Rumors have been circulating for the past month about whether Mercedes-Benz would move production of their CLA Class to Mexico, most likely to a plant run by Mercedes’ alliance partner Nissan.

The move would make quite a bit of sense for Mercedes.  Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, is getting ready to launch a compact car that’s based on the new Mercedes CLA (sharing the CLA’s framework), and even though Nissan has yet to confirm that production will be built anywhere except  Britain’s Nissan plant, Mexico would be an ideal location for the Alliance partners.

So why would Mercedes make a run for the border?  The list of benefits for Mercedes is long and includes, among other things, access to an extensive infrastructure that’s already in place, extremely competitive cost structures, and the benefit of U.S. and Mexico’s free trade agreement, saving Mercedes a significantly large amount of cash. It’s the same reason other luxury brands are considering moving vehicle production to Mexico, such as Audi with their Q5 and BMW with their 3-Series.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche explained to Automotive News that there will be no decision on moving the CLA’s production to Nissan’s plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico until the first part of next year, adding that the if the move was approved, it would not be until 2018.  The move would likely come in time for a revised version of the CLA to be launched.

The 2013 Mercedes GL you’ve been drooling over since it was first revealed in May began where all Mercedes-Benz vehicles begin.  With an idea and a sketch. Then comes a test model. And finally a finished vehicle.

Well, that may have been over simplifying a bit.  There’s the initial development phase, Mercedes uses the most advanced systems currently available, including mixed reality, Once the kinks are worked out, testing of the engine and exterior begins while colors, fabrics and ergonomics are all tested and chosen for the interior.

In the end, putting a new Mercedes-Benz model on the road requires a multitude of individual steps done by the brightest mind in the business. For Mercedes-Benz, the motto always remains the same throughout the entire process: The best or nothing.

Watch the video below for a behind the scenes abridged version of how a Mercedes ends up in your driveway.

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According to Automobilwochehe, the the production of the classic and much loved off-roader, known as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class will continue. Daimler and Magna are very close to signing a contract that guarantees the Austro-Canadian supplier will continue production through 2016 and quite possible until 2020.

With the contract negotiations nearly out of the way, we can now concentrate on the future of the G-Class and what the updated model will look like. Exterior updates always minimal but we will see an improved and updated interior with a new instrument cluster, a revised center stack and a  new command system.

In the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 Video Part 1 you will see “The Marriage” of the power train with the GT3’s body in its core structure. In Part 2 of the three part series is a time lapse video showing the body being assembled while the suspension and driveline receive their final adjustments. Finally, in Part 3 of the video series, the Mercedes-Benz technicians move on to the interior creating a perfectly customized seat for the driver.

Each video is around two minutes each and worth the time.

Update: A few days ago we told you that Mercedes-Benz was planning an expansion program for the U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in preparation for a new model that would go up against the BMW X6.  Now, thanks to a photo post on twitter, we have confirmation of the crossover, currently dubbed the MLC.

Daimler today announced that they will further expand the Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant in 2015 to include an entirely new Mercedes-Benz model. The new vehicle to roll off the production line in Tuscaloosa will be the fifth product produced. The plant has been the traditional production site of the brand’s M-Class, GL-Class, and R-Class SUV’s and will also build the Mercedes C-Class for the North American market beginning 2014. For the production of the new model, Daimler will additionally invest 350 million dollars, and will create around 400 jobs at the plant.

According to previous rumors, we are likely to see a small MLC SUV roll off the line. It would take its styling from the M-Class and would go head to head with the BMW X6.

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board of Management and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “This new model from the Tuscaloosa plant is an important element of our growth strategy. It is one of the ten additional models which we will introduce within the next four years alone across all segments.” Referring to the Tuscaloosa plant’s role within the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Zetsche added: “At the same time, we are systematically broadening our manufacturing footprint in the NAFTA region.”

Robert Bentley, Governor of the State of Alabama: “Since the time Mercedes-Benz chose Tuscaloosa County for its first US assembly plant 18 years ago, the company has proven to be an outstanding partner for the state. We join MBUSI in celebrating this milestone, and welcome the hundreds of jobs this announcement brings to Alabama.”

Just earlier this year, on the occasion of the Job #1 ceremony of the new Mercedes-Benz M-Class in July, Daimler had announced the decision to invest more than US$2 billion in the Tuscaloosa plant (Mercedes-Benz U.S. International – MBUSI). In total, investment in the plant between 2010 and 2014 will thus amount to US$2.4 billion, while the number of newly created jobs will add up to 1,400.

Markus Schaefer, President and CEO of MBUSI, commented on these decisions: “The entire MBUSI team is proud of its role in the success of the models made in Tuscaloosa. We are looking forward to making further important contributions to the product offensive of Mercedes-Benz.”

From the initial vision to the final production SLK model – watch the development and testing of the new 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class below.  Under the body of the new roadster a gigantic effort has been taken, intense engineering work, including several years of test runs.  Freezing cold, scorching heat and long-term stress tests – these are only three of the many hurdles Mercedes-Benz engineers had to overcome to bring the SLK Roadster into series production

Yet another premiere is being celebrated by the Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL.  Hitting the streets outside of Germany is the first van with an electromotive drive system to be produced by a car manufacturer ex factory. As of today the first five vehicles are out and about on Spanish streets. The vehicles were handed over to the customer during a special ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz production location for the

Vito E-CELL in Vitoria. In the presence of Basque Prime Minister López, the Head of Production for Mercedes-Benz Vans, Dr Heinrich Weiss and Jose Luis Lopez-Schummer Trevino, President of Mercedes-Benz Spain, presented the five Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles to Augustine Markaide, President of the supermarket chain Eroski. “The Vito E-CELL, which is now fully integrated in our series production, represents a completely new phenomenon. As far as process management is concerned, all the hurdles were overcome in record time!”, commented Dr Heinrich Weiss as the official hand-over of the keys took place.

Emission-free vans are becoming increasingly widespread in everyday road traffic

Having been put to use so successfully in the conurbations of Berlin and Stuttgart, the Vito E-CELL is now set to prove its suitability for everyday applications in Spain. Thanks to the Vito E-CELL, electromotively driven – and thus locally zero-emission, not to mention virtually silent – vans are now a reality in the Basque Country’s streetscape. So the Basque Country is not just the production location for these electromotive vehicles – it is also their area of operation. Further customers in major European cities will be taking delivery of their Vito E-CELL vehicles over the coming months.

Vito E-CELL: full-function van for everyday operations

The Vito E-CELL is not an experimental vehicle – it is a full-function van for day-to-day applications. It is the first van of its kind to roll off the series-production line, just like any other Vito. In close consultation with its customers, Mercedes-Benz has implemented the prerequisites for an electromotively driven van: with a payload of around 900 kilograms plus a load compartment with no restrictions on use whatsoever the Vito E-CELL assumes all the usual transportation duties of any vehicle in its class.

Up-to-the-minute powertrain engineering, powerful lithium-ion batteries

The Vito E-CELL’s batteries are stored in a space-saving manner beneath the load-compartment floor. They are state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries which are particularly powerful and have a high current capacity. They have an overall capacity of 36 kWh, sufficient for a range of some 130 kilometres. This means that the Vito E-CELL meets the average customer requirements for vans – around 50 to 80 kilometres per day – and still has a generous reserve.

The Vito E-CELL’s electric motor has an output of 60 kW and a torque of 280 Nm. As the full torque is available right from the start in the case of electric motors, the Vito E-CELL boasts a dynamic performance at the same high level as the latest diesel engines. Taking into consideration the Vito E-CELL’s usual area of operation and to facilitate the highest battery range possible, the van’s top speed is limited to 80 km/h.

Following on from the small series of 100 Mercedes-Benz Vito E-CELL vehicles which are now out and about in Berlin und Stuttgart, this ceremonial hand-over officially marks the start of the next series – encompassing over 2000 units.

The CLS Shooting Brake will go into serial production: As of 2012, the sporty four-door Coupé with sloping tail end based on the CLS will roll-off the assembly line in the Mercedes-Benz Plant Sindelfingen.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board Daimler AG and H ead of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “In 2004, Mercedes-Benz established a new vehicle segment with the four-door Coupé CLS and created a design icon. 170,000 customers around the globe show how enthusiastic this car has been received by the market. The decision to build the CLS Shooting Brake underscores the leading role of Mercedes-Benz in regards of innovative passenger car concepts and design – and that is exactly what the customers expect from us.”

Sindelfingen, as largest production location of Mercedes-Benz globally, will add another model to its manufacturing portfolio. Currently, the plant is building the C-Class Sedan, the E-Class Sedan and Estate, the S-Class and the coupés CLS and CL as well as the Maybach models and Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles. Recently, the plant started to produce the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a small series of the B-Class powered by a fuel cell. As of 2014, the Mercedes-Benz SL will also be manufactured in Sindelfingen. The decision for the CLS Shooting Brake also reflects the flexibility of the plant: The new model will be build on the same production line as the CLS and the E-Class Sedan.

Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG for Production and Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars & Mercedes-Benz Vans: “This new model with its high emotional appeal is another highlight for the Sindelfingen plant. The location decision is an evidence for the significance of the plant as competence centre for the luxury class. The CLS Shooting Brake will contribute to a sustainable capacity utilization in this core location of our production network.”

The fresh and exciting interpretation of the emotionally-appealing Coupé-based design had its premiere as a show car at Auto China in April 2010. Now, this insight by Mercedes designers into the possible future development of the Coupé concept will become reality. In 2012, the CLS Shooting Brake will be launched to the market.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “The CLS still makes waves with its fascinating design and wows customers for our brand. With the new generation of the CLS we expand our pioneering role in this segment. We aim to extend this success story with the CLS Shooting Brake and complement our product portfolio with another appealing model. This car is based on the great tradition of a stylish, cultivated sportiness which has always characterised the great Mercedes Coupés, and it takes this unique legacy an exciting step further. At the same time it points the way towards the future design idiom of Mercedes-Benz.”

The proportions are clearly those of a coupé: the long bonnet, narrow-look windows with frameless side windows, and dynamic roof sloping back towards the rear. It is only when taking a second look that it becomes clear that the Shooting Brake actually has four doors and a large rear lid. The model features some astonishing proportions which at the same time are clearly reminiscent of another design icon – the CLS.

It’s all in a name: the origins of the name “Shooting Brake”

Break, or the homonym Brake, was the name once given to carriages used to “break” in wild horses and also to restrict (or “brake”) their urge to move, so that they could be put to use as work horses. Since the carts could easily be broken as part of this process, people tended not to use ones which they may have urgently needed for other purposes. Where necessary, “Brakes” were often fitted out with variable bodies, which were only really used to carry along anything that may have been necessary for the hunt, for example. Any such vehicle which was used when going out shooting was called a Shooting Brake or Shooting Break. In the 1960s and 1970s motorised Shooting Breaks were popular in Great Britain – exclusive cross-over vehicles, which combined the luxuriousness of a coupé with extended space on offer and additional variability.

Today marks a special production anniversary for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin: plant manager Thomas Uhr took delivery of the one millionth V6 diesel engine together with Harald Wolf, economic affairs senator, and Volker Stauch, Head of Powertrain Production Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“The Berlin engine plant has been a vital part of Berlin’s industrial landscape and a key player in the business community for many decades,” observed senator and mayor Harald Wolf. “We look forward to a continuing positive impact on the region.”

“Although this is the oldest plant in the Daimler Group in historical terms, the magnificent enthusiasm and commitment of our workforce has kept it young and dynamic,” added plant manager Thomas Uhr.

