Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid aims to be first to use Li-ion battery
By Darren Murph 
posted March 1st 2008 1:04PM
posted March 1st 2008 1:04PM
posted March 1st 2008 1:04PM
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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..?