Mercedes Talk

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz is developing an enhanced safety system which will automatically swerve around pedestrians to avoid road mishaps. The head of safety development, Ulrich Mellinghoff, foresees that the technology will be available as soon as 2015.

During the Detroit Auto Show, Mellinghoff explained that around 80% of the accidents on the road involving people entail only 20% of the car’s front hitting the pedestrian. They did the math and studies show that it will only take a Mercedes Benz to swerve by 40 to 50 centimeters to avoid the pedestrian detected by the safety system.

Safety on the road is ultimately the responsibility of the driver so the technology will still encourage that the driver should react first during a potential road mishap. This concept is also applied on other Mercedes safety systems.

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During the Detroit Auto Show back in January, Mercedes-Benz wowed the public with the unveiling of three electric vehicle concepts coined BlueZERO. The EVs have a modular build allowing sharing of technology and architecture. The BlueZero still works the same way but Mercedes-Benz added E-CELL PLUS, a combustion engine to the package.

Some may look at the addition of the 3 cylinder engine as step back as the cars goes from being an EV to being a hybrid but looking at the feasibility angle, that is the best option.

Without the E-CELL PLUS, the BlueZERO vehicles’ range will not be that impressive. That brings anxiety to the consumers who will worry of what they must do if they run out of battery while on the road. Injecting the range extender technology allows the cars to run 100km on pure electricity then an additional 500 km when using the gas-electric engine combo.

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The Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster has been performing well for the company since it was unveiled in 2004. However cool it might be after a mid-cycle facelift, the market still gets tired of how it looks like. Mercedes-Benz though has been baking a new SLK that is due for release by 2011.

The new SLK is 200 pounds lighter and gets a bigger 11.2 cubic feet of trunk space. Car enthusiasts love the additional cargo space which makes the roadster more functional for everyday use or a weekend round of golf.

According to some rumors, the Mercedes-Benz SLK is also getting a new power plant variant that is capable of a 300 to 350hp output. There might also be a V8 version with 3.6L displacement and capable of injecting 470hp for the AMG variant.

Some industry experts are also tipping that the 2011 SLK might adopt the 2.2L diesel engine currently being used by the C250 CDI. This engine has 204hp but some are doubtful that the American market can appreciate the boost that it can give to the car. Diesels engines for the C-Class and the GLK build might be okay but it might not be appreciated for a sporty SLK; however it will do good for fuel economy.

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The global financial crisis has the car industry in a steady downward spin, pushing even those considered as the best and toughest brands in the brink of bankruptcy. In the previous year, even Karmann, famous for the conversion of the Ghia, has been hit by a series of potentials closures and purchase. Today, it’s finally closing doors and while bankruptcy is the next rational step to save their hide, nothing is still certain.

The Mercedes-Benz CLK, which was recently replaced by the new comer E-Class Coupe, is the final automobile that Karmann built. However, the said model finally left the Mercedes-Benz assembly line. A report in Strait Times tackled the issue of whether a new Karmann model will be revealed in the near future with a different partner.

As most sudden closures, a fight erupted as Karmann’s workers’ union, the IG Metall, raised their demands. Unfortunately and ultimately, the slowdown of the industry itself that caused the big reduction in production and sales is the one to blame for the sudden closures of several car companies these days.

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If we’re talking about modified cars, Mercedez Benz models are not new to this arena. In fact, in the past few years, it has become one of the tuners’ favorite models to prep not just for showcase purposes but also for professional races.

However, modified cars look just about the same: flashy wheels with enough bling to make the blind see, kick-ass body kits, and last but not definitely not the least, more power. Tuning company Lorinser adapts this age-old formula for almost all the cars it modifies, and, ironically, comes up with models not too far from their original state.

Lorinser’s latest showcase is the high-end Mercedes C63 AMG, a high-end, high performance model to begin with. With this particular model under its wings, Lorinsers is planning to participate in this month’s Tuner Grand Prix in Hockenheimring, Germany. Lorinsers gives C63’s LV8 engine 500HP and 442lb-ft of torque.

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Automakers around the world spend money and effort to come up with vehicles that will answer the needs of the market today, in terms of style, efficiency, and parts. Mercedes Benz which is set to release the new ML-Class SUV by 2011 may derive the concepts from the next gen of R-Class and G-Class or other future power trains.

The new breed of ML may have a smaller body compared to the current version of the ML. The wheelbase though appears to be the same.