Thomas Uhr presented the anniversary engine to Michael Humper, manager of the nearby Mercedes-Benz van plant in Ludwigsfelde, where the engine will be installed in the one millionth commercial vehicle to be produced at the plant. The children from the Berlin plant’s “sternchen” crèche were also involved in the ceremony to mark the auspicious occasion, making and painting a papier-mâché wall which the anniversary symbolically broke through as it rolled off the production line. Before the official part of the ceremony, the guests had an opportunity to experience the production of V6 diesel engines at first hand, as employees from the plant took them on a guided tour of various stages of the engine production process.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter for Landesverkehrswacht Berlin e.V.

At the ceremony, plant manager Thomas Uhr handed over a symbolic key to Hans Zucker, president of the Landesverkehrswacht Berlin e.V. This key stands for the millionth commercial vehicle from the Ludwigsfelde van plant – a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter fitted with the anniversary engine from the Berlin plant.

Landesverkehrswacht Berlin e.V. is a voluntary road traffic safety organisation which has been working to promote safety-conscious behaviour among all road users for 60 years now. A key area of its work focuses on road safety training and education for future generations. The Berlin plant has long been involved in promoting the development of children and young people and the new vehicle will support the Verkehrswacht’s work in this area.

Top-flight engines from Berlin

The V6 diesel engine has been produced at the Berlin plant since 2005. Since 2007 the plant has also been producing the BlueTEC variant of the V6 – one of the cleanest engines in its class. In the E 350 BlueTEC it has a power output of 155 kW/211 hp at a fuel consumption rate of 6.8 litres per 100 km and already meets the EU6 emission regulations which are planned for 2014. Production of the upgraded variant of the V6 diesel engine is currently starting up at the Berlin plant. It is being premiered in the new Mercedes-Benz R-Class 350 CDI 4MATIC, in which the six-cylinder engine combines the high performance of a V8 model with the low fuel consumption of an economical V6 variant. It offers a maximum power output of 195 kW (265 hp), while undercutting its predecessor’s NEDC fuel consumption level by 0.8 litres per 100 km.

Cutting-edge products from the plant

In addition to the diesel engines and the high-tech V12 engines, a new generation of transmission-integrated electric motors for Mercedes-Benz hybrid models will also go into production in Berlin in 2012. A shop offering 4000 m² of production space is currently being converted for this new field of production. In all, the company is investing around 40 million Euros in the development and production of the new engine, with half of this sum earmarked for facilities and equipment at the plant. A team of 50 will be concerned with the development and production of the new electric motors in the future.

Mercedes-Benz USA announces the opening of its new state-of-the-art facility in Jacksonville, Florida. Strategically located minutes from the Jacksonville airport, the new facility centralizes several business units into one building for efficient customer and dealer support.

The newly constructed building totaling 415,000 sq. ft. is a leased facility located off of Interstate 95 at 13470 International Parkway. MBUSA plans to take official occupancy in July with four business units operating from the location including Sales Operations Southern Regional Office; Parts Distribution Center (PDC); Quality Evaluation Center (QEC); and Learning & Performance Center (LPC). Approximately 160 employees are in the new facility, which incorporates innovative environmental systems and design.

“The new state-of-the-art facility incorporates Mercedes-Benz Autohaus design that many dealers have adopted throughout the U.S. Now we have one common look and feel for our corporate operations in the region across all our key business units,” said Ernst Lieb, CEO of MBUSA. “By linking our core operations in one building, we can also create better efficiencies that will benefit our dealer network and our customers.”

SALES OPERATIONS SOUTHERN REGION OFFICE

The Southern Region MBUSA office supports 102 MBUSA dealerships with sales and fixed operations across 12 states including Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas as well as Puerto Rico.

MBUSA has three other regional offices in the U.S.: Parsippany, NJ, Rosemont, IL and Costa Mesa, CA.

PARTS DISTRIBUTION CENTER

A new addition to MBUSA’s operation in Jacksonville, the Parts Distribution Center (PDC) supports approximately 70 MBUSA dealers in the Southeast with parts supply. The PDC will house about 15 percent of MBUSA overall parts inventory, shipping over 1.3 million lines annually.

MBUSA has four other Parts Distribution Centers in U.S.: Carol Stream, IL, Fontana, CA, Fort Worth, TX and Robbinsville, NJ.

QUALITY EVALUATION CENTER

With over 70 personnel from various engineering and logistics disciplines, representing a diverse collection of work experience and backgrounds, the Quality Evaluation Center in Jacksonville is one of only two operational units of its kind outside of Germany. The QEC team includes Daimler Quality personnel, which places engineers closer to the market and to the dealers served by MBUSA. This market proximity brings greater knowledge of market-specific issues directly into the Quality management process through increased speed of parts evaluation and feedback to Daimler development. Local parts analysis also helps to improve diagnostic tools and technical information while the resulting rapid feedback to dealers improves the diagnostic skills necessary for improved “Fixed First Visit” performance- a key customer satisfaction component.

LEARNING & PERFORMANCE CENTER

The Learning & Performance Center is a state of the art training facility for dealership and MBUSA personnel. MBUSA facilitates over 120 classes per year in the Jacksonville Learning & Performance Center, with a total of about a thousand participants from across the Southeastern United States. Classrooms, workshops, a computer lab, a virtual classroom webcast area, student lounge, offices and a cafeteria are designed in an intelligent and integrated fashion all for the learners’ benefit while at the same time providing increased operational effectiveness and efficiencies. MBUSA operates five Learning & Performance Centers in the U.S.: Houston, TX, Itasca, IL, Jacksonville, FL, Montvale, NJ, and Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

“We have planned and built this new facility with cutting edge systems and design for our associates to deliver the best products and services throughout the region,” said Alan McLaren, vice president of customer services. “It’s unmistakably a Mercedes-Benz facility that showcases our dedication to quality and innovation in a significant way.”

It was an auspicious moment, when on18 July 1990 Werner Niefer, the then Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG, ceremonially broke the ground for a new assembly plant at Rastatt. This would be the company’s third passenger car production facility in Germany, after Sindelfingen and Bremen.

The Rastatt plant was officially opened in May 1992 by the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Initially E-Class vehicles were produced here by a workforce of 1700, starting with the W 124 series and then until 1996 the W 210 successor series. Series production of the A-Class (W 168) then began in summer 1997 – Rastatt became the main location for production of this new Mercedes-Benz series that rounded off the lower end of the product portfolio. During its production period from 1997 to 2004 it achieved sales of over 1.1 million units. That same year, 1997, the company also opened the

Mercedes-Benz Customer Centre in Rastatt. Here customers could collect new vehicles in person, take a guided tour of the factory and visit exhibitions covering a wide range of automotive themes. A variety of events were also staged at the Customer Centre.

The decision to adopt Rastatt as a location was not an easy one, since several cities had shown interest in accommodating the plant, which in its first development stage promised jobs for 5,500 employees. Discussions extended to locations in France, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic; in addition, concerns about the Rastatt site were raised by environmentalists. So not only did the decision have far-reaching economic implications, it also had a political impact at both the regional and federal levels. Particularly as the new plant would have significant symbolic value for Germany as a production location – at issue here was the creation of a profitable car production facility in a strong business environment. But ultimately the decision went with Rastatt and Daimler-Benz called the new passenger car assembly plant a “milestone for automotive production of the future.” In total the company invested DM 2 billion in the location at the time.

In three initial phases the company created one of the most advanced production facilities in the entire automotive industry, a complete assembly plant, including assembly lines, paint shop and body shell shop, which expanded the strategic and operational options for passenger car production for the Mercedes-Benz brand. As such, therefore, the factory was a model for all other plants and made a decisive contribution to safeguarding the company’s competitive edge over its competitors in the long term, as was stated in a brochure published to mark the plant’s official opening. New production technologies, new working time models, new forms of labour and new environmental protection concepts were implemented in order to achieve state-of-the-art automotive production. Future expansions ensured the plant was always up to date.

The location was chosen with great forethought. For the new plant was largely to be part of a closely integrated production network (“Südschiene”), similar to the one that has proved so effective in producing the compact class over the years between the plants at Bremen and Sindelfingen (“Nordschiene”). The aim of integrated production was to achieve optimised production workflows across respective plant boundaries by implementing commonsense approaches to labour division. This was documented by parts supplies from the five sister plants at Gaggenau, Sindelfingen, Untertürkheim, Hamburg and Bremen.

Production start-up for the A-Class (168 series) also saw the relocation of individual suppliers to the plant premises. The so-called industrial park accommodated various companies which used conveyor bridges and conveyor technology to supply components for both A and B-Class directly to the assembly lines. This “just in sequence” supply approach cut down on delivery transport and reduced warehousing times. Partners on the industrial park supplied over 50 percent of all parts for assembly. Components for vehicles produced in Rastatt came from 330 suppliers in total. Thanks to a rail line on the plant premises, 75 percent of all freight could be delivered by rail directly to the production hall.

From 2000 onwards the company then invested around 900 million euros in the Rastatt site for production start-up of the second generation A-Class (169 series) and the B-Class, including measures to expand the industrial park. The main expansion phase for the plant began in 2002, its tenth anniversary year. By increasing the usable floor area by 160,000 square metres, over 60,000 square metres of which were earmarked for body-in-white production and painting, the company laid the foundations for production of a second model series, the B-Class (245 series). A new hall was constructed on the premises for final assembly of this series.

The Rastatt plant has now fully established itself. 2008 saw the two millionth vehicle from the A and B-Class come off the production line. The plant premises cover a total area of 1,473,000 square metres, 405,680 square metres of which are built on. Production capacity is around 250,000 vehicles per year. The plant employs a workforce of 5,500 employees (as of 31 December 2009).

Compact vehicles are now a regular component of the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio. The brand will in future offer four rather than just two models with a view to winning new customer groups and creating growth in additional markets. Three of these models will come off the production lines in Rastatt. The plant is gearing up fort his with an investment of 600 million euros. In addition to existing buildings, preparations include construction of a further production hall for body-in-white production. The first vehicles of the successor generation of A and B-Class are scheduled to come off the production lines in Rastatt in late 2011.

Apprenticeship training at the company is almost as old as the automobile itself. When Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile independently of one another in 1888, they created something that was new and revolutionary. When the demand for skilled workers increased sharply at the end of the nineteenth century, however, the obvious solution was for the company to train and nurture its own young recruits.

Founded in 1890, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) in Cannstatt trained individual apprentices. Before the First World War they worked in production and in the evenings received tuition in skilled trades. Similarly, employees at Carl Benz brought their sons to the company to learn all about engines: these apprentices were assigned to the foremen of individual work groups, who were then responsible for training and educating the future workforce.

1916: Systematic training

During the First World War demand for trained workers was so intense that in 1916 both DMG in Stuttgart and Benz & Cie. in Mannheim set up their own training departments. In some cases these were specific to individual departments. In 1915, for example, DMG opened an “engine school” in Stuttgart-Wangen in 1915 to order to train technical staff in the maintenance of aeroengines.

There was a change to the systematic training of apprentices, however. Unlike previously, when apprentices underwent individual training, Daimler now set up systematic training in a dedicated apprentice workshop. Since experience and practical examples of such an approach were rare in the metal industry, the company was left to its own devices as to how best to implement the training. Initially in Stuttgart three trainers instructed approximately 60 to 70 apprentices. By 1918 the number had risen to 153 apprentices.

Over a period of four years apprentices were trained in the use of various machines and also in writing and drawing. In the final year of their apprenticeship they became acquainted with various plant departments, before sitting the final apprenticeship examination. Remuneration was graded: in the first year of the apprenticeship the rate was 6 pfennigs per hour worked, rising to 16 pfennigs in the fourth year. These sums were only fractionally higher than in 1903 – when the apprenticeship contract at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft offered 6 pfennigs for every hour worked during the first year and 15 pfennigs in the fourth year of training.

