Nothing’s More Beautiful Then a Benz

Mercedes-Benz C-Class and GLA-Class voted most beautiful cars in their category

In a poll to determine the cars with the best design, readers of the German motoring magazine “Auto Zeitung” have voted the Mercedes-Benz brand into top place three times: the GLA won in the SUV class, while the new C-Class was victorious among the saloons as well as being voted as champion across all classes.

The only criterion that the readers of “Auto Zeitung” needed to consider in their decision was: Which new model features the best design? Votes in the Design Trophy were cast in six vehicle categories, three of which were won by Mercedes-Benz – as also in the previous year.

The most beautiful car of them all – and thus the overall Design Champion – according to the magazine’s readers, was the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The saloon also won in its own category.

In visual terms, the Mercedes-Benz designers adopted a progressive approach to the design of the new C-Class, as evidenced by its clear yet emotional design and high-class interior.

Gorden Wagener, Vice President Design Daimler AG: “The new C-Class showcases automotive passion by way of a contemporary design idiom. This modernistic style of design is highlighted by progressive as well as emotional touches that convey a sense of sensual purity. The new C-Class interprets a new standard of modern luxury”.

The winner in the SUV category was the Mercedes-Benz GLA. Progressive in its design, it offers a convincing new interpretation of the compact SUV segment. Youthful, with flowing dynamic lines and exuding subtle excitement, the newcomer’s typical Mercedes genes allow it to offer a glimpse of the future for this category of vehicle as a means of escaping the humdrum.

View the photo gallery below to see why these cars were victorious.

Mercedes-Benz Takes Home Two Best Car of the Year Awards

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster won Best Car of the Year in the Cabriolet Category & the G-Class for Best Off-Roader

The specialist car magazine “auto, motor und sport” has been giving readers the chance to vote for the “Best cars of the year” for over three decades now. This year, around 112 000 participants took part in what has now become a somewhat traditional readers’ competition. Readers voted for the best cars of the year 2013 across ten different categories. In the cabriolet category, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster overtook the competition to move into pole position and be awarded the title of best car of 2013. Readers not only honoured its unique and fascinating style, but also its technological prowess. The super sports car impresses with its consistent implementation of lightweight construction methods, its well thought-out driving dynamics, and its exemplary levels of safety. All of this is backed up by a one-of-a-kind technology package comprising an aluminium space frame body, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front mid-engine with 420 kW (571 hp) and a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. This combination guarantees the best possible level of driving dynamics.

Mercedes-Benz has once again significantly upgraded the G-Class last year, so re-emphasising its position as the leader among off-road vehicles. The interior is characterised by high-quality appointments finished with exquisite materials. The instrument cluster and centre console have been completely redesigned. The driver’s field of vision now encompasses a colour screen, between two new round dials. The car features as standard the sophisticated COMAND Online infotainment system, including a navigation system and internet access. New LED daytime driving lamps and new exterior mirrors bring a few discreet changes to the appearance of the luxury off-roader. The range of safety equipment can be optionally enhanced with the addition of Blind Spot Assist, the parking aid PARKTRONIC and the adaptive cruise control system DISTRONIC PLUS. New to the range are the G 63 AMG with an eight-cylinder biturbo engine and the ECO start/stop system as standard, and the G 65 AMG with twelve-cylinder biturbo engine.

EBUS Award Given to the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid Bus

the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid won the EBUS Award, the environmental award for public local transport

In the fuel cell bus category, the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid won the EBUS Award, the environmental award for public local transport. Roman Biondi, brand spokesman for Mercedes-Benz buses and EvoBus, and Ulrich Piotrowski, the Market Launch Manager for Mercedes-Benz hybrid and electric buses, accepted the award in Cologne on September 28, 2012 from Professor Ralph Pütz of the Landshut University of Applied Sciences, in the presence of Rainer Bomba, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development.

Under the patronage of Dr. Peter Ramsauer, the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development, the Forum for Transport and Logistics was offering the EBUS Award, the environmental award for public local transport, for the first time this year. “The EBUS Award recognises the efforts that have been made up to now to introduce electric buses into public local transport, and is intended as an incentive for everyone to drive forward further innovative developments in this sector”, said Professor Adolf Müller-Hellmann, chairperson of the Forum for Transport and Logistics, in his speech at the award ceremony.