There are also reports that Mercedes Benz is working on a hybrid M-Class that can run on both electric power and diesel. A hybrid petrol variant is already due to roll out before the end of this year. The car manufacturer may also come up with a plug-in hybrid ML running on an 80hp electric power train coupled with a V6 3.5L twin turbocharged engine.

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It may be the right time for Mercedes Benz to give SLK its well deserved next sibling. The roadster was born in 2004 and even with the midlife facelift, the looks and the works can just be a bit tiring. A new SLK is taking form and has been testing the asphalt in Germany.

Auto industry spies report that the proportions of the new Mercedes Benz SLK cannot be appreciated yet due to the thick slabs used to camouflage it. The LED daylight which has been the recent trend for the Benz fleet is evident.

The hood seems to be longer than its older sibling and the seats look a bit pushed back. The side mirrors are also attached to the doors with thinner bars.

The angle between the rear deck and hard top is a tinge of the SLC 2010. The lines of the front end of the new SLK also hints which design forms are being shared with other member of the Mercedes Benz fleet. Good thing though that the front provides a fresher look compared to the older generation Benz.

The SLK will have under its hood a 2.2L diesel power train derived from the C250 CDI. It can produce 204hp which is more like the output of the C-Class and GLK. Some say that the SLK may have a so-so performance if this diesel powerplant rolls in the U.S. market. The engine may just fall short of the sporty experience expected from an SLK.

There might also be an AMG variant that will have a whopping 470hp V6 engine. We might get more revelations with regard to the specs of the new SLK as it goes forward its development.

The new SLK will be in dealerships before the end of 2010 and may have a sticker price close to the current release of $46,000.

MORE SPY PHOTOS AT MOTOR AUTHORITY!!

Car experts and enthusiasts raised eyebrows last year when information with regard to name change of the CLK to become the E-Class Coupe leaked out. Now about a month ago, the same issue was raised when the car manufacturer announced that the new Coupe E-Class is based on the platform of the C-Class just like its older sibling the CLK.

The Mercedes-Benz team is very busy coming up with the CLR or the new Cabrio C-Class. Designers fit this car with a collapsing hard top to meet the market competition head on.

Right now, the CLC is the forerunner of Mercedes in that classification but its physique of being a 3-door liftback doesn’t really perfectly fit the picture. It is also based on the DNA of the older Sportcoupe C-Class.

The CLC is a bit behind when compared to the new C-Class and it will most likely see the end of its line during the mid-cycle of the range.

According to Mercedes-Benz insiders, the CLC will be killed from production by 2010 and be replaced with a more competitive 2011 C-Class Coupe.

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The C-Class of Mercedes-Benz was upgraded last January with implementation of the CGI BluEfficiency, a direct fuel injection technology, to the unveiled C350 CGI BlueEfficiency. The line up is further made stronger with the addition of three new variants of fuel efficient engines.

The three new engine options were derived from the DNA of 4-cylinder power plants while the C350 a V6 CGI Bluefficiency engine.

The C220 gets a 2.2L turbodiesel CDI BlueEfficiency under its hood which is claimed to be the most efficient of the pack. This new engine outputs 170hp and generates a torque of 295 lb-ft. The C220 can burst from 0 to 100 in an impressive 8.4 seconds. The car’s fuel mileage is also excellent at 49 mpg or 4.8L/100km. Emissions will also not be a problem at 127 g/km.

Another member of the new C-Class line up is the C250 turbodiesel with CDI BlueEfficiency. The powertrain under the hood of the C250 is more powerful with 204 hp and a torque of 369lb-ft. The C250 only takes 7 seconds flat to blaze the car from 0 to 100. It is also very fuel efficient with a mileage of 5.1 L/100km or 46 mpg.

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300SL or otherwise known as Gullwing – has been resurrected five decades after the 2-seater set the 1954 New York auto show into frenzy. Now that Gullwing is named SLS – and will sure steal the spotlight for Mercedes-Benz at the Frankfurt’s motor show on September 2009.

Prototypes are now making a buzz to give car aficionados a glimpse of its design and specifications. Volker Mornhinweg, AMG boss, had stated that the redefinition of this Mercedes still holds it 300SL features. They just made the modernized reinvention with the long bonnet, well carved wings, erected windscreen, well-furnished doors and a rounded turret. Aside from those, they had also tapered the rear sides of the car.

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