“The first day of the apprenticeship was like a recruit’s first day in the barracks”, recalled one apprentice, who started his apprenticeship in Untertürkheim in 1918. “Roll call, assignment to the correct workplace and washroom, handing out of papers, a lecture on rules of conduct. Even on the first day, one or other of the new recruits would be shown the gentle art of Swabian persuasion. ” The apprentices were not treated with kid gloves. They had to work their way up from the bottom the hard way – even cleaning out the toilets from time to time. And after ten or eleven hours’ work at the plant, the young trainees would spend their evenings in the classroom learning the trades.

In the early years to be accepted for an apprenticeship at Daimler it was sufficient to have “in good health, of sound repute and with a satisfactory school leaving certificate”, as one company publication put it. But since the number of applicants continued to rise, by 1920 DMG had put in place an entrance examination. From this point on, apprentices were required to attend the Städtische Gewerbeschule Cannstatt in addition to their practical training at the plant. Since this proved overly time consuming, however, following negotiations it was decided that in-house apprentices would attend the “Daimler Department of the Gewerbeschule Cannstatt”, which was opened on plant premises. The state-qualified teachers adapted their tuition to the practical work of the plant. Apprentices now saved time and money, since they no longer had to travel to school.

In addition to obliging apprentices to remain loyal to the company throughout the apprenticeship period, the apprenticeship contract also listed a number of rules of conduct. Trainees were required to behave respectfully and with decency outside the plant, for example. They were only allowed to join associations with prior authorisation from their employer, and they were barred absolutely from attending any political events.

The term political here referred in particular to socialist groups or parties of a similar persuasion, for both the government and employers feared unrest if such ideologies were to become widespread. But this posed no significant problem among DMG apprentices: “The apprentice department emerged largely unscathed from the turmoil of the violent political conflict of the post-war years,” recalled one apprentice from the class of 1918. “Apprentices remained good friends despite differences of political opinion.”

Fined for “lying beneath the bench”

Reports and other important information about each apprentice were kept in a personal record book. But there was also a punishment book, in which misdemeanours were noted and for which apprentices were fined 20 pfennigs. Fines were imposed, for example, for offences such as “lying beneath the bench during morning break”, “unauthorised card games at lunchtime”, “smoking in the workshop”, “spending too long in the washroom”, “failure to clean the drill” and “failure to lock the clothes lockers”.

In 1925, nine years after setting up the apprentice workshop in Stuttgart, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft expanded its apprenticeship department with a three-tier vocational school contained within plant premises. On average, this school trained 200 apprentices over four years of apprenticeship. One exception to this were the years 1927 to 1930, when the global depression reduced the annual number of new admissions to 25 or 30 trainees. In 1928 no fewer than 588 apprentices were trained at Daimler-Benz AG, as the company now called itself following the merger between Benz & Cie. and DMG in 1926. This represented 4.8 percent of the entire workforce.

Benz & Cie.: Learning by copying

From March 1916, Benz & Cie. in Mannheim also had an in-house apprentice department equipped with fulltime staff. When wartime production forced the introduction of series production on assembly lines, plant management was led to the view that apprentices were no longer receiving adequate training in basic skills. At this time Benz employed around 80 apprentices, each learning their craft in part by replicating the construction of older vehicles – a training principle that was still in use 50 years later, as confirmed by the head of the Mannheim training department during celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the apprentice department in 1966.

Like the rest of the workforce, apprentices at Benz worked a 52-hour week. On two half-days they attended the trade school. During the first year of their apprenticeship they received wages of 4 pfennigs an hour, in the third year 10 pfennigs. During the first 50 years of its existence, the apprentice department in Mannheim trained 2,790 apprentices; of these, almost half (1,246) were still employed by the company in 1966 – nine from the very first class of 1916.

National Socialism: “Education for personal output”

When the National Socialists came to power, apprenticeship training had to be adapted to a new set of guidelines. Along with the trainers from other companies, instructors employed by the automotive manufacturer were brought into line at training camps organised by the German Labour Front (DAF), the trade union for employers and employees founded in 1933.

In addition to the teaching goal of disseminating National Socialist ideology, the educational principles also attached importance to such concepts as “punctuality and thrift, comradeship and personal output”. “The first day of work for new comrades has a ceremonial aspect,” stated the brochure Unser Nachwuchs (“Our future workforce”), published in 1941. “In the presence of all instructors and current apprentices, each new entrant commits himself to allegiance to the plant with a handshake and is formally presented with the Mercedes star as an outward symbol of this allegiance.”

Each apprentice was required to keep a plant logbook, in which he noted the weekly Nazi slogans and the jobs he had been assigned each week. At regular intervals the apprentices were required to produce pieces of work as part of vocational tests in order to demonstrate the progress they had made. One of these tests involved participation in the “Reichsberufswettbewerb” (Reich Vocational Competition), in which apprentices were asked their opinions on ideological issues and demonstrated mastery of the various skills they had been taught.

Another element of vocational training in those days involved gymnastics, swimming and open-air games. These were often accompanied by the Untertürkheim Apprentice Orchestra, thus helping to promote “friendship, education, good spirits and entertainment.” The National Socialists believed these exercises not only developed physical toughness but also prepared youngsters for future military service. Such activities were carried out not just at Untertürkheim; apprentices at the plants in Mannheim, Gaggenau, Sindelfingen and Marienfelde underwent almost identical training.

The individual Daimler-Benz plants were commended on numerous occasions for their exemplary apprentice training in line with Nazi standards. For example, in April 1937 the DAF awarded the Untertürkheim plant the Badge of Merit for Exemplary Vocational Training in recognition of its “development of trainees who were not only skilled but also models of national, socialist and human principles.”

Apprentices help with reconstruction

Reconstruction and the restart of passenger car and commercial vehicle production were the most immediate priorities for Daimler-Benz AG after the end of the Second World War. But the automotive manufacturer also soon began training apprentices again. Nevertheless, it would be a long time before the apprenticeship system recovered fully from the effects of the Second World War. In 1946, for example, only two instructors were available to teach 330 students in eleven vocational classes, since many teachers had been suspended from duties or imprisoned, according to records kept by the Technisches Schulzentrum for the Gottlieb-Daimler-Schulen in Sindelfingen, responsible for apprentices at the Sindelfingen plant.

The new apprentice workshop in Untertürkheim was completed in 1949. As before the war, vocational training took place partly on plant premises, partly at the Wilhelm-Maybach-Schule in Bad Cannstatt. Commercial apprentices were trained at the administrative headquarters in Untertürkheim. The figures made for positive reading: by 1966 the automotive manufacturer had 1,600 apprentices at its training facility. Moreover, since 1954 there had also been intake from abroad – so that by the 50th anniversary of the apprentice workshop in 1966 roughly 10 percent of all apprentices came from countries other than Germany.

From the mid 1960s Daimler-Benz began developing new training methods in Untertürkheim that also attracted critical interest from outside the company. From 1965 to 1969, for example, pilot schemes were carried out for graduated training for skilled fitters. Here, the three-year apprenticeship was divided into a common basic training phase, a general professional training phase and finally specialist training in a chosen trade. This graduated approach proved effective and was retained.

“What Daimler-Benz does for its apprentices is also recognised well beyond our national borders,” wrote the newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten on the occasion of the apprentice workshop’s 50th anniversary on 4 July 1966. “For example, for the last year it has featured a graduated scheme designed to ensure a differentiated, systematic and contemporary approach to vocational training. The first year allows apprentices to decide their professional and educational course and is concluded with a preliminary examination. The second stage trains apprentices as production fitters. Stages three and four take training to an advanced level. This phase involves the professional examination before the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.” The idea behind this graduated training was that each apprentice should receive “training that is tailored in terms of theory and practice to his ability and nature.”

In addition to skilled training, the automotive manufacturer attached importance to the social competence of its apprentices in the post-war period. So from 1956 participation in a two-week socio-pedagogical seminar at the Lämmerbuckel training facility was made obligatory. “Twice a year the apprentices underwent behaviour and personality analysis. The curriculum also embraced appropriate conduct, early morning exercise and general educational skills,” it was stated in a press release.

The plot of land for the training centre that Daimler constructed on the Lämmerbuckel hill immediately after the Second World War dates back to pre-war years. Work on building the two-lane “Lämmerbuckeltunnel” beneath the Wiesensteig on the Swabian Alb was started in autumn 1937; the carriageway was completed in 1942. Shortly afterwards, however, iron gates were mounted at its entrances when the tunnel was converted into an armaments factory for superchargers and aeroengines. The location was ideal, since the factory was virtually invisible from the air and safe from bombardment. A heating facility for production as well as living quarters were constructed above the tunnel. After the Second World War, Daimler-Benz systematically converted Haus Lämmerbuckel into an education and training centre.

In 1968 – by which time Daimler Benz had a total of 3,750 apprentices at company headquarters, eight plants and 34 sales and service outlets throughout the Federal Republic of Germany – Haus Lautenbach was added as a further training facility dedicated to the social education of Daimler-Benz-trainees.

One of the methods employed by Daimler-Benz in the late 1960s to recruit commercial apprentices for training was a project entitled the “virtual company”. For half a day each week young commercial trainees, under the supervision of the relevant instructor, managed a company that existed only on paper. In this way the automotive manufacturer aimed to highlight “the operational context and basic workflows,” giving apprentices the specialist training they needed on the way to becoming future experts.

1970: A new training centre

A new training centre was opened in Untertürkheim in September 1970, and further expanded in 1977/78. In addition to a new apprentice workshop, it included a teaching building, a sports hall, a cafeteria and canteen. The new training facility also accommodated an extension to the Wilhelm-Maybach-Berufsschule, in which apprentices were schooled in the metalworking trades. In the evenings the rooms were used for advanced training and further education events for adults. In 1970 Daimler-Benz trained approximately 4,500 technical and commercial apprentices.

In the 1970s Daimler-Benz also trialled new approaches with a view to further improving apprenticeship training. For example, it took part in the “pilot scheme for first-year vocational basic education in the field of metalworking”. This preliminary year involved a broad-based general training before subsequently leading to job-specific skilled training. Furthermore, for people with learning difficulties and youngsters without a school leaving certificate, in 1975 the company began offering metalwork training courses in Untertürkheim which included the possibility of a conventional apprenticeship. In 1976 this opportunity was taken up by 94 young people. In addition, the manufacturer invested in the Berufskolleg Baden-Württemberg, which established a dual vocational training course for intermediate secondary school leavers. 70 Daimler-Benz trainees took part in 1978.

Training knows no limits

In the 1970s the automotive manufacturer also set itself the goal of improving integration of foreign apprentices in Germany and of doing all it could to promote the German language among trainees with just a limited knowledge. But the traditional German company also played a committed role in the education of young people outside its borders. In 1970, for example, new training centres were set up at general distributors in Iran and the Philippines.

“We have continued and expanded the systematic vocational training of young skilled workers for our foreign general distributors through internship training programmes at our domestic plants and the development of new training facilities abroad,” explained the Board of Management in the annual report of 1974. “A training facility with a training manager from Daimler-Benz AG was opened in Ghana in 1974, for example. Other projects of this type are ready to be implemented.”

The annual report for 1977 picked up the theme again: “Our training work abroad has been further intensified. In developing countries alone, many of which do not yet have systematic vocational training, 1,974 young people received training in 17 training centres.”

