US Electronics Manufacturer Apple has decided to launch the new iPhone and so Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH has also decided to offer its customers with different tailor-made solutions which would permit Mercedes owners to use the iPhone even in their cars.

Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH offers the iPod Interface Kit. This will allow the driver to have access of the music keys of the iPhone or control it via the multifunction steering wheel of the car. On the other hand, the telephone functions could be accessed through the Bluetooth telephone module (HFP) of Mercedes-Benz. This may be further developed and when that happens there is a possibility of installing a special phone holder as well.

Customer who would like to enjoy the wide-range multimedia functions of the iPhone while cruising in their car would need to have an optimal connection to the hands-free system and on-board electronics. At the time that the iPhone was launch, the iPod Interface Kit already allows the music functions to be activated. The Bluetooth telephone module is already available as well so the iPhone could be connected to the vehicle’s hands-free system. This way, drivers can have the pleasure of enjoying both entertainment and functionality from their iPhone units in their Mercedes-Benz rides. The sound could be heard from the loudspeakers and the music keys can be controlled from the multifunction steering wheel.

As mentioned before, the iPod Interface Kit will be further developed and it will incorporate a special phone holder into the on-board architecture. The multifunction steering wheels that provides access to the music keys also help drivers with maintaining control over the car and thus ensures the safety of all the passengers. There’s also a telephone status indicated in the on-board display. The phone holder that may soon be available will automatically connect the iPhone to the vehicle’s aerial. This way, it ensures that there is optimum reception available. The iPhone will also be continuously charged as it is plugged to the phone holder.

The special phone holder will be fitted and fastened into the center console. All that is needed of the vehicle is that it is factory-fitted with the optional extra pre-installation for mobile phone with interface.

Of course, it is an obvious fact that there is no need for fuel if the engine is not running. This saying has helped Mercedes-Benz design is Sprinter model to be able to save fuel and so to decrease impact on the environmental as well.

The idea behind the Eco-start technology of Mercedes-Benz employed in the Sprinter is that when the engine becomes idle and the gearshift is left to remain in neutral position, the engine will automatically switch itself off. The engine will only restart when the driver depresses on the clutch pedal again.

However, the possibility of saving fuel still depends upon the situation. In some cases, it depends on both the traffic density and application, and the maximum fuel saving potential is up to 20 percent. About 5-8 percent is the average amount saved. This technological system from Mercedes-Benz can perform best its function in urban areas where there is frequency in stops due to traffic lights.

Safety is also one of the factors considered in the Eco-Start system. The engine restarts upon the resuming the motion of the vehicle. This ensures that the servo assistance for the brakes and the steering is preserved. In all other cases, however, the engine will not start unless the driver depresses on the clutch pedal.

There are certain points that drivers need to remember about the Eco-Start. First, there is a need for sufficient battery voltage. Because if it is low or if there is failure in starting the engine, the Eco-Start syetm will be deactivated. Second, the driver must make sure that the vehicle’s hood is securely closed in order to avoid injuries when the engine is suddenly started. The safety logic feature of the system checks this. If driver does not wish to make use of the Eco-Start system, he could simply deactivate it via a button on the instrument panel.

Mercedes-Benz has chosen to end its current three-year contract with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which was first started in 1996. the contract of the two companies will conclude by the end of 2008. the reason behind this conclusion is that Mercedes-Benz will soon be changing the activities that it will be sponsoring as in the future, it will shift its attention to golf, fashion and lifestyle, soccer, and equestrianism.

The CEO of ATP Properties, Richard Davies, said, “I would like to thank Mercedes-Benz for their support throughout our partnership. Both the ATP and Mercedes-Benz have achieved great things in our time together.”

Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars Vice President for Brand Communication said, “Over the years, our partnership with the ATP has had a very high brand fit for Mercedes-Benz – but we are now adding a new angle to our revised brand positioning. We are able to look back on a highly rewarding long-term sponsorship which fully met the targets we had set ourselves. Together with the ATP, we were able to support eminent developments in men’s professional tennis. Mercedes-Benz would like to extend many thanks to the ATP for extraordinary partnership.”