The judges’ verdict

The fit-for-the-future drive concept in the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid, which comprises the fuel cell, lithium-ion battery and electric motor, enabling the Mercedes-Benz city bus to travel over 300 kilometres without producing any emissions whatsoever, demonstrates that it is a worthy winner of the award. The judges particularly welcomed the use of a fuel cell that had already been deployed in the passenger car segment. Additionally, they said that the 17 Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid units already built emphasised the seriousness with which the development has been driven forward by Daimler Buses.

The FuelCELL concept in the Citaro

Thanks to improved fuel cell components (the fuel cell stacks are now identical to those in the Mercedes-Benz B-Class FCELL with fuel cell drive) and the hybridisation with lithium-ion batteries (27 kW/h), the new Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid delivers a 50-percent saving in hydrogen compared with the predecessor generation. As a result, it has been possible to reduce the number of tanks from the total of nine on board the fuel-cell buses deployed in earlier trials to seven, holding 35 kg of hydrogen in all. With the new FuelCELL Hybrid drive system, the fuel cell, as the electricity supplier, is intelligently linked to several components: to the battery, to the electric wheel hub drive and also to the integrated regenerative braking system. An internal combustion engine is now completely superfluous. The range of the fuel cell bus is over 300 kilometres, and the refuelling time is just eight to ten minutes. This means that the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid can be deployed just as simply and flexibly as today’s diesel vehicles. What is more, the drive system and fuel cell are virtually maintenance-free and very long-lasting. With these diverse technical advances, buses running on electric power alone with fuel cells as energy generators are now a major step closer to production maturity. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid opens the way to permanent emissions-free public local transport, making it a key element for future mobility. The use of synergies and the technology transfer from the passenger car to the bus make the fuel cell in the bus both fit for the future, and sustainably economical for the operator.

The EBUS Award, the environmental award for public local transport

The Forum for Transport and Logistics is a joint initiative of the DEVK insurance group and the VDV (Association of German Transport Companies). The EBUS Award is being offered for the first time, and is intended to publicise externally qualitative and innovative solutions in the field of electric buses. As well as the fuel cell buses category won by the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid, awards were also presented for the categories hybrid buses, battery-driven buses, innovative components for buses with electric drives, operating concepts, instruction, education, and training and marketing measures. Scientific supervision was provided by Professor Dr. Dirk-Uwe Sauer from the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives at the research university of technology, the RWTH Aachen. It is planned to next offer the environmental award for public local transport in 2014.

Mercedes-Benz Wins Best of Show at Pebble Beach

A 1928 Mercedes-Benz Saoutchik S Type received the Best of Show Award at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

A 1928 Mercedes-Benz Saoutchik S Type has won this year’s Best of Show title at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car, with it’s torpedo bodywork and low windscreen was designed by French coachbuilder Jacques Saoutchik.  The fine specimen captured the hearts of the judges, who named it the finest vehicle on display at the prestigious event.

The Mercedes-Benz Classic Archives have information on the winning car to offer. It was originally ordered by Mercedes-Benz Comp. Inc., New York, for a Mr. Charles Levine, New York. On 2 August 1928, the chassis was delivered to Saoutchik in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. The company manufactured and mounted the sports two-seater body and charged 72,327.25 French Francs (equalling 11,572.35 Reichsmark) to Daimler-Benz AG in December 1928. The exact date of delivery is not documented, but it is supposed to have happened in December 1928.

Current owners Judy and Paul Andrews of White Settlement, Texas, had the car extensively restored before presenting it to the panel of judges in Pebble Beach. Before that the vehicle had been kept in storage for around 30 years.

Best of Show“ at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2012: Mercedes-Benz Type S with Saoutchik bodywork, built in 1928. Because of its 6.8-litre engine capacity, the car was also known as Type 680 S

The Mercedes-Benz S Type – also known as the 680 S because of its 6.8-litre engine capacity – was launched in 1927 as an evolution of the Mercedes-Benz Model K super sports car. It established the legendary family of heavyweight supercharged cars that included the SS and SSK models from 1928. The cars dominated racing history over the years, but could also be bought as conventional road vehicles. All vehicles in this family had a six-cylinder in-line engine with a supercharger to increase output. Power was also boosted by the dual ignition. Each cylinder had two spark plugs, one fired by a battery ignition and the other by a high-voltage magneto ignition.