Education policy à la Daimler: the “Stuttgart Model”

By the late 1960s and early 1970s the political mood in Germany was one of new educational horizons. Schools providing a general education were rapidly expanded and new schools were built. With education to be made accessible to all, there was a concomitant rise in the number of those staying on at school and those permitted to continue their education to university level. While universities faced the challenge of meeting the training needs of young people, employers feared a skills gap.

So in 1971 Daimler-Benz delivered a proposal to the Ministry of Culture for the State of Baden-Württemberg to increase the attractiveness of training for high-school leavers by means of a kind of university course system. During that year talks were also held on this topic with the Stuttgart-based companies Robert Bosch GmbH and Standard Elektrik Lorenz AG. In cooperation with the Württembergischen Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie in Stuttgart and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the Mittlerer Neckar region, these three companies developed a new educational initiative for high-school leavers that was officially launched on 15 July 1972 – the “Stuttgart Model”.

Just why the Group saw a fundamental responsibility to help structure the education system was an issue set out clearly by Hanns Martin Schleyer, the member of the Board of Management with responsibility for human resources, at a press conference on the topic of “new approaches to educational work” in 1973: “This is not about holding on to a training system – simply because that is what has been done for decades – or otherwise giving up. It is about making an effective pedagogical contribution to improving vocational education. And in the first instance our educational field is business as a place of learning. A place of learning that is defined by its immediate relationship to practical work, that is defined by its close relationship to competition, to new processes in production and organisation. Learning is a function of operational routine. It is about coming face-to-face with concrete responsibility and the social environment of the manufacturing process.”

The Universities of Cooperative Education opened their doors in Stuttgart und Mannheim on 1 October 1974 to a total of 164 students and 51 training centres in the fields of commerce and engineering; the final qualification offered in each case was a Diploma (BA). By 1981 there were further Universities of Cooperative Education in Villingen-Schwenningen, Heidenheim an der Brenz, Ravensburg, Karlsruhe, Mosbach and Lörrach. The “Law on Universities of Cooperative Education in the State of Baden-Württemberg”, which was passed by the State Parliament in April 1982 and which came into force on 26 May 1982, ended the pilot phase of this innovative training and study model. Since then they have been a regular part of the state’s educational institutions, with a total of 3,768 students in 1982. Today there are around 21,000 students studying at the eight Universities of Cooperative Education in Baden-Württemberg; these are based at eleven different locations and cooperate with around 7,500 businesses.

Daimler – a family tradition

Expansion of the apprentice workshop in 1979 meant there were now facilities to train 1,056 trade apprentices. Statistically, this was equivalent to 5.2 apprentices per 100 employees out of a total workforce of 20,000 in Untertürkheim. Moreover, 45 percent of all trainees taken on in 1979 were the offspring of plant employees: “We can be proud of the fact that we have plant employees working here who already represent the fourth generation,” said a delighted Hans-Wolfgang Hirschbrunn, highlighting what he saw as the continuity and trust of employees during a speech to mark the expansion of the training centre. “In concrete terms, this means we now have apprentices whose great-grandfathers also worked at Daimler.”

Moreover, he was “pleased to be able to announce, that 60 to 70 percent of all apprentices stayed with the company in the long term – as skilled workers, clerical staff and as managers. Two have even become members of our own Board of Management.”

The numbers of trainees was going up not only in Untertürkheim, however. In Germany as a whole there had been a rise of 50 percent in under three years. Around 2,500 young people started a commercial or trade apprenticeship at one of the plants or sales and service outlets operated by the Stuttgart company in 1979. That brought the total number of trainees to approximately 7,000. The numbers also rose significantly at individual plants. At the Bremen plant in 1971, for example, there were 116 trainees, by 1984 the figure was 462. In its report for 1964, the Wörth plant gave the number of trainees, interns and final-year students as 20, then 211 in 1970 and 396 in 1980.

From the mid 1980s, following the multiple acquisitions of companies such as MTU Motoren- und Turbinen-Union, Dornier, AEG and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, Daimler-Benz became Germany’s largest industrial Group. Accordingly, the number of trainees throughout the Group rose abruptly: “Over 4,000 young people started their vocational training at the Daimler-Benz Group in the last few days,” wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in September 1990. “According to figures supplied by the Group’s administration department, that brings to more than 13,000 the number of apprentices employed by Mercedes, AEG and Deutsche Aerospace; when apprentices working abroad and interns are taken into account, that figure rises to over 17,000 young people. As in previous years 75 percent of boys and girls started vocational training in one of the skilled trades. The others opted for a commercial apprenticeship. Once again in 1990, the large majority of trainees – over 80 percent – were young men, confirmed the Daimler-Benz administration department.”

Nevertheless, by the late 1980s Mercedes-Benz was viewing dwindling applicant numbers with concern – long before the consequences of demographic transformation resulting from the introduction of the contraceptive pill became a topic for public discussion. For from the 1970s this led to an abrupt decline in birthrates: “The training place market in the Federal Republic of Germany has been characterised in recent years by the baby-boom generation. Demand for training places has been exceptionally high, with the number of applicants rising twofold in just a few years by 1985,” stated an information brochure on vocational training at Mercedes-Benz in 1990.

It went on: “Demand is now in serious decline and in 1995 will reach only 50 percent of the figure for 1985. We have also been concerned for some years now about the structure of applications. A steady two thirds of these are for commercial professions. However, current demand for commercial trainees represents roughly only one fifth of all places available. Consequently, the proportion of applicants to places for commercial apprenticeships is around 1:30; for trade apprenticeships the ratio is just 1:4. We must take steps to further improve human resources marketing – particularly for apprenticeships in the skilled trades – and interest a greater number of school leavers in our company’s training programmes.”

Apprentice training reached a milestone in 2004 with the opening in Esslingen-Brühl of a central technical training centre by the then DaimlerChrysler AG. It was part of the nearby Untertürkheim plant and had capacity for around 1,100 trainees, predominantly in the disciplines of production mechanics, industrial mechanics, mechatronics and motor vehicle mechatronics.

Minor differences no obstacle

Traditionally job titles have been associated with specific genders in Germany. For example, in a promotional brochure for training year 1969, alongside advertisements for “technical draftsmen and women” as well as “detail draftswomen”, the only apprenticeship offered explicitly to girls was for a “shorthand office clerk”.

In the 1970s, however, the New Women’s Movement placed previous gender models under scrutiny and in its 1978 publication Können hat Zukunft (“Ability has a future”) Daimler-Benz devoted a chapter to the new generation of female workers: “Qualified girls are in demand – more so now than ever,” ran the company advertisement for female trainees seeking jobs in industrial and office management, as shorthand office clerks, technical draftswomen, graduates in business management (BA) or in certain sales and service outlets as wholesale and export merchants. “But that was not the end of the story. A growing number of girls were also becoming qualified experts in the technical and skilled trades, realising that traditional role allocation by gender was often no longer tenable. So in some of our plants we opened professional metalworking routes for girls, for example as machine fitters or tool and die makers.”

In a press release of 1979, Richard Osswald, the Daimler-Benz Board of Management member responsible for human resources, confirmed that the Group would be investing greater interest in girls. He was quoted as saying: “Of all girls aged between 15 and 18 in Germany, only around 30 percent are in industrial vocational training.” He turned away from “the prejudice of typically male vocations. Daimler-Benz had already been offering girls training in the skilled trades for some time. The experience gained by the Stuttgart automotive manufacturer had been positive in every respect and proved the value of continuing these efforts.”

In the annual report of 1980, in a chapter entitled Training and Further Training, the Daimler-Benz Board of Management explained just why it was so important to invest in female recruitment. “For socio-political reasons, but also in view of the falling numbers of school graduates, we are increasingly addressing new applicant groups in order to secure our supply of junior staff. This includes, for example, an increased number of apprenticeships for girls in technical disciplines.”

Since the launch of Girls Day in Germany in 2001, Daimler has also taken part in the official “Mädchen-Zukunftstag”, aimed at introducing school-age girls to apprenticeships in technical and technology-related jobs. And with considerable success, as one participant from the class of 2008 described, who since September 2009 has been one of two new toolmakers in the first year of training at the Mercedes-Benz Gaggenau plant: “Gradually we are seeing an increasing number of young women here in the technical apprenticeships – and that’s good news. I haven’t regretted my choice for a single day. I often have to explain to my friends what I’m learning here – but they’re interested in what I do too!”

Moreover, the fact that girls are keen to tackle previously male-dominated jobs at Daimler-Benz is not limited solely to Germany. Mercedes-Benz Turkey, for example, is also cooperating with the Turkish organisation CYDD: “The prize-winning training programme “Each girl is a star” is primarily intended to encourage financially disadvantaged young women to find employment in occupations traditionally dominated by men. 850 Turkish women between the ages of 15 and 18 have meanwhile passed through this programme,” stated Daimler’s annual report of 2009.

Shaping a common future

Today Daimler AG offers training in 22 technical and 14 commercial disciplines. The consequences of the sudden drop in the birthrate that came with the introduction of the contraceptive pill are immense: “Demographic transformation presents a challenge to the company,” wrote the Board of Management in its 2009 annu al report. “We have been analysing the effects of demographic developments on workforce capacity and workforce aging at several Group sites, and we have simulated and compared future workforce and capacity requirements. This has enabled us to identify how the workforce will develop over the medium term. We have also been able to evaluate the capacity requirements resulting from this development in terms of the number of employees we will need, the qualifications they must have and an appropriate age structure. We are using these findings to determine which professions should be included in our training portfolio and which policies we need to adopt in relation to continuing education, occupational retraining and recruitment practices.”

The Board of Management also made it clear that in-house training was a top priority. “We view training and further training as indispensable elements to ensure our company’s long-term business success. At the end of 2009, the Group had 9,151 trainees worldwide. In Germany, we took on 2,341 new trainees in the year under review. Trainees who perform well subsequently receive fair job offers; Daimler hired 89% of its trainees in 2009.”

Mercedes-Benz is setting previously unachievable efficiency standards in the premium segment with completely newly developed V6 and V8 engines. The new V8 engine has a displacement of 12 percent more than its predecessor despite less displacement. Torque has also increased fby no less than 32 percent while fuel consumption has been reduced by 22 percent.

With the same displacement as its predecessor, the new V6 engine develops 306 hp. Torque has increased by 20 Nm to 370 Nm. As with the V8, the improvement in fuel efficiency is remarkable, the S 350 equipped with the new V6 engine consumes 24 percent less compared to its predecessor. Mercedes-Benz has achieved this considerable leap in efficiency with the use of a start/stop function that is standard and other features such as newly developed, third-generation direct petrol injection with spray-guided combustion, multiple injection and multi-spark ignition.

Considerably less fuel consumption despite a much higher output was the development objective for the new Mercedes-Benz V-engine generation, which will initially be used as an 8-cylinder in the CL-Class, and later in the S-Class from autumn 2010. Mercedes-Benz developed the new six and eight-cylinder units because optimised internal combustion engines continue to have specific advantages over other drive systems with respect to operating range and refuelling time and costs, while offering the greatest short-term potential to achieve significant fuel savings in day-to-day operation.

“The new six and eight-cylinder engines from Mercedes-Benz are a unique synthesis of effortless power delivery, comfort and efficiency,” says Dr. Thomas Weber, the member of the Daimler AG Executive Board responsible for corporate research and development at Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Both impress with refinement at the highest level, as well as exemplary environmental compatibility.”

The new Mercedes-Benz engine family is uncompromisingly based on modularisation. It allows the use of a start/stop function, 4MATIC all-wheel drive and combination with a hybrid module.

