As carmakers continue to develop cars, emission is one problem that they have been trying to solve along with their progression. But, with varied types of cars and varied type of emission standards, it is not surprising that carmakers would soon want solid, harmonized emissions standards. Mercedes Benz is one of them. The world-class German automaker is now calling upon the authorities to make global emissions standards harmonized, as well as test cycles and fuel quality.

According to a report done by roadtransport.com, Mercedes Benz head of the truck division Andreas Renschler explained the painful tasks that their trucks go through in order to be sold. Since Mercedes Benz creates trucks and then sells them in a global automotive market, this means that they would have to comply with different sets of emissions standards. “The current system doesn’t make engine development easy,” Renschler was quoted saying in the report. ”We need uniform standards to allow us to use economies of scale.”

At the same time, Renschler is also calling out to European governments for a European-wide tax breaks for firms that were prepared to invest in Hybrid trucks, just like in Japan. “It would be a medium-term signal to our customers, and society as a whole would benefit,” Renschler said.

But these sentiments do not go for the truck division alone. They are also shared by Mercedes Benz UK commercial vehicles MD Ian Jones. For him, governments need to “give us a clear steer on where to invest”. He said this, meaning he wants to clarify the situation in terms of what the fuel of the future will be. “Everybody is nervous about spending zillions on a fuel that could be wiped out with the scratch of a pen,” he said in the same interview. “Why aren’t governments prepared to help reduce CO2?”

Source: roadtransport.com 

DaimlerChysler, which is the producer of a number of automobile brand, has disclosed that Mercedes Benz Viano and Vito are now equipped with the electronic stability programme trailer stabilization feature or simply ESP trailer stabilization.

According to the original equipment manufacturer, the ESP features of the Mercedes Benz Viano and Vito will help stabilize the the van and trailer fusion by minimizing the so-called dangerous sinusoidal oscillations. Due to the automatic brake actuation, the Viano and Vito may experience the occurrence of the sinusoidal oscillations. The ESP trailer stabilization function, which is an added feature, helps detect unnecessary movements about the Mercedes Benz Viano or Vito’s vertical axis. When the ESP was able to detect that extra motion, it immediately make the necessary adjustments through the active braking interventions. This action is made possible because of the yaw rate sensor installed in the ESP trailer stabilization technology. Moreover, it is important to note that neither the trailer nor the trailer coupling require any additional sensor system.

For now, DaimlerChrysler only sees one flaw in the upgraded ESP technology which is dealing with the smaller movements. The ESP trailer stabilization cannot always cancel out the smaller bouncer motions of a small Mercedes Benz trailer being towed at a speed which is too high. Aside from that, the original equipment manufacturer of Mercedes Benz Viano and Vito said that the ESP trailer stabilization feature cannot hinder the trailer from rolling over if it has been loaded too high or its load is badly distributed.

The upgraded ESP is already a standard Mercedes Benz parts for all Viano and Vito vehicles, which are also manufactured with the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive. These models, which are a combination of van and trailer, have been geared with the trailer coupling with fittings.