Exclusive high-performance sports car

The 6.8-litre engine of the S Type, the model on which all the others were based, produced an output of 120 bhp (88 kW) without a supercharger and 180 bhp (132 kW) with the supercharger engaged. This made the S Type one of the fastest and most sought-after sports cars of its time. Its debut public appearance at the opening race at the Nürburgring in 1927 ended with a threefold victory for Mercedes-Benz. Rudolf Caracciola drove his S Type across the finishing line in first place.

Only 146 of these exclusive high-performance sports cars were ever made, the vast majority of them sold as open-top four-seaters with a Sindelfingen body. A select few, however, such as this year’s Best in Show winner at Pebble Beach, were delivered as a chassis to have their bodywork made by the most famous coachbuilders of the era. For many years now, the Mercedes-Benz S Type has been one of the most popular collector’s cars and also one of the most valuable.

1936 mercedes-benz 540k special roadster

1936 Mercedes-Benz 540k Special Roadster

At a Gooding & Company auction held at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster from 1936 was sold for $11.8 million, setting records for both Mercedes-Benz automobiles and prewar cars sold at auction, though it failed to set a single-car auction price record. “Mercedes-Benz vehicles always achieve top prices at international auctions,” says Michael Bock, Head of Mercedes-Benz Classic. “And the Special Roadster is one of the most coveted cars among prominent collectors.” This particular vehicle has an fascinating history. First bought by an aristocratic Prussian family, it soon passed into the ownership of Baroness Gisela von Krieger. During the Second World War, she took the Special Roadster first to Switzerland and from there to the USA, where it remained unused in a garage for more than 40 years until her death. The car was then restored to immaculate condition.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the USA is among the world’s most prestigious classic car shows. This year there was a separate class for the creations of Jacques Saoutchik. Originally from Russia, the cabinetmaker had emigrated to France and established a coachbuilding company that enjoyed widespread fame in the 1920s and 1930s. He produced many extravagant designs for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz cars have a very special place on the hallowed turf of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, winning Best of Show seven times and collecting more than 120 First in Class and Special Awards as part of a long list of successes since 1950.

Did you know …?

At the Goodwood Revival (September 14-16, 2012) Mercedes-Benz Classic will be represented by five original Silver Arrows from the 1930s – and is organising a staged race for them together with Auto Union which will be the biggest gathering of Silver Arrows for a number of decades.

smart fortwo electric drive eball Game Is the Future

smart eball is an interactive game that shows off the dynamism and agility of the electrically driven smart fortwo

At this year’s international Art Directors Club awards, smart won “gold” in the category of “Interactive/ Physical Innovations” with its interactive eball game.

In technical terms, smart eball is an interactive game that shows off the dynamism and agility of the electrically driven smart fortwo. But one look at the game and you are instantly taken back to the ’70s when Pong was the latest and greatest in the gaming world. In Pong, it was a a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, eball is a similar ping pong-like game that uses digital bats to knock the ball back and forth on LED screens. The digital bats are moved by driving two actual smart fortwo electric drives forward and back while being monitored with the aid of a laser measuring and transmission technology system.

“We wanted participants to experience the incredible driving fun of the electric smart and smart eball achieved that perfectly,” says Dr. Annette Winkler, Head of smart. “The aim of the game was understood immediately and anyone can just dive straight in – it’s just as intuitive and straightforward as our smart electric drive.”

The eball game was also used at the world premiere of the smart fortwo electric drive at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt and was enjoyed enthusiastically by all. In total, more than 1,500 games of eball have been played and the number is still on the rise.

The Art Directors Clu,b or ADC, is a professional association of art directors from the advertising sector, founded in New York in 1920 with the aim of promoting the highest standards in advertising and mentoring the next generation. As a big international prize the ADC Award is one of the most important awards in the advertising industry..

The 91st ADC Awards ceremony will be held at a large gala in New York on May 8th.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Named Value Champion

After four years of use, the E300 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY station wagon will still retain 54.8 percent of its current original value

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been declared the 2011 Value Champion in the latest value retention assessment carried out by Auto Bild magazine in cooperation with EurotaxSchwacke. Models from the C-Class, theE-Class, the S-Class, the GLK, and the M-Class were among the top three winners in various categories.

