There's a decent chance your average hybrid owner wouldn't know the difference between a lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride battery if their life depended on it, but we know you -- dear reader -- are not one of those "average" joes / janes. That being the case, you may be interested to know that the 2009-bound S400 BlueHybrid is in prime position to be the world's first production Li-ion hybrid, which will offer up "compact dimensions and far superior performance" compared to existing rivals. M-B goes on to trumpet the technology's "high ampere-hour efficiency, long service life, and great reliability, even at very low temperatures." No word on just how astronomically high this thing will be priced at, but you can expect just shy of 30 miles-per-gallon in mixed driving conditions, for what it's worth.
posted Mar 1st 2008 1:04PM
If I put a 9v battery under the hood of my Hummer will it make it a hybrid?
only if its a rechargeable one!
You got that off Jeremey Clarkson didn't you?
Yup, I unashamedly half-inched it. However, I think he has a point, given that hybrid is becoming a catch all term meaning environmentally friendly.
sony made batteries?
Actually Toyota has been using a Li-on batteries in a production vehicle in the Japanese market Vitz hybrid since 2003.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/05/toyota-secretly-selling-lithium-ion-priuses-since-2003/
Also, there has been a heavy duty Diesel-hybrid in the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter that uses a Li-ion battery
http://www.mitfuso.com/pages/news-hevconcept.html
uh... can't even non-hybrid cars get 30mpg these days?
Exactly what I was thinking, my 1994 940 Volvo get's 25mpg on average.
i dont know why you're higly ranked, cuz honestly thats a stupid thing to say. 1) there's not a lot of 4500+ lb cars that get 30+ mpg. 2) considering that the regular 2008 s550 gets about 14 mpg mixed, i would say a 200% increase in mpg is definitely something to write home about.
@Simbadog... Actually I believe that would be a 100% increase.
Either way, the vehicle weighing 4500lbs is sad. Think about the great mileage it would get if it weighted 3500lbs.
I actually prefer my new Diesel Jetta, not luxurious but nice, and gets 49mpg. And with gas on its way to $4 a gallon this summer (diesel is already at $3.85 in Indpls) we are going to start brewing biodiesel this summer. Oh, and the diesels in the M-B are made by VW.
more than 1 typo in my first post...excuse me. but anyways, a 100% increase is astounding. there's not a single hybrid vehicle on the market (offered as a hybrid and a non hybrid version)that offers a 100% increase in fuel efficiency. to discredit this just because its still getting "only" 30 mpg is really naive. imagine if they offered this as a diesel hybrid in the US, as i'm sure they would do in Europe.
sony mande batteries?
The point is to be more environmental friendly or produce vehicles that use less oil. You can make a hybrid hummer, and I still wouldn't be impressed if it could now do 20mpg instead of 10mpg. I am astounded by how many people are driving huge trucks and SUV still as gas prices continues to climb. Everytime I look, the most passenger it would have is 2, most of the time is 1. Anyways, hybrid technology is useful if people make it out to be. I dont care for 20mpg hummers, because those mileage still sucks.
At first I thought the title read "Mercedes $400...". I almost crapped myself. Luckily I re-read it and stopped that from happening.
Thanks for letting us know the series of events that entailed your prairie-dogging.
It like to see what kind of explosion you can get from those batteries. I mean If you can blow a laptop fancy a whole car full of them
They are almost certainly using the far more stable LiFePO4 cells, probably from A123Systems.
I just hope someone has the presence of mind to youtube it.
An expensive car for rich people, but who else can afford the latest and greatest anyway.
Do you have a little anger against the wealthy?
So Mercedes is making a hybrid that gets the same gas mileage as their non-hybrids... but we're supposed to be impressed because it uses lithium batteries. Maybe it'll really be impressive when it's actually superior in some way to a regular car.
Like acceleration? Because if it uses the electrical drive for that, than it will be far superior off the line. assuming they make some good propulsion choices
check out
http://www.acpropulsion.com/
and
http://www.wrightspeed.com/specs.html
Uh, no. The current non-hybrid s-class gets 13 MPG, although it is a v-8. I can't see the 6 cylinder version of that engine getting 17 more miles out of a gallon of gas in that chassis...
Yet another person who gets high-ranked for some unknown reason. Find another high-end luxury sedan, in the same league as an S-class such as this, which gets 30MPG.
@Bloobie
The Lexus LS600h Hybrid is the car many believe has surpassed the S-Class in terms of Luxury, Performance, and gets decent fuel economy which begs the question: If you are spending more than $100,000 on a car, then I doubt you are really concerned about fuel economy or the cost of fuel to begin with; but if you are, then a car like this really is not for you to begin with.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/26/video-autobloggreen-reviews-the-lexus-ls600h-l/
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1752
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS#LS_600h_.2F_LS_600h_L
ahem: http://begthequestion.info
@I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY: well the LS600h is a hybrid as well, and I thought he was referring to luxury and fuel economy, not just flat out luxury, so I don't think your argument works. Also, the LS600h gets 21mpg averaged out, only 2mpg higher than the LS460's 19mpg (I got hose numbers from the article you referenced yourself). Luxury cars are heavy, 30mpg is pretty damn good.