The V8 is in a new league of its own

While the new V8 is based on its predecessor and has the same distance between the cylinders, it has undergone substantial reengineering in every respect. For example, it has a 15-percent smaller displacement (4663 cc rather than 5461 cc) but generates 429 hp and therefore around 12 percent more output than the preceding unit (382 hp). It’s estimated that this new engine will achieve a fuel economy improvement of 22 percent. CO2 emissions have likewise fallen by 22 percent – an outstanding improvement for this performance class. At the same time torque has been raised from 391 lb-ft to 516 lb-ft – an increase of 32 percent.

In the new V8, Mercedes-Benz engineers primarily achieved a high output for a lower displacement by using twin turbochargers — one for each bank of cylinders. The intake air is forced into the eight combustion chambers at an overpressure of up to 0.9 bar, with the turbine blades rotating at up to 150,000 rpm. The turbochargers and their hot gas ducting are mounted on the outsides of the cylinder heads. This enabled the intercooler module with its air/water intercooler and charge-air distributor to be located inside the V of the engine.

The chargers were configured to provide high torque even at low engine speeds – compared to the previous engine, the result is an increase by more than 45 percent at 2000 rpm. No less than 443 lb-ft is available between 1600 and 4750 rpm.

The engine is based on a further development of the previous engine’s die cast aluminum crankcase with cast-in aluminum/silicon (Silitec) cylinder liners. Basic and connecting rod journal diameters were adopted from the preceding engine, while for load reasons the piston compression height was raised by just under four millimeters. By reducing the lift and shortening the connecting rod by 2 millimeters, it was possible to retain the interior height of the crankcase. As a remarkable feature, the high compression ratio of 10.5:1 remains unchanged versus the naturally aspirated preceding engine, showing the high efficiency of the new, turbocharged V8 when configured for premium fuel.

Key figures for the new V8 engine

• No. of cylinders V8
• Displacement (cc) 4633
• Bore (mm) 92.9
• Stroke (mm) 86
• Compression ratio 10.5:1
• Output (hp at rpm) 429 at 5250
• Torque (lb-ft at rpm) 516 from 1800-3500

Innovative technology makes V8 engines fit for the future

The new V8 from Mercedes-Benz has an aluminum crankcase, pistons and cylinder heads. The crankshaft, connecting rods and valves are of special forged steel.

Mercedes-Benz has achieved this considerable leap in efficiency with the use of innovative technology – including newly developed, third-generation direct gasoline injection with spray-guided combustion, multiple injection and multi-spark ignition. With this new generation of V-engines, Mercedes-Benz is clearly demonstrating that with substantial further development, internal combustion engines still have a great deal of potential, and that V8 engines with their great running refinement are fit for the future.

The technology package in the new engine generation includes a number of new developments that are unique in this combination:

• In combination with multi-spark ignition, third generation direct fuel injection system with spray-guided combustion and piezo-electric injectors offers further possibilities for fuel savings – by means of an improved, homogeneous combustion process.

• In conjunction with start/stop technology, shift point adjustment and specific friction-reducing measures, improvements in day-to-day fuel consumption by more than 20 percent are possible.

• Power consumption by accessory units has been reduced. These include an optimized water pump with second generation thermal management,

  a demand-controlled oil pump, a volume-controlled high-pressure fuel pump and an intelligent generator management system.

Lightweight construction techniques and detailed improvements have also reduced in-engine friction considerably compared to the previous engine.

Third generation direct gasoline injection

Direct gasoline injection with spray-guided combustion, an industry first developed by Mercedes-Benz, has been developed further as a third generation. The system pressure is up to 200 bar, the pressure being variably optimized according to the engine’s characteristic map. Completely new piezo-electric injectors allow up to five injections per intake stroke for the best possible mixture formation.

The crystalline structure of the piezo-ceramic changes in microseconds under an electric voltage, and with a precision of just a few thousandths of a millimeter. The central component of a piezo-electric injector is the piezo-stack, which directly controls the metering needle. With a response time of just 0.1 milli-seconds, the fuel injection can be very sensitively and precisely adjusted to the current load and engine speed, with a beneficial effect on emissions, fuel consumption and combustion noise.

The multiple injections even in tiny quantities made possible with piezo-electric injection technology were used by Mercedes-Benz engineers to control a wider characteristic map with the efficient lean-burn process, and to provide the conditions for further functions:

• As the first new operating mode, Mercedes-Benz engineers have developed “Homogeneous stratified combustion” (HOS). As the name implies, HOS is a combination of homogeneous lean-burn and classic stratified combustion. The first injection is sprayed into the intake stroke, forming a homogeneous basic mixture. Actual “stratified” injection takes place during the compression stroke before ignition, and is a single or double injection depending on the characteristic map.

• Another new operating mode is known as “Homogeneous Split” (HSP). In this homogeneous combustion process, more than 95 percent of the fuel is singly or multiply injected, followed by a very small “ignition” injection to stabilize combustion. This is used when combustion conditions are difficult.

The V8 engine is operated homogeneously over the entire characteristic map, but under high load homogeneous or HSP operation is used to improve smooth running characteristics:

Multi-spark ignition for optimal efficiency

The third-generation direct injection system also features rapid multi-spark ignition (MSI). Following the first spark discharge and a brief combustion period, the coil is rapidly recharged and another spark is discharged. The MSI system enables up to four sparks to be discharged in rapid succession within one millisecond, creating a plasma with a larger spatial expansion than conventional ignition. Controlling this rapid multi-spark ignition enables both the time lapse before the next spark and the combustion duration for the relevant operating point to be optimally adjusted. This provides scope for optimizing the center of combustion and improving residual gas compatibility, especially during stratified charge operation. Fuel consumption can be reduced by roughly two percent in this way.

Fuel savings of up to four percent are possible alone by the use of piezo-electric injection technology in combination with multi-spark ignition, depending on the driving cycle.

Cylinder head with new camshaft adjuster

On the basis of the previous engine’s architecture, Mercedes-Benz engineers developed the variable, hydraulic vane-type camshaft adjusters for the intake

and exhaust sides. These now have a larger adjustment range of 40 degrees with reference to the crankshaft. They were also able to improve the functionality, achieving a 35-percent greater adjustment speed and adjustability at an oil pressure as low as 0.44 bar. Despite the better performance, this new development excels with significantly smaller dimensions and low weight. For this reason the installation space on the longitudinal and vertical axes of the engine was able to be reduced by around 0.6 inches.

Two-stage chain drive for low noise

The extreme compactness of the camshaft adjusters was achieved by the new, two-stage chain drive. This drives short secondary chains – one per cylinder

bank – via a primary chain and an intermediate gear. All three chains can be individually adjusted via a chain tensioner. This results in low tensioning forces and low chain dynamics, ensuring consistent timing and outstanding acoustic properties, with friction reduced even further. In short, the new chain drive is compact and ensures low-noise operation.

Controlled oil pump with two pressure stages

A fourth chain also drives a completely new variable vane-type oil pump. The pump operates with two pressure stages, depending on the characteristic map. At low engine speeds and loads the pump runs at a low pressure of two bar. At this time the oil-spray nozzles for piston cooling are switched off. The high-pressure stage is activated at the upper load and engine speed levels. Thanks to this control concept, the lubrication and cooling points of the engine can be supplied with significantly lower drive energy than would be possible with an uncontrolled pump.

New coolant ducting and 3-phase thermal management

The coolant ducting in the cylinder head is also completely new. The water mantle has a two-piece construction to improve flow. This leads to specific increases in flow speeds and heat dissipation at certain points, accompanied by a reduction in pressure throughout the coolant circuit. This has made it possible to reduce the power output of the water pump despite the increased engine output.

As it warms up, the flow of coolant is regulated by a 3-phase thermal management system so that it rapidly reaches normal operating temperature. Initially the coolant remains at rest in the engine. It then circulates in the engine circuit, but without the radiator. When a temperature of 221 degrees Fahrenheit has been reached in normal operation (189 degrees under high load), the vehicle’s radiator is included in the circuit. The water supply to the interior heating system is separately controllable.

Component weights have also been reduced by the judicious replacement of aluminum and steel by plastics, e.g. for the thermostat, belt pulley, wheel, heater valve and hydraulic lines.

Start/stop function with direct-start

The new start/stop system operates with starter-supported direct-start. This means that when the engine is switched off, the attitude of the crankshaft is registered by a new crankshaft sensor so that the engine control unit knows the positions of the individual pistons. On restarting, it can then select the cylinder that has the most suitable piston position for first ignition. After the starter has briefly turned over the engine, reliable injection, ignition and combustion is immediately possible.

Minimized friction

Particular attention was paid to reduced friction in the new engine. This was primarily achieved by a reduction in flow through the oil and water pumps,

low-friction pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls, plus the new thermal management system and chain drive.

Fit for the future thanks to modular construction

The new V-engines from Mercedes-Benz are fit for the future. They can not only be combined with a start/stop function, but also coupled with the 4MATIC four-wheel drive system or integrated into a hybrid drive system.

The new engines meet all worldwide emissions regulations. The use of third generation, direct gasoline injection with spray-guided combustion and piezo-electric injectors provides a particularly good basis for increased stringency in the future.

Development, trials and test bench technology: Endurance test for the new V-engines

• 52,000 hours of test bench trials
• Over 4 million miles of test drives
• 2 million core hours of computer calculation per year

Before the new V8 engines were allowed onto the roads, they had already passed a series of torturous trials, for example on the engine test benches of the test facility in Untertürkheim. 24 of the very latest engine test benches are installed on each floor of this imposing three-storey building. These 72 test benches operate day and night, otherwise it would be impossible to complete the demanding test programs that Mercedes-Benz engineers subject all engines.

A wide range of road and load situations can be simulated on the test benches, reflecting every conceivable operating profile such as hot and cold starts, stop-and-go and long-distance driving under very varied conditions. All in all, the new V8 engines from Mercedes-Benz and their auxiliary units were required to pass 52,000 test hours, of which 27,000 were endurance runs.

In parallel with this, extensive practical trials were started in all the climatic zones of the world – in the winter cold of the Arctic and the merciless heat of Death Valley (USA), in desert sands and the thin air of Alpine regions or in tropical jungles. The program also included fast laps on e.g. the high-speed racetracks in Nardo (Italy) and Papenburg, as well as stop-and-go driving in busy inner-city areas. All in all, the different test vehicles with the new V8 engine covered over 4 million miles under very varied conditions.

Naturally the development process began well before these real-world trials – namely on the computer screens of the development engineers. This is where the fundamental design calculations were made with the help of modern computers. All the mechanical functions were conceived and refined here, such as the oil and coolant circuits, the various options for intake air ducting, the charging strategy, combustion chamber geometry incl. the intake and exhaust duct, as well as the multiple injection system. All were created and calculated on-screen.

1,800 computer cores provided the necessary computing power for this development process. More than two million core hours were needed to calculate and verify all the engine functions and components for the best possible result.

Without the very latest computers, it would not have been possible to explore technical boundaries and use new processes such as multiple injection. This is because the engineers not only used this enormous computing power for design calculations, but also for the simulation and testing of all engine functions.

Finally the engineers used PCs to establish the best possible configurations for all components, so that they met precisely formulated criteria and could be approved for production of the first prototypes. After this exhaustive verification process, the first engines in the new V-engine generation from Mercedes-Benz immediately ran reliably and met all expectations on the test bench.

A short history of injection engines – Mercedes-Benz is a pioneer in direct gasoline injection

• The legendary 300 SL was the trailblazer
• First gasoline engine with piezo-electric direct injection and spray-guided combustion

In 1954 Mercedes-Benz equipped the legendary 300 SL with a four-cylinder engine featuring direct gasoline injection as a world first for series production cars. Since then, the company has pioneered direct gasoline injection technology for cars with ongoing further development and improvements.