According to the residual value forecasts of the market researchers, a four-year-old E-Class vehicle will have the lowest loss of value in the upper-range segment. After four years of use, the E 300 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY station wagon will still retain 54.8 percent of its current original value.

Four other Mercedes-Benz vehicles also placed among the top three models in other categories. The C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY station wagon was among the winners in the midrange segment, the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY was one of the top three in the luxury segment, and the GLK 350 CDI as well as the ML 350 CDI were among the top SUVs. Mercedes-Benz vehicles have also regularly been among the value retention champions in their respective classes in previous years.

Daimler and Dieter Zetsche At World Hydrogen Energy Conference

The aim is to advance electric vehicles with fuel cells and make hydrogen and fuel cell technology part of the future

Showing commitment for the H2 Mobility initiative, Dieter Zetsche accepted the Award IPHE (International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy) in the category” Excellence in Leadership at the opening of the Conference. The aim of the initiative is to advance the commercialization of electric vehicles with fuel cells and make hydrogen and fuel cell technology an integral part in the future of the automotive world.

This is collective effort with EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall and the National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) whome all adopted a Memorandum of Understanding that was initiated by Daimler and lime. To reach their goal, they have been building a nationwide hydrogen refueling stations in Germany.

Daimler at the World Hydrogen Energy Conference

The 18th World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC) is considered the world’s most important trade event on hydrogen and its economic use as an energy source. The WHEC pursues the goal of a sustainable, environmentally friendly energy through the use of hydrogen. The international experts will discuss the state of developments and on the market preparation and introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The focus of this year’s conference is on innovations, developments and the latest research results of German industry and science.

For Daimler AG, participation in this conference as part of a mobility issue is an obvious step, because electric vehicles with fuel cell technology is an integral part of the drive Daimler roadmap to sustainable mobility. It allows locally emission-free mobility, range and short refueling times and at the same time high. “It is no longer a question of whether the fuel cell is a viable alternative to the combustion engine, but only when,” said Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG, at the start of the conference. “The technology is already ready for the market. Now, to pave the way for the broad market, we need a targeted research funding, an effective market activation and binding, global standards, “said Dieter Zetsche.

Ride & Drive with electric vehicles with fuel cell

Insights into market-ready state of the art Mercedes-Benz give presentations and exhibits on Daimler’s stand, and the opportunity to Ride & Drive. In addition to the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, and the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL hybrid is represented at the WHEC. All attendees of the conference, both vehicles offered under the Ride & Drive and try to experience yourself. Both vehicles impressively demonstrate the tangible everyday practicality of fuel cell technology from Daimler.

Introduction of electric vehicles with fuel cell

Ongoing demonstration projects such as the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), in which the oil industry, energy suppliers and the automotive industry are involved show that the manufacture, storage, transport and use of compressed hydrogen is technically possible, as well as the construction of the necessary infrastructure. In addition, the leading car manufacturer, an MoU for the development and market introduction of electric vehicles have announced a fuel cell. You do this by 2015 worldwide by several hundred thousand vehicles over the entire life cycle.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Achieves Top Safety Status

The Mercedes E-Class has been given a top safety award for the first time from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Adding to its already high appeal, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has achieved top safety status.  The Mercedes E-Class has been given a top safety award for the first time from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). A score of “good” must be earned in each of the following: front, side, rollover and rear crash protection tests in order for the Top Safety Picks accolade to be gained.  The Mercedes-Benz E-Class, with its many safety features, set the standard in each category.

The IIHS particularly praised the decision of Mercedes-Benz to implement greater padding to the front and rear doors to improve protection in side-impact crashes. Because the safety of drivers, passengers and other drivers are the biggest concern of Mercedes-Benz, the E-Class Saloon has been fitted with a host of features to help make driving safer.

These include innovations that take appropriate action in the event of danger occurring, help to limit damage if an accident happens and ensure that things are made easier in aiding people after an incident has taken place. Among the features utilised are Attention Assist to warn motorists if they are at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel flashing adaptive brake lights to warn fellow motorists travelling behind that there may be a danger ahead.

“The E class was redesigned for the 2010 model year. This is the first time the E class has earned the Institute’s top safety designation. Earlier this year design changes were made to the padding in the front and rear doors to improve protection in side impact crashes. The TOP SAFETY PICK award applies to E class models built after March 2010.” http://www.iihs.org