Besides, who said the rich are worried about gas money? maybe they just done like the inconvenience of pumping gas that often and would prefer to do it only half as much? in the case of the 600h, its just a status thing.
Even my 1997 Vauxhall Vectra gets 30mpg, and it cost me £500... if this Merc comes in at £50,000 (likely to be more than that) I can buy about 45,500 litres of petrol which will get me 360,000 miles, or about 15 times round the Earth! I know which I'll stick with...
Well when you make a couple hundred thousand a year, like the poeple who can afford this, do you think they want to drive a 1997 anything?
I wish they would. Just because you can afford expensive toys doesn't mean you should actually buy anything and everything under the sun.
@ Matt Chalmers: Although your Opel, er I mean Vauxhall Vectra gets 30mpg too, chances are that a) the state of the ark exhaust system is nowhere near as clean as that on a new MB, and b) unlike you car, the MB will not disintegrate to rust after 25 years, nor will it implode and kill all occupants in a crash involving speeds greater than stop.
@BigD145:
Unlike you, I realise that people who buy luxury vehicles etc. are not only contributing to the economy (a good thing for all, except communists and hippies) but the profits companies make from such sales are used to fund R&D. New technologies trickle down from the expensive luxury models down to 'normal' models - eg. ABS, GPS, airbags, IR reflective window coatings etc. etc. etc.
You know Bob, not everyone with money is a complete tool. My wife and I could afford any car we want, and we ride bicycles and public transportation everywhere. My wife had a boss, at a major film studio, who made more than anyone would think was reasonable, and hadn't owned a car in over 20 years. Just because some jackasses feel the need to demonstrate their wealth through driving around in a 5000 pound status symbol, doesn't mean that everyone with that kind of money compulsively needs to buy a new car every couple years.
This is blasphemy... My 94 escort gets 38 MPG. stupid stupid stupid..
For those that want to drive a pile of crap, there is always your trusty 94 escort, which i'm sure you would be willing to rent out.
However , the options are somewhat restricted when it comes to saving the planet and looking respectable.30mpg is very good for a respectable car, but clearly not competitive as a piece of crap.
aside from the infuriating, stubborn refusal to offer energy efficient cars that the public can actually afford, what really gets me is that both rich buyer and manufacturer will probably get a tax credit for these things. our societal priorities are totally wrong. and don't lecture me about capitalism, please. the market is rigged.
Can the author correct the name. Mercedes' diesel technology is called "BluTech" not "BlueHybrid".
Other than that, good article.
BlueTec is their diesel brand name, however this S400 isn't a diesel, it's a gas-electric hybrid and BlueHybrid is what M-B is calling this.
BLUETEC is their exhaust treatment technology for diesel-powered cars, not the name of their hybrid technology.
Sorry I misunderstood. They also have a BlueTec diesel hybrid coming out, the S300.
Mercedes is just trying to catch up to BMW's Hydrogren-powered 7 series.
(and for god's sake, please change those stock s-class rims...gah!)
Those arent the stock rims. They are the stock rims for the hybrid. Look at cars that are stock and then compare them to their hybrid siblings and tell me which one has the butt-ugly rims
while we are on the subject of cars, these m3 ads are getting out of contRol
Hybrids aren't always about fuel efficiency, many cars use them for more power instead.
But anyways, while this isn't exactly the fairest comparison, the S550 (petrol) gets 16mpg, while this S400 gets nearly twice that. I'd say that's very good.
Conventional Li-ion batteries or the new high(dis)charge ones? The last thing would really make sense in a hybrid.
(In the future)
Yea, my new dodge viper has 440 liion power.
Li-On are in your engine, blowing up your cars.
30 miles-per-gallon - is that highway??
Sorry I spelled it wrong "BlueTec"
30MPG isn't too bad for a land-yacht, but my friend swears his gasoline based S550 gets a mixed 20MPG- which isn't bad either for a two-ton plus V8. Which with the EPAs 16/24 rating of this guy, is somewhat believable. I think I'd opt for a diesel S before the hybrid.
no , just expensive toys.
Wow, this is gonna be Mercedes' first hybrid in America as well I believe...
With 299hp, 0-60 in about 7s, and nearly 30mpg on the highway, this looks to be an amazing vehicle!
no one needs that much power---ever
Check out the Aptera.
Does it come with an automatic fire extinguisher?
I hope Sony isn't making those batteries. I don't want to hear stories of people driving their new Mercedes and suddenly the whole car goes up in Li-On Flames!
Get those new Polymer Ion batteries!
Don't Li-On batteries explode if they get punctured? this sounds like a bad idea in a car
doesn't petrol/gas sound like a bad idea in a car?
Lots of things explode if they are full of energy and you mess with them.