In 1994, the researchers and engineers at Mercedes-Benz entered new technological territory when they began the development of a spray-guided combustion process. In the view of specialists, this offers the greatest potential for mastering two of the major automotive engineering challenges of the future, namely further reductions in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.

At the end of 2002 Mercedes-Benz presented a new development stage in direct gasoline injection with the new 1.8-litre CGI four-cylinder engine (Europe only). CGI stands for “Stratified Charge Gasoline Injection”.

The second-generation CGI process reached a new level in the CLS350 CGI introduced in Europe in 2006: the four-door coupé featured the world’s first gasoline engine with piezo-electric direct injection and spray-guided combustion. This six-cylinder unit achieved a fuel saving of around ten percent versus the V6 gasoline engine with port injection.

The present state of the art is now reflected by the new V8 engines with third-generation direct injection and multi-spark ignition. They combine a high output with excellent economy and environmental compatibility, and offer refinement at the highest level.

Engine Production – The cradle of engine design

• A success story from the outset
• State-of-the-art engine technology
• Exemplary approach to environmental protection at the plant

Bad Cannstatt has a long and successful history as the birthplace of Mercedes-Benz engines. For it was here that 125 years ago Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach built their “grandfather clock” – the world’s first single-cylinder engine. It was to become a pioneering invention which simultaneously marked the birth of automotive mobility. Today, just a stone’s throw from Daimler’s famous green-house – the original scene of these activities – is located the most recent sub-plant of the Untertürkheim plant, the V-engine factory at Bad Cannstatt.

This “factory of the future” was officially opened in 1997. For the first time the all-new engine series for 6 and 8-cylinder engines was produced using the same state-of-the-art production facilities. Even then, the objective was to achieve effi-cient production using as many common components as possible for the variants of the new engine series. With a high production output, this meant reduced costs – which ultimately also benefited the customer. The decision to locate to Bad Cannstatt at the time involved an investment worth approximately 1 billion Deutschmarks, 700 million DM of which were earmarked for plant construction and equipment alone.

In 2004 the original production area of 217,500 square feet was expanded by around 60,000 square feet to 277,000 square feet. With a workforce of around 900 employees, the specialist V-engine production facility is today a key part of the production network. Since its official opening, over four million V-engines have come off the assembly lines at the Cannstatt plant. And this success story is set to continue with production of the new series. In addition to pure engine as-sembly, Cannstatt is also responsible for the mechanical processing of key com-ponents such as crankcases, crankshafts, con rods and cylinder heads.

Envirtonmental protection as a matter of routine

Even at its official opening the Cannstatt plant was considered proof that efficient production, ecological commonsense and attractive jobs were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Here, minimum energy requirements went hand in hand with the optimum use of all resources. This involved, for example, minimizing waste materials and recycling process fluids and chips from mechanical processing. With its closed-loop process recycling systems, Cannstatt is almost completely free of wastewater and waste materials, and the plant falls well within legal limits for clean gas values.

The Bad Cannstatt plant has set new standards with approaches that combine the utilization of waste heat and heat recovery with an advanced photovoltaic system. The solar paneling – which covers an area of 16,000 square feet and at the time was one of the largest systems found anywhere in the world – generates an an-nual energy output of 350,000 kWh. This is sufficient to meet the electricity needs of more than 120 homes. The electricity generated is fed directly into the plant grid.

For production of the new series the plant adopted the award-winning principle of minimum quantity lubrication, which involves mixing minimum quantities of lubricant with cold air instead of using conventional cooling lubricant. The new process uses a fraction of the volume of cooling lubricant previously used. Since these substances are manufactured from petroleum and demand both energy and cost intensive preparation, the innovation of minimum quantity lubrication represents an enormous cost advantage and a significant contribution to environmental protection.

In addition, a true eco-paradise has been created on the outskirts of the plant. The “Neckar gravel bed” concept was developed in collaboration with environmental and nature conservation associations. After replicating a Neckar meadow over an area of 13,000 square feet – complete with its own characteristic heat islands and warm microclimate – it has been shown that 40 species of wild bee have now found a new habitat.

Today, the first Mercedes-Benz Viano transporter came off the new production line in Fuzhou produced by FJDA. Fujian Daimler Automotive is a joint venture with Fujian Motors Group (FJMG), China Motor Corp. (CMC) and Daimler AG, established in 2007.

Mr. Lian Xiaoqing, Chairman of Fujian Motor Group (FJMG) and FJDA expressed his gratitude for the great support given by various government departments, FJDA shareholders and all its employees. He said: “The successful production of the first Viano and Vito not only signifies that FJDA has entered into a new era of development, but also symbolizes the successful launching of another automotive joint venture across the western Taiwan Strait. This will be of important significance to consolidate and lift the market competence of the auto industry in Fujian Province. I anticipate FJDA’s very first product to be launched on schedule and to achieve very positive feedback in the market.”

“As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Today, with the first customer vehicle coming off the line, the shareholders and employees of FJDA are taking our first step together to provide exceptionally well-built, locally-produced Mercedes-Benz transporters to our customers in China,” said Ulrich Walker, Chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia, “Mercedes-Benz Vito/Viano and Sprinter multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) are extremely well-suited to meet the needs of businesses and families, who appreciate the quality and functionality of these versatile transporters. They are known around the world for their capability and flexibility to transport people or cargo comfortably, reliably and efficiently. As China’s economy continues to expand, more and more consumers and businesses will need the reliable and economical transportation solutions that these vehicles provide.”

Since February Fujian Daimler Automotive has been producing prototype vehicles at its new facility in Fuzhou to prepare for today’s nationwide market launch. From the beginning of production, every locally-produced vehicle has more than 40% of its parts and components sourced from China-based suppliers.

The premium MPV/transporter market in China is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the mid-term. It grew 32% in 2009, with 384,000 MPVs sold in China, compared to 292,000 sold in 2008.

FJDA is expanding its dealer network to more than 40 outlets nationwide. Customers can expect the same high attention to detail and service at all Mercedes-Benz retail outlets.

FJDA Manufacturing Facility

FJDA’s manufacturing facility includes body, paint and assembly areas, totaling 128,000 square meters. FJDC currently has 1,300 local employees, but it will increase substantially as the plant continues to to ramp up production. At maximum capacity on a two-shift operation, FJDA will be able to produce up to 40,000 vehicles annually, but will be flexible enough to adjust volume and model mix based on demand.

Just like all the plants which produce Mercedes-Benz vehicles around the world, FJDA uses the Mercedes-Benz Production System (MPS) to ensure that high standards are consistently met with every through a rigorous series of tests and checks. It is designed to be lean and efficient, balancing the amount of supplier inventory on the production line, as well as the production processes at each individual station.

Obviously without wheels a vehicle is going nowhere – this simple observation not only describes the basic technical requirement for a properly functioning motor car, but also highlights the importance of the wheel as part of a powerful vehicle design. At Mercedes-Benz, high-quality wheels which match the bodywork and form a logical continuation of the design therefore play a significant role in the high design standards of the overall vehicle. At the Mercedes-Benz design centre, light-alloy wheels available either as standard or as optional extras are designed by specialists in the area which is also responsible for creating the entire exterior form of the vehicle.

The heritage behind Mercedes-Benz wheel design

Basically all Mercedes-Benz wheels follow a specific design guideline which nevertheless gives sufficient scope for a wide variety of styles, such that individualisation options in this area are not limited. The characteristics of wheels bearing the Mercedes star primarily adhere to the principle of highlighting the vehicle design in the respective model families. To this end, the designers make particular use of sculptured, modelled areas with powerfully flowing lines, while pure, basic geometry is usually always avoided. This can also lead to completely different design approaches being adopted within a model series. Take the S-Class as an example: most customers want elegant wheels, which can result in a delicate, multi-spoke design on the one hand, or a generously sized and less structured design on the other. Once on the vehicle, however, both solutions achieve the desired elegance. In contrast, SUV models and off-road vehicles always require striking, powerful, almost muscular wheels. For Roadsters and Coupés, the focus is squarely on sportiness. Among other things, the wheels look as big as possible thanks to maximum “connection with the outside”: for the most part the wheel spokes blend smoothly and seamlessly into the wheel rim flange. As a result, these models have a road stance which is powerful, almost crouching, ready for the off.

The development engineers define the design space which is available for the designers to work in. This leads to the creation of wheels which, thanks to their exceptional performance, support the high level of driving dynamics, excellent comfort and pioneering safety which are typical of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. By the same token, the designers can also work freely within the available space to come up with impressive wheel models which feature the customary high level of design quality.

A glimpse of the wheels of the future

Just like vehicle designers, wheel designers must also be able to look into the future, since due to the complex development process it can take some time before their designs actually appear on the market. But of course they are not able to use a crystal ball to help with their predictions. Research into the future and the recognition of trends is supported by Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios located throughout the world, intensive customer surveys, contact with dealerships, market research and specialist agencies. These investigations have resulted in the following specific basic principles:

• The trend towards larger wheels, mounted so that they are flush with the outer edge of the vehicle body, continues to apply in all vehicle classes. This style reflects power, dynamism and driving stability.

• In the future, Mercedes-Benz customers want even higher value wheels with elaborately processed surfaces and more sophisticated colour designs.

• Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz Accessories will further expand the diversity of their product ranges from the current 130 wheel models in order to provide customers with even more individualisation options.

It all starts with product development: Complex programme for the best quality

Mercedes-Benz guarantees the quality of its new wheel models with a comprehensive development programme. As part of this, the tests and inspections which are carried out go far beyond the statutory requirements. Even when it comes to wheel development, one basic principle is applied: in the development and testing phases, Mercedes-Benz bases its work on the actual load profile of light-alloy wheels under real operating conditions and coordinates its programme accordingly. As a result, light-alloy wheels bearing the Mercedes star are among the safest, best performing and most durable products on the entire automotive market. At the same time, it is irrelevant whether we are talking about a wheel from the standard or optional ranges, or one from the wide range of accessories available from Mercedes-Benz Accessories – the process is always based on the same high standards.

Development dominated by the digital worlds

Early in the development phase of a new light-alloy wheel, engineers first specify the rough framework conditions within which to work: new wheel types for car models are determined in close cooperation with those responsible for the vehicle model series. At the same time, wheel specialists examine wheel market trends. These parameters then define the necessary wheel dimensions. The following basic principle is applied: data such as the gross axle weight, the size of the wheel well or any necessary brake clearance provide the installation space within which the designers have free space for their designs – all of course in accordance with exacting Mercedes-Benz design requirements. After a technical feasibility study, the final wheel design is determined.

A three-dimensional volume model is then produced using modern 3D computer programs. For visualisation and discussion purposes with the development team, developers can use this model to create three-dimensional drawings, or to specify component properties such as weight, machining options in the subsequent

production process, material distribution or even natural resonances and inertia moments. On the basis of these data records, the wheel is optimised with virtual test data using finite element analysis (FE analysis for short). In the digital world, it is possible to simulate demanding mechanical or thermal operating conditions: for example, cornering at maximum wheel load, or driving over a pothole or the kerb, or the brake heat load generated on a long downhill stretch. As such, conclusions can also be drawn about the subsequent production process and how it can be improved: if the intended wheel model is gravity die-cast and the material solidifies as required, will it be possible to remove the cast wheel blank from the mould without any problems? After preparing the light-alloy wheel in this virtual world, a digital mock-up is created – a computer-aided wheel model – which serves as the basis for all subsequent steps.

