany's intense allergy to debt can partly be traced back to bitter memories of the reparations-induced poverty of the Weimar Republic era, which in turn fuelled the rise of the Nazis. But their spendthrift nature arguably dates back even further, to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in France paying out 120 million gold marks to Germany in 1871. Instead of investing those reparations, the German victors stashed much of the gold away in treasure chests inside the Juliusturm tower of Spandau Citadel – where they were left untouched for the next four decades. The phrase 'Juliusturm' has been known ever since as a colloquial term for guarding a massive state surplus of funds. If Mr Merz follows through on his Tuesday announcement, that somewhat miserly streak in the German fiscal psyche is now truly a thing of the past. The next step is a crunch vote in the Bundestag, the German parliament, to approve the infrastructure fund and the lifting of the debt brake on defence investments. This vote will take place under the current, pre-election makeup Bundestag, where Mr Merz should be able to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass amendments to Germany's constitution. Dr Maximilian Terhalle, a German political scientist at Stanford University, said Mr Merz's ambitions on defence spending should be taken 'very seriously' as they reflect his view that Russia now poses an 'unprecedented' challenge to Europe. 'Merz's threat perception is deeply strategic, in that it views Russia as a ruthless revisionist power intent on re-erecting its empire,' he said. 'It views Russia, therefore, as an actor that can be trusted to break any treaty as it sees fit, and [Merz] realizes the unprecedented challenges, that a decreasing commitment of the US to Nato's Article 5 could have serious implications.' Article 5 of Nato states that an attack on any Nato member is an attack on them all, and forms the alliance's strongest non-nuclear deterrent against Russian aggression. Mr Merz is still locked in negotiations on forming a new coalition with the SPD, following last month's elections. That is often a drawn-out affair in Germany that can take months to finalise. But the relative ease with which he has agreed on a defence package with the SPD bodes well for the rest of the negotiations. Perhaps Mr Merz will meet his floated Easter deadline for a new coalition after all. 'We are aware of the scale of the tasks ahead of us,' he said on Tuesday night. 'We want to take the first necessary steps with today's decisions.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
05-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The €500bn plan to restore Germany's army and bring peace to Europe
When Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, Chancellor Angela Merkel quipped that 'one should have just asked a Swabian housewife…she would have told us that you cannot live beyond your means'. The jibe, referring to thrifty southerners who run their households on a tight budget, became emblematic of German frugality and a deep aversion to racking up government debt. But times have changed. On Tuesday night, incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a €500 billion (£414 billion) special fund for German infrastructure and an end to strict borrowing limits on defence spending. Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr Merz said: 'I want to make it very clear: in view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the following must now also apply to our defence: 'Whatever it takes'.' While that half-a-trillion euro package for infrastructure is a big borrowing pledge, the reform to defence spending limits could prove much more significant for European security. Since the financial crisis, German governments have laboured under its famous 'Schuldenbremse', or debt brake, a strict limit on government borrowing which has hampered efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, the German military. Mr Merz now wants to make defence spending above 1 per cent of GDP exempt from the debt brake. In theory, that means the sky would be the limit for how much Germany spends on defence; the only constraints would be political. This is a historic moment for German fiscal policy, and a particularly bold move for Mr Merz, a Right-winger whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has always been allergic to debt – most famously so under Mrs Merkel herself. But fears that Europe can no longer rely on Donald Trump for security have forced Mr Merz and other EU leaders to seek creative ways to find more cash to support its armies. It came as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, issued a parallel pledge of an €800 billion (£663 billion) increase to EU defence spending. Mrs von der Leyen said the 'ReArm Europe' strategy reflected her conviction that 'the stakes could not be higher and the time for action is now'. Britain has vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, albeit only from 2027 onwards. Emmanuel Macron has urged EU allies to reach a target of three per cent of GDP on defence spending. Meanwhile, shares in EU defence firms such as Rheinmetall, the German tank and artillery producer, are already rising as arms manufacturers brace for a surge in demand. Germany's aversion to debt is the stuff of legend, perhaps best captured by the double meaning of the word itself in German, 'Schuld.' Depending on the context, it can mean either 'debt' or 'guilt'. Germany's intense allergy to debt can partly be traced back to bitter memories of the reparations-induced poverty of the Weimar Republic era, which in turn fuelled the rise of the Nazis. But their spendthrift nature arguably dates back even further, to the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in France paying out 120 million gold marks to Germany in 1871. Treasure chests Instead of investing those reparations, the German victors stashed much of the gold away in treasure chests inside the Juliusturm tower of Spandau Citadel – where they were left untouched for the next four decades. The phrase 'Juliusturm' has been known ever since as a colloquial term for guarding a massive state surplus of funds. If Mr Merz follows through on his Tuesday announcement, that somewhat miserly streak in the German fiscal psyche is now truly a thing of the past. The next step is a crunch vote in the Bundestag, the German parliament, to approve the infrastructure fund and the lifting of the debt brake on defence investments. This vote will take place under the current, pre-election makeup Bundestag, where Mr Merz should be able to secure the two-thirds majority required to pass amendments to Germany's constitution. Dr Maximilian Terhalle, a German political scientist at Stanford University, said Mr Merz's ambitions on defence spending should be taken 'very seriously' as they reflect his view that Russia now poses an 'unprecedented' challenge to Europe. 'Merz's threat perception is deeply strategic, in that it views Russia as a ruthless revisionist power intent on re-erecting its empire,' he said. 'It views Russia, therefore, as an actor that can be trusted to break any treaty as it sees fit, and [Merz] realizes the unprecedented challenges, that a decreasing commitment of the US to Nato's Article 5 could have serious implications.' Russian aggression Article 5 of Nato states that an attack on any Nato member is an attack on them all, and forms the alliance's strongest non-nuclear deterrent against Russian aggression. Mr Merz is still locked in negotiations on forming a new coalition with the SPD, following last month's elections. That is often a drawn-out affair in Germany that can take months to finalise. But the relative ease with which he has agreed on a defence package with the SPD bodes well for the rest of the negotiations. Perhaps Mr Merz will meet his floated Easter deadline for a new coalition after all. 'We are aware of the scale of the tasks ahead of us,' he said on Tuesday night. 'We want to take the first necessary steps with today's decisions.'
