Mercedes-Benz aiming to ditch petroleum by 2015?
By Darren Murph 
posted June 28th 2008 8:11PM
posted June 28th 2008 8:11PM
[Via AutoblogGreen, thanks Dan]
posted June 28th 2008 8:11PM
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Only drastic action like that is going to change anything. We've seen the transportation industry drag it's feet on alternative fuels for a couple decades now. The only way to change is to force them to by competition or much tighter emissions/efficiency standards. If Mercedes can pull this off, they'll have the market cornered with everyone else being forced to convert as quickly as they can.
They also have many diesel vehicles, making bio-diesel for every vehicle very viable. They could be the ones to start a revolution.
bravo good sir. i 100% agree. these are the kind of goals we need to setting. we need forward thinkers who are willing to push the boundaries of what can be accomplished in a given amount of time. i look forward to where this is headed if this rumor is true. hopefully other auto makers will follow suit.
its also a welcome change to see the first comment on a blog not be something retarded like "first!" or "well apple's still better than microsoft"
What are you talking about? MB is playing serious catch-up to both Honda and Toyota in the alternative fuel/hybrid/electric car arena.
Right now they are, yes (except in the diesel/biofuel area, which they've been doing well for many years). But if they truly can go petroleum free (or close to it) by 2015, other companies will be left in the dust. Toyota or Honda may be able to stay in the game, but Ford, GM, etc will be in serious trouble. Of course, this is assuming Mercedes can pull this off - the Germans just might be able to do it.
Given that electric is the only good way to go, I really don't care if they've done good on the diesel or biofuel front, because both of those sucks compare to electric. In that regard, Toyota is in the lead, and no, Mercedes will not change the competition for the majority of the players. The only difference maker will have to be giant motor companies like Toyota who can make cars affordable to everyone. Any car company can make an all electric car right now, probably better than Mercedes, but it is all about the price. Toyota has been actively researching better ways to make batteries for years, so everyone is already left in the dust right now. Give credit to Honda for making the first hybrid when gas prices were cheap, but Honda and Toyota were the only two companies who had a brain and realized that gas prices won't stay cheap forever. That was what killed the American car companies during the last oil shock, and it is killing them again. It's funny that people can't learn shit from their past failures.
Biodiesel is a complete joke. The corn that our country grows is sprayed with of all things a petroleum based fertilizer, which the modified seeds have been engineered to take as a protein supplement. How do you like them oil-fed ears of corn?
Also, this fertilizer tends to be overkill, and when it washes out in the rain, runs off into the Mississippi River. Whatever benefit biodiesel may have is completely lost on me.
mercedes is doing this for a very simple reason: electricity is way cheaper than gasoline at current oil prices, and, unlike alternative fuels, more widely available. a plug-in car that has decent range and speed would turn the market upside down not in 10 years, but in 2. battery tech is almost there, and I'd think actually it is there already, the plug-in Prius is coming 2009.
electricity will power cars in the future and nothing can stop it. maybe if OPEC managed to flood the market with cheap oil they could delay this by a few years but looks like they won't or more likely can't in any case.
mercedes is doing the logical and necessary thing here. those who don't will, erm, die.
gas stations will go poof. or become convenience stores.
I don't think anyone said biodiesel was an awesome idea so I have no idea what you are arguing over daedric/kev.
The only kind of biodiesel that is even slightly beneficial is the kind made from leftover grease and such, but that's never going to power a whole fleet of cars. Electric (coming off a clean electrical grid like solar/wind/etc) or fuel cell is definitely the way of the future.
I agree. Firs ABS, first airbag, first cruise control, MB is always ahead of any other producer like for 5-10 years. I think they can make it. And as usual others will be switching very quickly, junt not to loose market.
Not if the oil industy have have anything to say about this.
Who do you think is making all the current advances in Alternate fuels, the Auto makers? No the "Oil" Companies are the ones funding all that research
Why does everyone say that? It's like the 100MPG carburetor that runs on water and the oil company killed the inventor when he refuse to sell and wanted to release it for the betterment of humanity, why do people keep repeating that?
You mean the one that uses electrolysis and requires more energy than it outputs? Stan Meyer is his name. Every respectable scientist is convinced he had something doing work that he wasn't showing us because the rate at which hydrogen was extracted from water was ridiculous and far exceeded any electrolysis process they have ever seen. He died of a cerebral aneurysm after eating a restaurant. Some say he was poisoned. Plausible and possible? Completely, but not fact.
Well I suppose most people would be dead after eating a restaurant.
They would be if he had an cerebral aneurysm while eating.
Go Mercedes!
If it's viable then good on them.
let the race begin and prices drop.
and yeah lets save the environment.
But it was in The Sun...
Cant be right
My thoughts exactly! Was this article next to the one about Madonna's divorce?
No. It was next to the article about Guy Ritchie quitting Kabbalah.
Come on guys, look... oil prices continue to rise. 10 years down the line, if you have to pay $20/gal just to get to the store you're screwed. BUT if you can charge your car w/ solar/wind/??? power you might be driving for free (or for a really low cost per mile).
