Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Jan 28, 2010 - The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the best car in the upper executive segment, while the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is the best sports car. These are the results of a reader survey conducted by one of Germany's well-known specialist car magazines, "auto motor und sport". The E-Class and SLS have therefore both walked away with the title "Best car of 2010".


The editorial team of "auto motor und sport" asked readers to vote on some 326 vehicles across ten categories, and no fewer than 96,784 respondents answered the call to cast their votes in the traditional reader survey to find the best cars of the year. This is the thirty-fourth time that the respected specialist publication has conducted the survey.

In the upper executive segment, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class emerged victorious against the competition to claim its crown as "The best car of 2010". In awarding this honour, the readers acknowledged the special position enjoyed by the E-Class as the most successful business saloon. Among its many features, it benefits from a dynamic design, innovative technology, exemplary comfort, and also a high degree of economic efficiency. It also comes with a unique combination of driver assistance systems, including for example ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, and DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control together with PRE-SAFE Brake, which automatically applies emergency braking if there is an acute risk of an accident.

In the case of the sports car, the readers of "auto motor und sport" placed the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in pole position, thereby honouring the new gullwing model as the best car of 2010 in its category, and as such paying tribute to both its uniquely exciting design as well its advanced technology. The super sports car excels with its uncompromising lightweight construction, superior driving dynamics and exemplary safety. These attributes are ensured by a unique technology package consisting of a lightweight aluminium spaceframe body, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine with dry sump lubrication producing 420 kW (571 hp), seven-speed double-declutch transmission in a transaxle arrangement and a sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones. This combination guarantees dynamic performance at the very highest level. The gullwing model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 317 km/h.

Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

~ Jenson tweeting from his iPhone ~

Source >> TheFifthDriver


Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

The funny video you will see below has been created by Elbkind, a viral marketing firm from Germany, and is currently being distributed by The Viral Factory, a digital marketing and media company from USA, on behalf of Mercedes-Benz. Enjoy!



Source >> Avoid surprises

* Many thanks to Vincenzo for the tip! *


Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Jan 28, 2010

What Car?, the UK's biggest car buyer's guide, has named Mercedes-Benz the winner of its 2010 prize for best safety innovation for the ATTENTION ASSIST feature, which is designed to combat overtiredness in drivers – one of the most frequent causes of accidents. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class also took home the Car of the Year Award for best buy in the luxury segment for the fourth time in succession.


What Car?, the most important source of independent information for car buyers in the UK, found Mercedes-Benz's ATTENTION ASSIST feature exceptionally clever and presented the Stuttgart-based carmaker with its 2010 Car of the Year Safety Award as a result. During a test, British consumer testers were shocked by how drivers almost imperceptibly have difficulty keeping the vehicle on track when they are overtired. In practical trials, the innovative ATTENTION ASSIST driver support system was found to help combat this problem.

Like in Germany, driver fatigue is one of the most common causes of accidents in the UK. Overtiredness is a factor in a quarter of all motorway accidents. ATTENTION ASSIST, which comes as standard on all new Mercedes-Benz E-Class models, monitors over 70 parameters relating to driving behaviour to recognise when a driver is tired. If the system detects signs of fatigue, it warns the driver to take a break by means of an audible signal and a message on the display in the instrument cluster.

Other active safety features on the E-Class include Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist, Speed Limit Assist, the PRE-SAFE® Brake which initiates partial or emergency braking automatically if there is an acute risk of a head-to-tail collision, and DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control.

These driver assistance systems are also available on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, setting the standard in the luxury class. This year the UK's consumer organisation for car buyers, What Car?, acknowledged the S-Class's special position and again awarded the top model from Stuttgart its Car of the Year award in the luxury class for the fourth time in a row.

is a successful magazine with a popular website. It is produced by Haymarket Consumer Media, a company with global operations, and enjoys high levels of consumer trust. What Car? is referred to by approximately 1.2 million users each month.


Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Advertisement ~ Michael Schumacher



Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

~ An internal data sheet for the monocoque shell ~

Source >> TheFifthDriver


Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Sindelfingen, Germany, Jan 27, 2010

The new gullwing model is now at the starting line: following its world premiere at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt/Main in September 2009, series production of the SLS AMG is now commencing in Sindelfingen, the largest of the Mercedes-Benz production plants.


"Made in Sindelfingen also stands for the very highest production and product quality where the SLS AMG is concerned," says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars. "From the end of March, our customers will be able to verify this for themselves."

"The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has been extremely well received by our customers," says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars. "Even in advance of the actual market launch, orders have considerably exceeded our expectations. This shows that the exciting design and extraordinary concept of our gullwing model precisely meet the taste and aspirations of potential customers."

In summer 2008 the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen was presented with the J.D. Power Award by the renowned US market research institute J.D. Power and Associates. This award goes to the automobile production plant with the best delivery quality worldwide. "We are very proud that the new gullwing model is being produced in Sindelfingen. The J.D. Power Award for worldwide top quality will directly benefit buyers of the SLS AMG," says Volker Mornhinweg, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

Hand-production in three locations

A heavy emphasis on hand-production is a characteristic feature of the SLS – for the aluminium spaceframe, the engine and during final assembly. The chassis and aluminium bodyshell are produced by Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH in Graz/Austria. This highly respected system partner is able to look back on many years of cooperation with Daimler, as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been in production there since 1979. Innovative joining techniques are used in the lightweight spaceframe of the SLS AMG, which tips the scales at only 241 kilograms. Hand-production is also the order of the day at the AMG engine workshops in Affalterbach, where the 420 kW (571 hp) AMG 6.3-litre V8 power unit is assembled on the "one man, one engine" principle.

The assembly lines and production facilities in Sindelfingen were brought up to the very latest standards for final assembly of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This is where specially selected, highly qualified specialists produce the gullwing model substantially by hand. Premium quality is not only ensured by continuous monitoring of the ongoing production process. At the end of the production process, the entire vehicle is subjected to further, extensive quality checks.

A new legend delivering exceptional performance

The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG dazzles with its purist design, intelligent lightweight construction and superior handling dynamics, and is bound to cause a sensation in the super sports car segment. The new SLS AMG is nothing short of a masterpiece by Mercedes-AMG GmbH. As its first completely independently developed vehicle, the super sports car is the highlight in the company's more than 40‑year history.It shows that AMG has development expertise at the highest level.

The unrivalled technology package of the SLS is an alluring proposition: aluminium spaceframe body with gullwing doors, AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW (571 hp) peak output, 650 Nm of torque and dry sump lubrication, seven-speed double-declutch transmission in a transaxle configuration, sports suspension with aluminium double wishbones and a kerb weight of 1620 kilograms based on the DIN standard – this superlative combination guarantees driving dynamics of the highest order. With a front/rear weight distribution of 47 to 53 percent and the vehicle's low centre of gravity, this extraordinary combination guarantees performance figures at the highest level. The gullwing model accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 317 km/h. A fuel consumption of 13.2 litres per 100 kilometres (combined) makes it one of the best in the competitive line-up.

Market launch of the multiple award-winning Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG from 27th March, 2010

In Germany alone, the SLS AMG has received a number of major awards in recent months: for example the coveted "iF product design award 2010" and the prestigious "Golden Steering Wheel 2009" award. Other awards include the "Auto Trophy 2009", "TOPauto 2010" and the "Best new IAA product" award presented by AutoScout24. The selling price of the SLS AMG is 177,310 EUR (incl. 19 % VAT) and sales will commence on 27th March 2010.

Copyright © 2010, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.