The German automaker is the leading sponsor of the ATP way back 1996 and it has been present to the well-known “star in the net” at over 40 tournaments per year. The idea of innovative branding idea on the worldwide ATP created a high point in its partnership with Mercedes-Benz that has endlessly developed over the 12 years the two companies were together.

Mercedes-Benz and ATP had a great time together with regards to their partnership as it got significant growth in the average number of viewers during TV coverage and tournaments. Also, over 35 million tennis fans came into contact with the German automaker during the ATP tournaments.

Mercedes-Benz has recently celebrated the tenth year of its A-Class model with an ‘Edition 10’ version. Now, the German automaker is doing the same with its luxury Sports Utility Vehicle, the ML350, as the vehicle is currently celebrating its 10^th year anniversary. This is the luxury SUV of Mercedes-Benz that it built in the United States. So, to honor this important year for the luxury SUV, Mercedes-Benz also decided on releasing a special limited edition which is appropriately named “Edition 10.” The ML350 ‘Edition 10’ will have a V6 engine as its power source and it features an exclusive Birch Wood and Macadamia and Black leather interior with a touch of aluminum on the instrument cluster and sports pedals. Mercedes-Benz’ initial offering for this vehicle is 1,000 units in the United States. Also, this limited-production special version offers a choice of Obsidian Black or Artic White paint complete with an eye-catching headlight surrounds, tail lights that are tinted, and a grill that has been coated with a chrome shadow finish and also with the front and rear skid plates. The interior will also sport the “Edition 10” logo on the floor mats.

Besides the number of exclusive finishes and features that were made on the ‘Edition 10’s exterior and interior, it will also be loaded with enhanced standard equipment. These enhanced standard equipment include a GPS Navigation, power liftgate, a rearview camera, heated front seats, rain-sensor wipers, a harman/kardon premium audio system complete with six-disc CD changers, an integrated hands-free phone system, and a Sirius satellite radio.

This new ML350 ‘Edition 10’ model is included in the 2008 M-Class family. Other models included in the Mercedes-Benz M-Class are the fuel-efficient ML320 CDI diesel with a V6 engine capable of 215 horsepower, the ML350 which is the most popular M-Class model that also has a v6 engine but delivers 268 horsepower, the 328-hp with V8 engine ML550, and the ML63 AMG which is one of the high-performance M-Class models because of its V8 engine capable of delivering 503 horsepower. Perhaps the identifiable features on the models of the M-Class are their sleek exterior with a unibody platform, four-wheel independent suspension that delivers notable road driving comfort and performance. There are also practical technologies that could be found in the M-Class models which are the standard seven-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel traction control, and a full-time four-wheel drive.

The M-Class is actually the first sports utility vehicle that drives like a Mercedes-Benz. It first arrived in 1998 and from then on, it inspired the automotive industry to gar towards the production of more luxurious car-like SUVs. This was launched as the only sports utility vehicle in its class and it was the only one which was not based on an existing truck platform. It was the first one to be designed from the ground up. The M-Class’ first generation of sports utility vehicle had received many awards such as the prominent North American Truck of the Year.

According to the President of DaimlerChrysler Co. in Thailand, Wolfgang Huppenbauer, there are around 100 units of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Avantgarde that will be imported to be tested on the market before local assembly.

The German automaker will only consider adding imports of the model later if the demand for the new C-Class exceeds the initial import supply, as told by Huppenbauer. The price for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Avantgarde is at 3.99 million baht.

During the first quarter of 2008, Mercedes-Benz plans on assembling its C-Class Avantgarde locally and its target number of units to be sold for next year is 1,000 units.

Huppenbauer also said, “The retail price for the locally-assembled model cannot be disclosed until it has been endorsed by the authorities.”

Because the C-Class features better safety and an improved fuel economy, the company has high hopes that the model will be warmly welcomed.

Huppenbauer said, “Through innovative high-performance technologies, we aim to raise the bar even higher when it comes to safety, comfort and agility in the segment of compact premium automobiles.”

The C-Class is able to reduce the fuel consumption by 6 percent. Moreover, there is an 18 percent increase in torque and this translates to the practical effect of lessening the speeds of the engine, and thus fuel consumption is also lessened.

The fuel consumption benefited from the efforts of the company to maintain a low vehicle weight even though the model has large exterior dimensions and extra severe crash standards. Because the weight of the model was kept low, the new C-Class still has the same weight as its previous generation.