1) more of the same, this time from Mercedes
2) one would be very excited if we see a real breakthrough
3) we are fighting wars for resources
4) much of the population in wealthy nations is obese
5) most trips are short ones
6) war-mongers and oil-mongers count their cash
7) there is this thing called a bicycle, which would do a lot to reduce individual waste and promote far less reliance on undesirable activities and outcomes
Here's hoping for a real breakthrough for cars tho, because frankly they ARE necessary sometimes, even tho most of the population could reconsider their transport choices for most trips
Mercedes are nice but I think you get a little more bang for the buck with Lexus. Rumor has it Lexus should be all hybrid within the next couple of years. Hopefully they'll have good battery tech (with GOOD mpg), BR nav and a chilled cupholder - the three things my current car is sadly lacking
I wouldn't mind seeing an article from Engadget about what to expect if switching to a hybrid. As the technology increases in popularity, I'm wondering about the long term maintenance of the system.
Will (expensive) batteries have to be replaced like laptops?
Does the recharge system require tons of maintenance?
Who's system is the most efficient?
So far my Benz has only required an oil change every 15k miles and a brake change...and I'm almost on 90k miles! Glad to see hyrbrids but, I'm not sure if their cost justifies the minor savings.
Damn almost makes me wish I hadn't just ordered my S550. Well actually no not at all. Perhaps Mercedes should focus these on the poor market, i.e the C class. My word to Mercedes: I just dropped six figures on a car, you think I give a damn about milage?
Ok, reality check Honestly, the car is a luxury car, maybe hybrid has some perks. But honestly, the 14 mpg doesn't bother me. Yes, I'll be the only one riding in it. Wasteful and excessive, perhaps, but it doesn't bother me. I really can't see any other S owner except maybe a few green freaks loving or wanting this thing. The only purpose of this thing is a proof of concept to bring down into the E-conomy and C-rap classes, which is more in the price range of those people actually worried about milage.
Anyways, pompus rant, sorry, any other S owners out there on Engadget though I'd be interested to hear your own opinion on this.
You forget that this part of the process to reduce and eventually even eliminate our need for fossil fuel powered transport. It's not just about saving money. BTW, enjoy you car when the oil runs out.
...which will happen during the course of my ownership of the car over the next two years?
Further, if the US were to say, stop receiving ANY fossil fuel, our wells dried up and reserves ran out...why would I not just buy a new car??? I don't quite understand your comment. If we have a national shift to a different type of fuel I would buy a new car...so...I don't understand your "point."
@Twitchy
While Alex may be a pompous ass, I'm afraid he's right. The people that can afford a car that's more than $100,000 can afford to buy a new car when the new technology that replaces fossil fuels comes out. Mercedes isn't really using this hybrid as an "environmental" halo car. Yeah, the extended MPG is nice, MB is positioning this technology like Lexus is. While the GS and LS sedans do have hybrid options available, they aren't there for the MPG. They're there because of the added power and acceleration. Imagine the performance of a V8 sedan, on a V6, etc...
-Antwan L.
I will never understand people with an attitude like yours Alex. I don't care if you are billing your time at $1000 an hour, you are still a tool if you think that it makes any kind of sense to throw away your money. Most of the people I know who actually keep their money, do it through careful financial planning, and minimizing wasteful expenditures, so are quite happy to find a way to cut any expense. You sound like the kind of person who is worth a few million one year, and then five years later is having to scramble to keep up the payments on all your property, while your more frugal friends spend the rest of their life never having to worry about money again, because they weren't proud of how much of it they could throw away.
Following the luxury market for a while, I've noticed this:
They always release the newest technology on their flagship models. Most people wonder why but, most people forget a few things about technology. When newly developed tech hits the market, cost reflects R&D and high-cost newly adopted production methods. A C-class user won't pay the premium for the bells as whistles because it would end up costing almost as much as the car itself.
Bleeding edge tech is released on flagships so the lines can have bragging rights and recoup costs. Once the manufacturing process is honed then, they release the product to the masses at a cheaper costs.
You're right though, they didn't do this for people concerned with gas prices...
I am just concerned about the battery.
ıt should be extremely high capacity to power up a car and as Li-ion batteries wear out by time and use, won't it be a disaster to replace such an extremely powerful (and pricy) the battery after a few years?
If they have a solution for that, then it's really excellent.
My 2007 Toyota Camry 4 cyl gets 28 mpg every tankfull of mixed driving and is nearly as large inside and out-cost $21,000
My 2007 Camry 4 cyl gets 28 mpg every tankfull of mixed driving, is nearly as large inside and out--$21,000
I don't understand why people insist on comparing "luxury" vehicles to "non-luxurious" vehicles? I get this feeling of envy or jealousy when ever I read these type of post. As an entrepreneur you have to impress your customers and let them understand that this is how successful you are in this field where you can go out and afford a car of this class.
Anyways 30mpg for a 4.5k pound vehicle is okay, but it doesn't reduce our dependency of petroleum. I actually own an S550 (whether or not you believe me; that's completely up to you) and it averages 19 or so miles per gallon on the highway and 14 to 16 miles per gallon in the city. (Sounds hypocritical for someone who made a statement about dependency on petroleum and drives a gas guzzler, but who isn't hypocritical)
i am so confused now. arent there already electric cars out in the market?
Why does it say 'aims to be first to use Li-ion battery' ..
what about tesla motors..dont they use lithium battery..?