Based on the mock-up, the wheel manufacturer responsible for production sets up the necessary moulds, production tools and processes, after which the first sample wheels are produced. In this “prototype phase”, the wheel manufacturer conducts detailed examinations in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz to assess the resulting wheels and the entire production process. The objective: to optimise production at a high quality level. If this objective is reached, a true ordeal awaits the new wheels, which will be taken from the finely-tuned large-scale production test run.

In cooperation with the vehicle development divisions, aerodynamic aspects can also be incorporated into the design process. Flow simulations have shown that aerodynamically optimised light-alloy wheels and tyres can improve the overall aerodynamics of the vehicle, which in real driving conditions helps to reduce fuel consumption and can lead to a reduction in CO2 of one gram per kilometre.

“ZWARP” replaces six weeks of test driving at the Hockenheimring

One of the most effective test methods for assessing a new light-alloy wheel is “ZWARP”, from the German “ZWei-Axiale Räder-Prüfstand” (biaxial wheel test bench). Unlike a conventional rolling test in which the wheels run straight on an external roller with a specific ground contact force, the ZWARP uses an oversized roller to subject the wheels to both ground contact and lateral forces generated as a result of additional transverse movement of the test system in two directions. This is why it is called ZWARP (biaxial).

First of all the wheels are fitted with the corresponding tyre size, and to make the test conditions tougher they are initially damaged on the inner wheel rim flange by simulating driving over a kerb at 2.5 times the normal wheel load. At the same time this initial damage is also used as an individual “inner rim flange impact” test, in which deformation is not to exceed a few millimetres. Once this starting requirement is met, the actual test run takes place, divided into 22 load blocks. The load blocks are based on the subsequent application profile of the vehicle – so according to whether the wheel is intended for a saloon, a roadster, an off-road vehicle or a people carrier. The test conditions are extreme: as part of the test run the wheels are subjected to a ground contact force of up to 35 kN over several thousand kilometres, which in real operating terms equates to the distance travelled over the entire service life of the vehicle. By applying steering movements, the wheel is also pressed against the side lip of the rotating drum with a lateral force of up to 25 kN, thus simulating the wheel loads generated during sharp cornering. The requirement imposed by Mercedes-Benz for this marathon is that despite initial mechanical damage, the test wheel should not show signs of any cracks over the test distance. If a wheel passes the ZWARP test, based on experience it will usually last the life of the vehicle several times over under normal operating conditions.

Looking back, we can now appreciate the significance of the ZWARP: previously these loads were applied to the vehicle in test drives on the race track in Hockenheim and took around six to eight weeks. At that time, together with the other tests, only around 10 light-alloy wheels could therefore be tested and finally approved in a year. The ZWARP, on the other hand, is significantly more consistent over just a few days since, unlike the practical test drives in Hockenheim which were influenced by changing weather conditions, it always runs under the same, defined conditions. Today it takes around four weeks for complete approval. In one year, therefore, the engineers and technicians can issue approvals for around 150 new light-alloy wheels. Currently, however, the test programme does not run completely without any practical tests: prototypes of new vehicle models are for the most part fitted with new wheel types for their trials and test drives. These test results are also incorporated into the assessment and approval of new types. And there is an interesting point to note here: you may not be aware but for the most part photos of prototypes therefore not only depict new vehicles, but also new wheels.

From bending to breaking: the rotary bending fatigue test

Another stress test is the rotary bending fatigue test. For this, employees clamp wheels with the inner rim side locked positively in a jig, and fix the wheel disc to a hub using the normal holes for the wheel bolts, as when fitting a wheel to a vehicle normally. This stresses the wheel structure with load cycles through oscillating movements, simulating maximum cornering in which bending moments of between 1900 and 11,000 Nm are applied. This test is conducted in parallel on several wheels and under different load conditions:

• 4 wheels successfully complete 200,000 load cycles with a 100% bending moment
• 4 wheels successfully complete 800,000 load cycles with a 75% bending moment – this is four times the statutory requirement

All wheels have to survive under these conditions without any cracks forming. However, the test is continued until such time as initial cracks start to appear. This has shown that light-alloy wheels from Mercedes-Benz are able to withstand up to several million load cycles without suffering any damage – which means they are able to last for quite a few vehicle lifetimes under normal operating conditions.

Convincing proof of stability

In addition to the inner wheel rim flange impact test forming part of the ZWARP test, light-alloy wheels aspiring to bear the Mercedes star must also withstand two further attacks. This is where, figuratively speaking, the tests turn medieval, since the wheels are placed under a type of guillotine. In the so-called impact test, which simulates driving over an obstacle such as a kerb at an angle, the wheel is fixed horizontally at a slight tilting angle under a blunt guillotine. The guillotine blade is then dropped at a weight which is calculated according to the permissible wheel load (0.6 times the wheel load plus 180 in kilograms), and from a specified height, onto the outer wheel rim flange. This not only results in an ear-deafening impact, but also in deformation of the impacted area of the wheel rim. This deformation should not exceed a specified level, and there should also be no chips or leaks. The tyre which is fitted must retain its pressure after the impact, in order to enable the vehicle to continue to be driven if this were to happen in reality.

The second guillotine process is similar, only this time the wheel is stood up vertically and the tyre tread is struck by the guillotine blade with greater force so that it goes through to the wheel rim flanges. Here too the damage must not lead to the complete failure of the wheel/tyre system.

Often underestimated: the wheel bolt connection

The importance of secure wheel bolt connection requires no further explanation. Achieving a secure connection, however, is not as simple as is generally assumed. The bolt connection system – comprising the wheel bolts, the new light-alloy wheel and the vehicle wheel hub – is therefore checked and if necessary optimised using a special test facility. Of key importance for correct wheel bolt connection is the specified torque for tightening the wheel bolts. There is a defined prestress for this, which is responsible for connecting the wheel to the vehicle. The engineers at the Mercedes Technology Centre (MTC) carry out extensive fine-tuning in this area in order to ensure that the bolt connection guarantees the highest possible level of safety. This is because prestress is influenced by a number of factors: the frictional force of the bolt thread in the wheel hub thread, the frictional force of the bolt head in the wheel crown, and the contact areas between wheel, brake disc and wheel hub.

If the frictional force of the bolt connection is too low, the wheel nut could overstretch at the specified tightening torque due to the prestress being too high. Although it sounds ironic, these circumstances could lead to the bolt connection becoming loose. The wheel bolts should also therefore not be greased when being fitted as this could reduce the frictional force. If, in the opposite case, the frictional force is too high, the bolt connection would not have the necessary prestress at the specified tightening torque, and the wheel could also work loose. It is therefore absolutely vital that only original Mercedes-Benz wheel bolts are used, since they provide the optimum frictional force and therefore guarantee a secure bolt connection. Mercedes-Benz relies on the safest type of bolt connection by using wheel bolts which have a spherical crown behind the bolt head so that they fit precisely into the bolt holes of the wheel, which are also spherical. The correct prestress also supports the slightly concave contact area with which the wheel fits against the vehicle wheel hub.

Final OK after 3D measuring machine and visual inspection

The approval process for new light-alloy wheels also includes checking the geometric data with a 3D measuring machine using a fully automatic process. After the test wheel has been clamped in, the highly-precise system checks 20 main dimensions at 150 different points down to micro-level accuracy, and compares them against stored CAD data. Only when several wheels have also successfully passed this test within the very narrow tolerances, like all the other tests, is the Mercedes-Benz wheel development team able to carry out a final test for granting the final approval. Despite all of the technical options, these “human factor” assessments are also important. In particular, the team assesses:

Paint quality: in addition to the tests conducted in the corrosion test centre, the paint finish is examined for its colour scheme, layer thickness, inclusions or pores. In addition, contact areas and wheel holes must be free of any paint.

• Quality of the casting: no porosity or surface cavities.
• Machining: clean deburring.
• Specified weight check.
• Correct designation.
• Trouble-free fitting of the valve and tyre pressure monitoring system sensor.
• Valve for the tyre pressure monitoring system is accessible using air refill systems normally available at filling stations.
• Hub cover fits correctly.
• Runout check.

In the design of new vehicles, a lot can be simulated satisfactorily on the computer these days – with the exception of human behavior. This was the main reason for Daimler Benz AG to build the driving simulator. It was inaugurated on May 10, 1985 at the Research Center in Berlin-Marienfelde. The company had invested DM 25 million to be able to research the behavior of driver and vehicle in road traffic even more intensively.

The engineers had been convinced of the driving simulator’s significance and its wide range of uses even before it was built, but obtaining approval of the investment required something of a plot. This was because the then chairman of the board of management, Gerhard Prinz, was not entirely convinced of the idea and its expensive consequences. So, before setting out on a flight, he was persuaded by two people from Daimler-Benz Research to pay a visit to Lufthansa’s flight simulator at Frankfurt/Main airport, get into the cockpit of a jet and experience the “feeling” of such a facility. After the experience, Prince was thoroughly convinced, and the board of management approved the investment.

Simulators did already exist at the time for airplanes but not for motor vehicles. So Daimler-Benz Research had to develop the simulator from scratch all by itself. In the process the developers were faced with new challenges time and again, arising from the highly complex system and its elaborate interaction of mechanics, hydraulics and electronics. And they had to observe a tight timeframe. They were still putting on the finishing touches during the night from May 9 to 10, 1985. Rumor has it that the last members of staff collapsed into their beds at two in the morning. But their commitment paid off: in the morning of May 10, 1985, the simulator functioned in exactly the way it was meant to do in demonstrations to invited guests. A new era in vehicle and traffic research had begun.

The driving simulator’s functioning can be described as follows. The test chamber is mounted on extendable and controllable hydraulic legs. Inside the chamber, a 180-degree projection wall shows simulated road scenes, realistically complemented by houses, traffic signs, pedestrians and oncoming traffic. A vehicle is placed in front of the projection wall, and its controls are connected to the simulator’s complex computer control system by means of data lines. And off we go: whatever the person at the wheel is doing in the way of steering, accelerating and braking is sensitively registered – and responded to – by the computer control system. The depicted scene changes constantly, and the chamber on its extendable hydraulic legs simulates the position of the car relative to the ground, for instance by simulating a nose dive under heavy braking or side tilt.

This sounds simple but in fact requires an extremely complex computing process. The driving simulator’s hydraulic system performs all assumed movements of the car in real time: when the car is steered into a left corner, the platform must tilt outwards to the right at the same moment and to the extent that corresponds to the car’s lateral dynamics. The illusion becomes perfect when the driver feels the corresponding return forces at the steering wheel and hears the squealing of the tires. All this and much more is produced by the driving simulator.

As a result the artificial trip is highly realistic – and has one big advantage over real-world driving: the reactions of the persons at the wheel can be watched closely, and specific tasks can be set to them as well, of course.

Let’s take the example of an evasive maneuver in a critical situation. How do the majority of drivers react? In the driving simulator, the Mercedes-Benz engineers established that the majority of test drivers stepped on the brake pedal quickly but not hard enough, thereby sacrificing valuable meters of stopping distance. This finding led to the development of Brake Assist (BAS) which identifies the situation and automatically increases brake pressure.

Such developments are time and again triggered by research work in the driving simulator which is subsequently also used for testing the relevant new technologies. In a series of tests made with Brake Assist, 55 test persons drove through a town at 50 km/h when suddenly a child ran out onto the street, requiring emergency braking in order to prevent an accident. BAS reduced the accident rate by 26 percent. It was first installed in a Mercedes-Benz production car in 1996 and today forms part of the standard specifications of all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

The driving simulator can also be used for testing cars which are still at the design stage and merely consist in the form of a collection of data. Engine, gearshift, suspension and brakes can be tested even before the first test cars are set up – under all weather and road conditions, in city traffic, on the motorway, in the mountains, in fog and facing a low sun. The tests are made in real time, with all the movements a car would make in normal operation, i.e. when negotiating bends at high speed, accelerating and braking.