We (the US) can't produce enough oil to meet our own needs, but if we switched over to alternative energy we might be able to pull it off. Otherwise we're screwed. So basically... the more companies going for "petro free" the better.
The sad part of this is that as soon as all alternative energy sources start to gain ground, the oil cartel will go out of its way to increase oil production which will result in dramatic lower gas prices. Then, just like cattle, will forget about the high prices and alternative energy and back to oil. It happened before. I really hope this time it'd be different.
In that case, can't the government add on more taxes to make it cost prohibitive to use petroleum in comparison to alternative fuels
That'd get votes...
Ya, it'd be terrible if people were allowed TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES.
Only the idiots who call others sheep are the true sheep.
until there is no oil left to produce, man. 40 years from now nobody is going to have that option.
good logic, Rocketboy, anyone who criticizes something or someone else is not only dead wrong but guilty of it _themselves_.
Oh, great logistician, might I apprentice for thee?
We'll just have to make sure our nations leaders keep piling on the taxes to fossil fuels to keep that from happening and also to fund and further subsidize the prices for alternative fuels and the cars that are powered by them.
Yeah, the people who can't afford a new electric car will just love those tax hikes.
Phan.. Actually, yes. Just like the Truthers who want people to open their eyes, while they themselves are blind.
If I call you an idiot, does that mean that I'm right, and it would be impossible for me to be an idiot? I could be wrong, and an idiot. Some times I am, some times I'm not.
I really hope they succeed. I might even be able to overlook the hideous lines of that car, if it helps the earth any (but seriously, guys... Jesus! Turn the lights on before you design a new car!)
Alright start holding your breath............ now!
I saw this on Digg... There's a massive case of poor reading comprehension on the Internet lately.
The Sun said: "Mercedes are aiming to end the need for filling your fuel tank with petrol or diesel within just seven years."
This DOES NOT mean that their cars will no longer run on gas. It means that their cars will be able to run on alternative fuels, in addition to gas.
Mercedes-Benz invented the gasoline powered automobile (no, it was not Ford, they were the first to mass produce the car) and this news - in particular given the short time frame - is fantastic. As I said to a friend the other day, the whole oil industry is a major force for evil. Yes, it triggered and made possible the industrial revolution, but it has polluted the planet leading to the premature deaths of 100s of thousands of people (in particular children in poor countries), roads themselves divide communities (a good reason for intelligent flying personal transportation to take over in 15 to 20 years when practical) and the byproducts of oil, in particular specific plastics (PCBs) act as endocrine disruptors causing untold damage to sexual function in human and animal alike. Way to go Merc - now let's just ensure we generate any alternative power cleanly. Solar + ecologically safe batteries and geothermal / wave energy please. Let the Manhattan Project equivalent energy revolution begin!
Almost - Steam power triggered and made possible the industrial revolution, and that was mostly with coal. Oil, and specifically gasoline, wouldn't be burned for energy for another century and a half.
"mercedes benz" didn't invent anything as the two companies didn't join together 'till 1926. I like your point ... just try and start with correct facts next time.
Mercedes infact did invent the first gasoline powered vehicle. Even if mercedes-benz didn't merge till 1926, it's still the same company. They were also one of the first car manufacturers to implement many safety features into their cars and standardize them across their lines including disc brakes, airbags, ABS, seatbelt tensioners as well as inventing break through technologies such as stability control, brake assist, crumple zones, and pre-safe and mercedes has never been shy about licensing their innovations out. Let's make sure we're giving just credit to the worlds oldest car manufacturer.
As a side note, lets not rely too heavily on EPA ratings. A prius may get 45 highway epa, but those tests are done at around 55 mph on even grades. Load up in a bluetec and drive 130 mph down the autobahn and compare the fuel economy to a prius and you might see why mercedes hasn't decided to go with alternative fuels sooner. I don't think toyota hybrid technology would scale well into a heavy high-speed luxury car.
In 2015 GM will be delivering their first true hybrid car, while they have a 700 day supply of SUVs. In 2016, GM will be out of business.
nah.. uncle sam will keep bailing em out at our expense; just like they do with big airlines
He is right after all doesn't gm make military hummers.
why do "light" military vehicles consume that much fuel anyway... if a vehicle isn't entirely bulletproof one way or the other manufacturers should focus on making a vehicle that can survive a long time without supplies. Not one that makes 12 MPG.
The government is looking to replace the hummer. So GM may just die off in 2016.
OKee... Lets try that link again: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9848355-7.html
Am I the only one who doesn't find this outrageous?
How hard would it really be to do this.
There's a website where they specialize in Porsche EV conversions:
http://evporsche.com/
It ain't cheap.
I totally wouldn't mind driving a car that ran on Hydrogen, BMW even has a Hydrogen V12 engine.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03/28/bmws-hydrogen-v12-engine-only-a-fraction-of-sulev-emissions-le/
Nobody ever talks about using wood to power cars anymore. And why not??? I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E!!
I'd rather live somewhere in Europe. It seems like they are doing something about it. Asia also.