Another fact of the matter, the C-Class is now actually Mercedes-Benz best selling model series as it has sold over six million units worldwide.

Huppenbauer said that the falling luxury vehicle market locally was not to beyond expectation this year because of the economic and political outlook that seem to be uncertain.

During the first nine months of this year, the overall vehicle market deteriorated by 20 percent as opposed to the same period last year. In the same period, the sales of Mercedes-Benz declined by 10 percent to 2,500 units.

Based on the results in the first three quarters, the company forecast sales of 3,500 vehicles for the full year.

Huppenbauer said, “We cannot do it if the situation remains unchanged.”

Mercedes-Benz and NASSER Bin Khaled Automobiles (NBK) are bringing the new SLR McLaren Roadster to Doha soon after the model had been presented in the Frankfurt International Motor Show.

This unusual sports car was revealed at an exclusive reception hosted at NBK Automobiles – Mercedes-Benz showroom on Salwa Road.

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Maybach (Middle East) Regional Sales Manager Chris Vallnce said, “The new SLR Roadster benefits from the many years of technical experience of Mercedes-Benz and its Formula 1 partner McLaren.”

The body of the SLR Roadster is completely made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic materials with exception of the two engine frames that are made from aluminum. Because of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic materials, the vehicle is an exception among the lot of high-performance sports car, as explained by Vallance.

The SLR McLaren Roadster has an amazing horsepower output of 626hp and its maximum torque is 720 Nm. It has an AMG V8 compressor engine, coupled to an AMG Speedshift R five-speed automatic transmission. With that, it is able to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers in just the little time of 3.8 seconds. Its maximum speed is 332 km/h, the same as the coupe.

It also has a fully retractable top that will open and close semi-automatically in a matter of ten seconds. Because of that feature, McLaren offers the pleasure of open-air driving in the highest performance class. But even though that is the case, the Roadster does not compromise the vehicle suitability for everyday use and its comfort.

The Roadster’s handling, aero-acoustics and aerodynamics have also been optimized for high speed driving.

Its aerodynamic concept is the same with the coupe which features an airbrake integrated into the access lid and a diffuser in the rear bumper. This provides enhanced downforce on the rear axle.

Its interior equipment includes semi-aniline-leather-upholstered carbon-fiber bucket seats. These seats could be individually adapted to the both the driver and the front passenger through various sized seat pads.

Other features include a multifunction sport steering wheel with gear-change paddles, dual-zone automatic air-conditioning, a navigation system with integral radio and CD player, and a high-quality BOSE premium sound system.

Mercedes-Benz S and CL-Class models now have a new system option available, the Blind Spot Assist. This system provides drivers with assistance when changing lanes.

Mercedes-Benz uses six short-range radar sensors for its newly-developed Blind Spot Assist system. These radar sensors are located in the front and rear bumpers of the vehicles. These sensors will monitor the side and rear zones of the car on both the right and left sides of the vehicle, which are the drivers’ “blind spots.” By doing that, drivers are given assistance in looking at the areas that the exterior mirrors are unable to cover. If the radar sensors detect the presence of another vehicle in the danger zone, there will be red warning symbol appearing in the exterior mirror glass. This symbol signals the driver that it might be a dangerous time to change lanes for a collision may occur. However, drivers may ignore this signal and still opt to switch on the turn signals indicators. In that case, the signal will start blinking and also an audible sound will be heard.

As mentioned earlier, this newly-developed system by Mercedes-Benz is available as an optional system to the S and CL-Class models together with the other radar-based assistance systems. These other radar-based systems include the DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control, PRE-SAFE brake and Parking Guidance, and the Brake Assist Plus. The cost for this package ranges between €2594.20 and €3391.50 (ex factory, incl. VAT in Germany.

This Blind Spot Assist system will really be helpful to drivers, and in the prevention of possible road collisions that are brought by the ‘blind spot’ zones. This may just be initially offered in the S and CL-Class models but if this system really proves itself helpful, Mercedes-Benz perhaps might think of extending this option to its other models as well.

Mercedes-Benz decided to launch hybrid vehicles by 2010 and aside from the launch of the ML 450 Hybrid and the S400 hybrid, the German automaker will also introduce its S300 BLUETEC Hybrid during that time.

