The Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertrkheim is one of Daimler AG?s oldest plants whose tradition and history date back over a hundred years. Untertrkheim is the place where the Mercedes-Benz brand took root, and where the myth of the automobile was created and automobile history written. Today, with around 18,000 employees in seven divisions, Daimler AG?s parent plant develops and produces engines, axles and transmissions for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars throughout the world ?  read more »

It sounds almost too good to be true, but cars which run on hydrogen fuel cells emit only water vapor into the atmosphere and in contrast to oil, hydrogen is not a fossil fuel with only limited reserves. However, there are many challenging hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, all of which have combined to slow the production of road-going hydrogen vehicles. Car manufacturers are seemingly uneasy about propagating this form of motive power. Research has been going on for decades and numerous breakthroughs have been announced. So far though, only a handful of prototypes and some limited series production vehicles have appeared. A fuel cell car is basically an electric vehicle since the fuel cell stack is used to combine hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen. The chemical energy from the reaction is then converted into electric power, which drives the vehicle. Matthias Brock from Daimler in Stuttgart said he believes that the fuel cell is very promising when it comes to zero-emission driving in local areas. Mercedes has around 100 test vehicles underway the worlds largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles. The company is currently working on a B-class with fuel cell power, which could be produced in limited numbers from 2010. We estimate that between 2012 and 2015, the car could be ready for series production, Brock said. Whether cars need to be completely emission-free is another issue. Andreas Ostermeier from the German federal environment ministry in Dessau said that the notion of zero-emissions is an irrelevance. Petrol and diesel engines no longer pose a threat to air quality. Petrol engines which comply with the Euro-5 standard laid down by the European Union use the latest technology to reduce toxins to levels far below those of even a decade ago. The same will apply to diesels when Euro 6 becomes legally binding from 2014. Nowadays fuel consumption and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions are at the top of the agenda, Ostermeier said. Hydrogen is complex to produce, which puts the fuel at a further disadvantage as conventional fuels continue to get cleaner. It is also an expensive fuel source as one example shows. Hydrogen can be gained by using steam to reform natural gas. In regions such as South America, bio-fuels could be the most viable alternative whereas in highly-populated urban regions in Western Europe, the pure electric car offers the most potential for the future.  read more »

Consumers love SUVs about as much as Dungeons & Dragons players love John McCain, but that isn't keeping Chrysler -- remember them? -- from rolling out not one, but two hybrid SUVs. A plant in Newark, Del., started spitting out...


Chuck Squatriglia

Autocar is reporting Daimler plans to debut a new compact SUV they're dubbing the Mercedes Benz BLK. With new trucklet slotting underneath the already small-sized Mercedes GLK, things may be getting into pointless utility vehicle territory here. The BLK would be based on the next generation of the A/B class chassis and get a selection of four-cylinder direct-injection engines in the 1.6- to 2.2-liter range. We're kind of wondering if the high-performance model will follow Benz's recent naming trend and be called the BLK Black.  read more »

Mercedes plans to offer a range of small displacement, turbo-charged engine offerings by 2010 as a short-term solution for better fuel economy, reports Automotive News Europe . Tough CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards and increasingly strict emissions controls in North America and Europe influenced the aggressive product line change. Mercedes will also introduce hybrid variants over the coming years, while the ultimate goal is zero emissions via fuel cell and pure electric power. "All our vehicles will have turbocharged engines in series production by the end of 2010 at the latest," said Thomas Weber, Daimler board member responsible for research and development. Using turbos will allow Mercedes to install smaller, lighter and more fuel-efficient engines without sacrificing performance because the boost in power occurs with no engine volume changes. This makes turbocharging a responsible alternative to the honkin, naturally aspirated V8s and potent V6s currently offered in most Mercedes models. Turbos also make it possible to get normal gas mileage while cruising or off-boost. The European Commission is calling for a cut in Mercedes average fleet emissions from 178 g/km to 138 g/km by 2012 and will fine the automaker if it fails to meet targets. So improving existing engine efficiency is the first part of Daimler's strategy to reduce CO2 emissions while zero-emission driving is a longer-term goal. Mercedes plans to use fuel cell technology and electric-powered vehicles to reach this end and a full-electric Smart ForTwo is planned for 2010 release. Introducing hybrid power train technology is also planned as an interim step and, according to our friends at Auto Blog, the S class flagship   will be offered as a mild hybrid starting in 2008. No word on how this turbo offensive will impact the companys horsepower-laden AMG line or on how the current diesel Mercedes models will fit into the fuel efficiency picture moving forward. Photo by Mercedes-Benz USA.  read more »

All models in the Mercedes-Benz range will be turbo charged within the next two-and-a-half years.Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Thomas Weber, who is on the Daimler Board of Management and is responsible for research and development, said 2010 was the final date for the introduction of the technology."All our vehicles will have turbo charged engines [...]

German giant Mercedes-Benz has announced today that it will introduce turbocharged engines across its entire model lineup by the end of 2010. The announcement comes amid upcoming legislation in Europe and the U.S. which is pushing manufacturers towards more CO2 friendly cars. The European Commission will need all German auto-manufacturers to reduce their average fleet emissions from 178 grams per kilometre to 138 g/km by 2012. Those that fail to meet the target wilo pay hefty fines. All our vehicles will have turbocharged engines in series production by the end of 2010 at the latest, Thomas Weber, Daimler board member responsible for research and development said Turbocharging petrol cars has till recently been a speciality of Japanese manufacturers, but demand for forced induction is growing as it provides a relatively cheap way to reduce fuel consumption without a performance loss. Fans of BBCs TopGear would remember Jeremy Clarkson mentioning some time ago, that since the Mercedes-Benz S class is the epitome of modern automotive engineering, the fact that its not a hybrid suggests that hybrids are not the way of the future. Well, Clarkson may soon be eating his own words with the Mercedes flagship sedan expected to be offered as a full hybrid vehicle by end of 2009!  read more »

Mercedes-Benz believes there is plenty of potential to be explored in the gasoline engine.The automaker used the four-stroke gasoline engine for the heart of the first modern car designed by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886.Both designed the engines independently of one another and based it around Nikolaus Otto’s four-stroke principle.The use of the [...]