Friday, October 31, 2008

History Of Mercedes-Benz

Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were both born in Germany in towns that were 60 miles away from each other. Daimler was born March 17th, 1834. Benz was born a decade later on November 25th. The two boys did not grow up together and did not have many things in common. However, there was one thing that both boys loved - they loved to work with machines!

They both grew up away from each other - but the two of them would build cars in their spare time and did it in such an unusual way that many people were skeptical about how and what they were doing. We do know that the two boys did not know what the other was doing until later in their lives.

Carl Benz built his first motorized tricycle in 1886 and then his first four wheeler (which he named the Victoria) in 1893. The first production car that he produced was named the Benz Volvo and it was built in 1894. The Volvo participated in the world’s first recorded car race - the Paris-Rouen race. Benz produced his first truck in 1895.

Gottlieb Daimler was just as busy during those years. In 1886 he produced a horseless carriage. Two years later he made a business deal with William Steinway to create products for the U.S. Steinway helped to produce Mercedes cars from 1904 to 1907 until a fire shut them down.

Many found it ironic that Daimler loved to work on cars and to produce them because it was said that he hated to drive. His work made him a legend and he earned the nickname “Father of Modern Automobiles”. In 1900 Daimler died and left the control of his company to his chief engineer - Wilhelm Mayback.

On November 22nd, 1900 Daimler Motoren Gesselschat created a special car for Emil Jellinek. Jellinek wanted to name the care after his ten year old daughter - Mercedes. This new Mercedes luxury car was equipped with 35 horsepower and a top speed of 55 mph.

Benz and Daimler loved the idea of racing and saw the potential that it held. Because of it they produced many race cars and entered into many of the competitions. Daimler managed to overshadow Benz in these competitions up until 1908. During the 1908 French Grand Prix Benz took third and second place while driving a Mercedes.

Both Benz and Daimler factories were converted into production sites for war materials during World War I. After the war was finished they both began to produce their personal cars once more.

Through the years they have had their ups and downs - but both have managed to stay on top. Together they have created their own unique style of cars and worked to improve their line-ups every year. Some of their best works are the C-Class and S-Class.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Carlsson Adds More Power To C63 AMG

Mercedes always does a great job with the cars they make. But we aren’t going to complain if someone is going to add more power and newer body designs to it.

Carlsson is now offering a tuning package for the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG that will increase the horsepower to 565 and the torque to over 500. This will give the new CK63 S the power to rev from 0 to 60 miles per hour in only 3.8 seconds.

The top speed is somewhere around 300km/h. It has also been equipped with an upgraded coil over suspension system that works to keep the power down as does a brand new slip differential.

Not only is Carlsson offering power upgrades for this AMG model - but they are also offering some upgrades to the exterior design. New front and rear spoilers have been added as well as lightweight forged wheels, and accents to the interior. Carlsson has given it the upgrades that we love to see in a Mercedes and now it can compete with the Cadillac CTS-V that can reach 556 horsepower.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

2010 Mercedes E-Class

Mercedes has plans to debut their next-generation E-class model during the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. A few months after this debut it will go on sale. The new Mercedes E-class will be similar to the current model when it comes to size. The styling is similar to the four-door CLS coupe with the exception of a new angular front end and four square headlights.

The base model will be equipped with 184 horsepower 4-cylinder turbo engines. The higher end models will be equipped with 544 horsepower V8 engines. There will be a new model to the line-up - the direct injection petrol V6 hybrid model that is built with a 354 horsepower diesel V8 version. This new model is set to arrive in 2010.

The wagon variant will be released less then a year after the E-Class sedan has been launched. It will be equipped with a widened C-pillar and chrome strip across the back. There are rumors that a second E-class variant will come not long after and will be 20cm longer than the standard E-class and will be produced in China.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Mercedes New S 320 CDI BlueEfficiency

Mercedes-Benz is proving to their consumers that they have what it takes to make a fuel efficient green line of diesels. That is why they have tweaked one of their largest models with a diesel engine and have equipped it with the badge BlueEfficiency.

The new S-Class has been given a 3.0 liter diesel engine with a seven speed automatic tranny that is able to decouple itself during stops. It also comes equipped with a power steering pump that operates only when it needs to and low rolling resistance tires. When it comes to changing things around this is one of the more simpler jobs that we have seen in a long time.

For the size of the vehicle the fuel mileage for it is much improved coming in close to 31 miles to the gallon. Their newest S400 BlueHybrid model only has 29 miles to the gallon. This sounds like a great deal from Mercedes - but it seems that they have not decided to broaden the market for this S 320 CDI BlueEfficiency model. They have only released German pricing which leads us to believe that we won’t see it in the U.S. for some time.