Firsts, World Records from Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz, one of the very well-known auto brands in Germany aside from Volkswagen, had several firsts that made it legendary in the field of automotive.
Among these is that it is the only auto maker which the European authorities called upon to make a research out of an accident scene.
Mercedes-Benz also pioneered a wide line up of car safety features. One is the traction control to maintain the stability of the car and driver control. This is done by diminishing wheel slip on pull off or on slippery roads. The European market first offered airbags in 1980, and these were from Mercedes. These made the auto maker the first to include those airbags as standard safety equipment on its cars. Merc also initiated the use of pre-tension detectors to seat belts. It was first seen on the 1981 MB S-Class. These feature the tightening of the belts almost instantaneously to prevent the impact against the seat belt when the crash occurs.
Still developed by the auto maker, the "Safety cage" (also called "Safety cell") construction with front and rear crumple zones is considered the most important innovation in automobile construction from a safety standpoint.
These entire plus the anti-lock brakes, collapsible steering column, brake assist, automatic fuel shut-off and more array of safety features were initiated by Mercedes-Benz. Because of these, it is the only auto maker that allows its competitors to use those features for the sake of improving automobile and family safety. In fact, crumple zones and anti-lock brakes are now used on all luxury vehicles including BMW, Audi and Rolls Royce.
From this, it can be deduced further that Mercedes puts customer safety on the top of its priorities than profit and comparative and sometimes absolute- advantage.
In a study conducted Mercedes-Benz, it revealed that the company’s manufactured stability control prevented 42 percent of accident and its brake assist has helped prevent 8 percent of rear-end collisions and 13 percent of pedestrian accidents.
Mercedes Benz further pioneered the use of supercharging; double-pivot steering system used in cars today; starter motor (through this, a lever is not anymore needed to start a car); fuel injection; and the '7G-TRONIC' (world's first 7-speed automatic transmission).
The auto maker got those firsts. Moreover, it has a line up of several world records.
Among these is that it got the fastest automatic road car in the world. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren traveled 334 kilometer per hour that is 208 mph, which was co-developed by Daimler Chrysler and McLaren Cars.
Based on the E-Class saloon, the Mercedes-Benz Brabus W211 ' E V12 ' is the world’s fastest street-legal saloon car. The top speed was recorded in Nardo , Italy at 350.2 km/h (217.6 mph). It uses a tuned version of the M275 AMG biturbo V12 engine which now produces 640 bhp (471 kW) and over 1000 Nm (757 lb-ft) of torque.
Added to the list is the Mercedes-AMG, 6208cc M156 V8 engine, the world’s most powerful naturally aspirated eight cylinder engine.
At present, Mercedes-Benz continues to produce auto parts like the Mercedes fog lamp that will ensure it’s on top of the automobile industry’s pedestal.
This year for Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Mercedes-Benz is offering the 2007 C-Class, which is only available as a sedan with much luxury and safety features. With not so huge backseat and the usual cabin furnishings, the 2007 line-up includes C230, C280 and C350 sedans.
It has low hood line, arced roof line and triangular taillights. Its design resembles that of the vehicles six years ago and is comparable to Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G35 and Lexus IS.
The 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan arrives as the C230 Sport, C280 Luxury, C350 Luxury and C350 Sport.
Standard in the C230 Sport are 17-inch wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, cloth sport seats and a CD player where fast types of music can be played to even add to the sporty image of the vehicle. The C280 Luxury has 16-inch wheels, softer suspension tuning, power front seats with driver memory, dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, genuine wood trim, and a more powerful engine. Equipped with similar parts as those in the C280 Luxury, the C350 Luxury uses V6 engine. The C350 Sport, on the other hand, has equipment similar to the C230; the only difference is that it possesses larger engine and power front sport seats.
Features like full leather upholstery, HID xenon headlights, a navigation system and a Harman Kardon Logic 7 audio system with a six-disc CD changer and satellite radio are optional on all C-Class sedans.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans legroom space is not wide enough and dash board has a utilitarian look with adjustable vents. The trunk can handle 12 cubic feet of cargo
Since Mercedes-Benz is famous for its safety features, it is impossible the C-Class vehicles not to have these. Antilock disc brakes, stability control and six airbags that include front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags are standard. Optional are rear-seat side airbags and the Tele Aid emergency call system.
As proof of Benzs reliable safety features, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class bagged four out of five stars for driver and front-passenger protection in frontal impacts, and five stars for front and rear side-impact protection during the In NHTSA crash tests. The C-Class got the highest rating, Good, in the IIHS for its performance in the 40-mph frontal-offset crash test; and got the second highest rating, Acceptable, in the side-impact testing.
As to the power trains and performance, the Mercedes C-Class lineup uses three V6 engines. The C230 uses a 2.5-liter V6 that transcends 201 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. The C280 has a 228-hp 3.0-liter V6. The C350 possesses a 3.5-liter V6 good for 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard in C230 and C350 Sport, and the seven-speed automatic is optional. Standard in C280 and C350 Luxury is the automatic transmission. Meanwhile, all models are offered as rear wheel but Luxury models can also be offered as 4Matic all-wheel drive. All 4Matic cars have a five-speed automatic transmission, and of course we can expect its Mercedes fuel filters to be top of the line as well.
The C350 Sport, with a manual transmission, is the fastest model among the four.
SUVOA reacts to the CAFE mark up
Barry W. McCahill, president of SUV Owners of America (SUVOA), reacted negatively on the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
In his statement, he said the Senate Committee is in a hurry to do something to minimize the country’s foreign oil dependence and lessen greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, but is actually doing something to hurt more consumers.
This week, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the CAFE, which according to McCahill, would dramatically increase fuel economy standards for several types of vehicles including SUVs. For the first time, the legislation would affect the fuel economy mandates to heavy tractor-trailers and buses.
With the goal of minimizing oil dependency on foreign countries, fuel economy requirements, which were initiated more than 30 years ago, are put back in place. McCahill recalls in 1975 America got 35 percent of its oil from other countries. And today, the country’s oil import value increased by almost 50 percent. With this, he pointed that it is an energy policy which did not succeed. He asserted the failed legislation will be implemented once again. He firmly said that the CAFE is a tired horse with a not so good performance.
Definitely, because of the high prices of gas, Americans, especially SUV and light truck owners, would want to get the excellent fuel economy. Consequently, to lower the gas price, the US needs to lessen foreign oil dependency.
MaCahill further stated family needs, business uses, leisure, and lifestyle are also factors taken into consideration in deciding a vehicle to buy. These, according to him are factors apparently being taken for granted by the Congress when talking about the auto mobile industry.
McCahill thinks CAFE will certainly increase prices of new vehicles, thereby limiting consumer choices. He reacted that the proposal to apply CAFE standards to medium- and heavy-duty trucks with 4 percent annual increases is beyond the human reason and will, with great certainty, result in large increases in the prices of commodities delivered by truck to different communities all over the country.
He suggested that US should not anymore use oil, rather bio-fuels to lessen foreign oil dependency. He further suggested that new technologies like highly fuel-efficient clean diesels be given incentives. According to him, only then will America be in progress towards cutting oil use. A clean environment is a bonus.
German auto makers like Daimler Chrysler, since they have US markets, are expected to react on the said legislation. Daimler Chrysler is maker of durable Mercedes Benz fuel pump.
A non-profit educational organization, SUVOA, is aimed at supporting the rights and serving the interests of 85 million SUV and light truck owners.