And that’s still not all. The researchers also look into issues such as the most reasonable routing of a planned road, the “inviting” design of the entrance to a tunnel, or the stresses to which drivers are subjected in different traffic conditions. The scope of research using the driving simulator is very wide indeed.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen is gearing up for the production of a fourth model of the high-volume C-Class model range. As of 2011, a Coupé will be added to a flexible production line, which already produces the three existing models. This will be a new addition to Bremen’s current production portfolio in the C-Class segment, comprising the Saloon, the Estate and the compact GLK sport utility vehicle (SUV).

“The decision by the Board of Management to produce the Coupé version of the current C-Class here in Bremen as well represents another important milestone on our way to becoming Mercedes’ competence centre for the C-Class and is a clear sign of the trust in the Bremen team’s capabilities and standards,” says Peter Schabert, Head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen.

The Bremen plant is developed into the worldwide competence centre for the high-volume C-Class model series. Allocating production of the new Coupé to the plant is in keeping with this strategy. As announced in December 2009, the launch of the next generation of the C-Class at the plant as of 2014 will see production of the C-Class Saloon for markets in Europe concentrated at a single location together with the production of the other C-Class model variants.

Flexible production

The Bremen plant is already demonstrating the flexibility of its production operations by producing three models (C-Class Saloon, C-Class Estate and GLK) on a single assembly line. The vehicles are able to pass along the assembly line in any conceivable order precisely as customer orders require, irrespective of model, variant (right- or left-hand drive, all-wheel or rear-wheel drive) and equipment. From 2011 the Bremen plant will be integrating a fourth model into the production process in the guise of the Coupé, demonstrating the plant’s flexibility once again.

Production portfolio of the Bremen plant

In addition to the models of the C-Class model series, vehicles belonging to the E-Class are also produced in Bremen, with the Coupé and Cabrio running in flexible configuration on a single production line. The roadsters of the SL- and SLK-Class are also produced exclusively in Bremen. With a workforce of around 12,600, the Mercedes-Benz plant is the largest private-sector employer in the region.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin is to produce a new generation of transmission-integrated electric engines for Mercedes-Benz hybrid vehicles from 2012 onwards. As a result of this decision, the site will add a key technology of the future to its production portfolio. The intensive collaboration between the plant and the research and development departments will create excellent conditions for the further development and production of the latest technologies.

Volker Stauch, Head of Powertrain Production at Mercedes-Benz Cars, says: “The electrification of the drive system will play an important part in mobility in the future. The Berlin plant already has a wealth of expertise in the manufacture of electrically controlled components. Through this decision, this site will play an even more important part in shaping the future drive systems portfolio of Mercedes-Benz.” Thomas Uhr, head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin, adds: “The whole team in Berlin has worked long and hard on building up the site’s potential in the field of electric mobility. It is thanks to our employees that our overall package has proved convincing. Our goal is to continue to gain points with our services in future and to help shape the age of electric mobility.”

With this decision, Mercedes-Benz Cars is continuing its strategy of building up technology for the electrification of drive systems as a core competence, also in production. The decision to award the contract for the development and production of the new transmission-integrated electric engine to Berlin was made as part of the overall strategy of actively shaping sustainable mobility. As part of this strategy, Daimler has also taken on a leading role in the development and production of battery cells and the future manufacture of lithium ion battery systems in two joint ventures with Evonik Industries AG.

Investment in future technologies

A hall with a surface area of 4,000 m² is currently being converted for the new scope of production at the Berlin plant. The company is to invest around EUR 40 million in total in the development and production of the new engine. The necessary machinery and equipment is to be set up in the new production buildings by early 2011. A total of 50 employees will be involved in the development and production of these electric engines at the site. The engines are expected to be used in Mercedes-Benz hybrid vehicles from 2012 onwards.

The electric engine is a transmission-integrated version, i.e. the electric engine is built in as part of the automatic transmission and can develop an engine power of 15 kW and more. It boosts performance by interacting with the combustion engine and lowers consumption by recovering energy during braking, for example, which charges the battery.

Tradition of electric engine production in Berlin

With a history going back over 100 years, the Berlin plant is firmly rooted in the German capital. The history of the electric engine has its origins here. Even at the end of the 19th century, the electric engine was already being regarded as an alternative to the combustion engine. Motorfahrzeug und Motorenfabrik Berlin-Marienfelde [Berlin-Marienfelde motor vehicle and engine factory], the precursor to the current Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin, presented its first electric vehicle as early as 1898. The partner for the project was the Columbia Electric Company in Connecticut, USA, which continued to produce electric cars until 1918.

The licensing agreement with the Berlin plant, which originated from the company Altmann & Cie. GmbH, was signed in 1897. In 1899, Motorfahrzeug- und Motorenfabrik Berlin-Marienfelde offered four different passenger cars based on the US patent. However, Columbia Electric’s electromobile system was unable to keep up with the rapid development of the combustion engine, and production in Berlin-Marienfelde stopped in 1902. In the same year, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft merged with Motorfahrzeug- und Motorenfabrik Berlin-Marienfelde, following a resolution passed on 16 August.

The Berlin plant currently produces V6 and V8 diesel engines and V12 biturbo engines for the Mercedes-Benz and Maybach brands. It also focuses on product development and production in the area of components and parts.

Dates, figures and facts about the Berlin plant:

Total area: 501,502 m²

Area taken up by buildings: 235,915 m²

Employee numbers (site/MBC share): 2,853/ 2,740

Plant manager: Thomas Uhr

Year plant founded: 1902

Annual production: Engines 104,544

As at: 12/2009

Past and present highlights:

1902 Takeover of Motorfahrzeug- und Motorenfabrik Berlin AG (MMB) by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG)

1936 Construction of large engines for ships and aircraft and production of off-road commercial vehicles

1962 Plant included in the production network for Daimler-Benz plants

1997 Production of the smart petrol engine begins

2005 Production of the new generation of V6/V8 diesel engines begins

2007 Production of BlueTEC versions of the V6 diesel engine begins

The new gullwing model is now at the starting line: following its world premiere at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt/Main in September 2009, series production of the SLS AMG is now commencing in Sindelfingen, the largest of the Mercedes-Benz production plants.

“Made in Sindelfingen also stands for the very highest production and product quality where the SLS AMG is concerned,” says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “From the end of March, our customers will be able to verify this for themselves.”

“The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has been extremely well received by our customers,” says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Even in advance of the actual market launch, orders have considerably exceeded our expectations. This shows that the exciting design and extraordinary concept of our gullwing model precisely meet the taste and aspirations of potential customers.”

In summer 2008 the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen was presented with the J.D. Power Award by the renowned US market research institute J.D. Power and Associates. This award goes to the automobile production plant with the best delivery quality worldwide. “We are very proud that the new gullwing model is being produced in Sindelfingen. The J.D. Power Award for worldwide top quality will directly benefit buyers of the SLS AMG,” says Volker Mornhinweg, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

Hand-production in three locations

A heavy emphasis on hand-production is a characteristic feature of the SLS – for the aluminium spaceframe, the engine and during final assembly. The chassis and aluminium bodyshell are produced by Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH in Graz/Austria. This highly respected system partner is able to look back on many years of cooperation with Daimler, as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been in production there since 1979. Innovative joining techniques are used in the lightweight spaceframe of the SLS AMG, which tips the scales at only 241 kilograms. Hand-production is also the order of the day at the AMG engine workshops in Affalterbach, where the 420 kW (571 hp) AMG 6.3-litre V8 power unit is assembled on the “one man, one engine” principle.

The assembly lines and production facilities in Sindelfingen were brought up to the very latest standards for final assembly of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This is where specially selected, highly qualified specialists produce the gullwing model substantially by hand. Premium quality is not only ensured by continuous monitoring of the ongoing production process. At the end of the production process, the entire vehicle is subjected to further, extensive quality checks.

A new legend delivering exceptional performance

The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG dazzles with its purist design, intelligent lightweight construction and superior handling dynamics, and is bound to cause a sensation in the super sports car segment. The new SLS AMG is nothing short of a masterpiece by Mercedes-AMG GmbH. As its first completely independently developed vehicle, the super sports car is the highlight in the company’s more than 40‑year history.It shows that AMG has development expertise at the highest level.

The unrivalled technology package of the SLS is an alluring proposition: aluminium spaceframe body with gullwing doors, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW (571 hp) peak output, 650 Nm of torque and dry sump lubrication, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in a transaxle configuration, sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones and a kerb weight of 1620 kilograms based on the DIN standard – this superlative combination guarantees driving dynamics of the highest order. With a front/rear weight distribution of 47 to 53 percent and the vehicle’s low centre of gravity, this extraordinary combination guarantees performance figures at the highest level. The gullwing model accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 317 km/h. A fuel consumption of 13.2 litres per 100 kilometres (combined) makes it one of the best in the competitive line-up.

Market launch of the multiple award-winning Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG from 27th March, 2010

In Germany alone, the SLS AMG has received a number of major awards in recent months: for example the coveted “iF product design award 2010” and the prestigious “Golden Steering Wheel 2009” award. Other awards include the “Auto Trophy 2009”, “TOPauto 2010” and the “Best new IAA product” award presented by AutoScout24.

The selling price of the SLS AMG is 177,310 EUR (incl. 19 % VAT) and sales will commence on 27th March 2010.

The Board of Management and the General Labor Council of Daimler AG have agreed on the details of a personnel concept for the Sindelfingen plant in connection with the reorganization of the worldwide Mercedes-Benz production network. As of 2014, production of the C-Class will be concentrated at the Bremen plant with additional production in the United States for the local market. This will allow the Daimler Group to increase its competitiveness and to profit optimally from growth opportunities.

Due to attractive job possibilities for the employees affected in Sindelfingen and the decision to produce the next generation of the E-Class and the S-Class in Sindelfingen, it will be possible to do without layoffs for operating reasons at the Sindelfingen plant until December 31, 2019. At the same time, the Board of Management and the Labor Council affirm their commitment to continuously improving the plant’s competitiveness and efficiency.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “With the decision on our new plant for compact cars in Hungary, the reorganization of C-Class production as of 2014, and the production commitment for the E-Class and the S-Class, we have set the course for the future of our key models. This long-term strategic planning will give us additional growth opportunities and will make a significant contribution towards improving our competitiveness.” Zetsche added: “This is the best way to protect jobs in Germany over the long term.”

As part of the “Sifi 2020” personnel concept, the Board of Management and the Labor Council have also specified the details of alternative job opportunities for the employees affected by the discontinuation of C-Class production in 2014. As previously announced, the assembly of the SL premium roadster will be transferred from Bremen to Sindelfingen. This will already offset a large part of the job reduction.

Approximately 2,000 attractive new jobs

As the result of various additional actions, approximately 2,000 attractive new jobs will be defined, reflecting the employees’ differing qualifications. Among other measures to be taken, Daimler will increase the depth of production in Sindelfingen, bring new technologies to the plant, and create jobs in research and development.

The actions decided upon also include additional assembly work with the integration of hybrid drives into vehicles and the construction of test vehicles, as well as an increased number of employees in the tooling shop for the production of machine tools. With regard to new technologies for example, Daimler will concentrate its activities in the area of lightweight technology at the Sindelfingen plant.