Mercedes-Benz
Latest
Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid aims to be first to use Li-ion battery
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.
Mercedes-Benz developing "Attention Assist" to aid drowsy drivers
Mercedes-Benz has already developed a system to help folks that have trouble braking, and it now looks like it's doing the same for those that have a tendency to fall asleep at the wheel. That will apparently come in the form of the automaker's "Attention Assist" system, which is apparently in the final stages of development and expected to go into production in 2009, according to Gizmag. Among other things, the system can record the angle of the steering wheel, as well as speed, acceleration, and the use of indicators and pedals, not to mention external factors like a side wind or an uneven road surface. If it detects suspicious behavior, it sets off a warning light and some presumably hard to ignore sounds to tell the driver to pull over. As Gizmag points out, however, this is far from the first system that tries to keep drowsy drivers alert, although it does seem to be a good deal more advanced than a few of the solutions we've seen.[Via Straightline]
NASD's NS-2010 PMP inexplicably sports Mercedes-Benz logo
It's not like we've never seen a Mercedes-Benz logo on a gadget before, but seeing the brand's icon splashed on a low-end Chinese PMP is just... awkward. Nevertheless, it's practically a foregone conclusion that MB had absolutely nothing to do with this one, but NASD Technology still felt the need to plaster the auto maker's tri-star symbol on its utterly heinous NS-2010. If you care to know, the unit sports a two-inch color display, SD expansion slot, support for MP4 / MP3 / WMA / AVI files, voice recording, FM tuner, line-in recording and a rechargeable Li-ion. By now, you shouldn't be surprised by the undisclosed price, but we'd suggest just letting this one be after you've had your laughs.[Via PMPToday]
Mercedes museum hosts most powerful artificial tornado
How better to get visitors to your museum than to create a massive man-made tornado in the middle of the building? Clearly, our cynical suggestion is not the motivation behind the creation of Mercedes-Benz's artificial tornado in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart: their excuse was that the building had to abide by fire safety guidelines, which state that the massive open spaces in the museum required big fire doors the museum owner didn't want to put in place. The solution was apparently a 34.4 meter high tornado, powered by 144 jets and capable of moving 28 tons of air designed to clear smoke from the building -- and, for demonstration purposes, stage smoke. It's certainly not anyway near as powerful as a real tornado (the video after the break attests to that), but it's definitely just as pretty.
Mercedes-Benz 'ignores' court order to activate suspect's GPS
For all the tracking equipment that Mercedes-Benz crams in its motorcars, it's apparently mighty tough to get the company to tap into any of it if you're not the owner. Reportedly, the automaker has "refused to comply with a court order to activate a car's GPS" after authorities tried in vain to track down a hit-and-run suspect the easy way. Police were able to pinpoint the owner of a 2003 S430 as a "prime suspect" for striking and killing a 24-year old jaywalker in California, and while chasing him down the old fashioned way would seem a good bit more entertaining, Glendale police were looking M-B's way for a shortcut. Apparently, no comment has come from the firm, even as those involved with the case have continued to fume over the lack of assistance, and while we'd assume Mercedes-Benz is just looking out for the privacy of its customers, hasn't GPS tracking (much less the court ordered variety) been deemed legal anyway?[Via GPSTrackingSystems]
Mercedes-Benz gas, brakes and dips into Second Life
Joining Toyota in the continuing trend of setting up shop in Second Life is Germany's own Mercedes-Benz. This Tuesday will see the launch of not just a showroom for the luxury cars, but an entire island. The vehicles themselves aren't ready for a test drive just yet, but a track will be available for when that feature rolls out. Which is a shame, really, as we were already planning our Second Life adventure in ghost riding.Those who stop by for the grand opening can enjoy not only an in-game concert but some free swag as well. Anyone who visits can pick up a free Formula 1 racing suit and helmet, which will quickly be utilized in the red light district in acts that we could not possibly begin to describe here.
Mercedes Benz introduces Telephone Module with Bluetooth
Funny how long it's been since we've heard much about cars or car add-ons using the Bluetooth SIM Access Profile but soon select Mercedes Benzes will be available with the Telephone Module with Bluetooth, utizilizing SAP. (Remember that other German auto manufacturer that used it?) The system, which either comes tucked away in standalone box, or as an in-armrest handset option includes a SIM card reader and external GSM antenna uplink, so you can take advantage of higher powered cellular transmissions and get better reception than your phone could otherwise provide. Yours in a Benzo for €373 or €406 ($466 or 510 US).
Luxury car manufacturers choose HDTV for their ads
High definition advertisements are going upmarket, with these separate releases regarding Mercedes-Benz and Lexus producing their new spots in HD. The first focuses on the Germans, who shot their new S-class mostly in 720p (but some 1080p, maybe for Blu-ray or HD-DVD trailer releases only) and how they used Apple software to manage all the footage. The second regards the marketing campaign for the new ES 350 and how their three commercial spots set to run on network television during prime time were all filmed in HD.Seen any other HD ads lately? The last one i noticed was the trailer for the new Mission: Impossible.