Mercedes-Benz said that the tremendous savings potential of the modular technology concept being applied by Mercedes-Benz is underlined by the S 300 BLUETEC HYBRID, due to arrive on the market in 2010, too. The configuration and performance data of this engine are identical to those in the E 300 BLUETEC HYBRID. In the S-Class too, the BLUETEC/Hybrid combination develops a maximum torque of 560 Newton metres, comparable with that of a large-volume V8 petrol engine. When combined with the standard 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, the S 300 BLUETEC HYBRID accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 8.4 seconds, and it can reach a top speed of 240 km/h. Even with this superior performance, fuel consumption stands at just 5.4 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres, corresponding to a mere 142 grams of CO2 per kilometre _ 57 grams, or some 30 per cent, less than the current best saloon in the S-Class segment anywhere in the world.

The S-Class uses the version of BLUETEC with AdBlue injection system. Thanks to the combination of BLUETEC and hybrid technology - the only combination of this nature in the world, delivering the most economical and environmentally compatible premium cars in the world - the S 300 BLUETEC HYBRID has the potential to meet the most stringent emissions standards applicable anywhere in the world – for example, the European EU6 standard or the US 50-state BIN5 standard.

Source: Mercede-Benz Press Release via www.autoblog.com

Mercedes-Benz reports that the compact hybrid module installed in all the S-Class hybrids comprises a disk-shaped electric engine, which also functions as a starter motor and dynamo. This system offers a double benefit, working on the one hand in various ways to save fuel, and making driving so much more fun.

The main reason for the increased driving enjoyment is what is known as the boost effect, whereby the electric engine supports the combustion engine during the high-consumption acceleration phase with a maximum extra torque of 160 Newton metres. With this high torque the electric engine assists the combustion engine heartily when accelerating from very low engine speeds. As a result, the combustion engine itself needs less time and energy to build up its maximum torque. The only thing the driver notices from this synergy of the two power units is a supremely effortless power output whenever he starts off.

The hybrid module also features a comfortable start-stop function which switches the engine off whenever the vehicle stops, for example at traffic lights. Once the vehicle is ready to move off again, the electric engine starts the main engine again so gently, that it remains virtually unnoticed. This of course also contributes to fuel savings and is kind to the environment: since the engine starts virtually immediately, virtually no unburned fuel is discharged when starting off. When decelerating, on the other hand, the electric engine functions as a generator, and can recover braking energy in what is known as the recuperation process. This energy is stored in a powerful but compact lithium-ion battery pack in the engine compartment, ready for use when required. The engine management of this complex system is governed by a powerful control unit, which is also installed close to the engine.

Source: Mercedes-Benz Press Release via www.autoblog.com

Two automaker giants, Mercedes Benz and BMW decided on a product collaboration to develop a less complex mild hybrid which they could both put into their vehicles. By 2010, the two giant automakers should have come up with the very first model under that program as they have promised. They will be merging the 3.0-liter Bluetec diesel V6 to the new hybrid setup. It will have a fuel economy of 43.6 miles per gallon in U.S.

A press release from Mercedes-Benz via Autoblog states that the Mercedes S-Class that has the petrol hybrid will be introduced during the same time that the Mercedes ML450 Hybrid will be introduced. The S 400 Hybrid will also be available in Europe in mid-2009. it sports a 205 kW/279 hp V6 petrol engine that is combined with a hybrid module which could deliver from the outset 160 Nm and 15 kW/ 20 hp. The maximum power output when these two are combined is 220 kW/299 hp and their torque is to 375 Newton meters.

The S 400 Hybrid can achieve 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds and its electronically limited top speed is 250 km/h. nut even though its sports such great performance, its combustion engine needs 7.9 liters per 100 kilometers in the NEFZ cycle. This combustion cycle results in  carbon dioxide emissions of just 190 grams per kilometer. The S 400 Hybrid will then soon be considered the most fuel efficient luxury petrol engine saloon in the world. The F 700, the S 300 BLUETEC Hybrid, and the S 400 BLUETEC Hybrid are the only ones that can considerably improve on the world record that has been set by the S 400 Hybrid in the case of low fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.