: : Mercedes-Benz Owners : :

August 07 News

Small is beautiful
Bigger modern cars are a major cause of an increase in parking prangs. A survey estimates that 66,000 motorists will collide with another vehicle this year while negotiating a car parking space. The figures highlight the number of motorists who now struggle to judge the dimensions of their cars while behind the wheel. With repair bills averaging Ł1350, it means innocent motorists will be more than Ł90million out of pocket making good their car's damage this year. The increasing width and length of modern vehicles, coupled with the infrastructure of ageing car parks, is to blame for tens of thousands of motorists who'll be on the wrong end of someone else's misjudged parking or manoeuvring. The new Mercedes-Benz R Class is nearly 2.2m wide and 5.2m long when the average dimension for a car parking space is 2.4m by 4.8m.


		Virtual C-Class Mercedes claimed a first this year when it introduced the new C-Class as the world's first series-production vehicle developed as a digital prototype. The technology allowed the carmaker to perform a wealth of analysis well before any actual prototypes were constructed. The ability to simulate how a car would perform in the physical world is one of the benefits of digital prototyping. Research shows that the use of digital prototypes results in fewer physical prototypes, which reduces costs and speeds up how quickly the car gets to market.

		TV commercial Mercedes-Benz has commissioned an unusual TV commercial to publicise the advantages of its state-of-the-art all-wheel drive system 4MATIC. The innovative advert provides an entertaining demonstration of the company’s expertise in this area. Four actors attempt to demonstrate the system visually in a 30-second commercial that has been shown extensively on German TV.


		Home in a Maybach Superstar Lionel Richie visited the Centre of Excellence in Sindelfingen during his recent ‘Coming home’ tour. “There is no nicer way to come home than in a Maybach…”, well, something like that.

		Vodafone boost Much has been made of the 'Hamilton factor' following Lewis Hamilton’s eye-opening arrival in Formula One, but among those benefiting from his whirlwind rise to the top are sponsors of his team. Vodafone’s brand association with F1 was higher after the first four or five races of the 2007 season than at any time last year, despite seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher carrying its logos. The German almost clinched an eighth title in a Vodafone-sponsored Ferrari, but Hamilton's success, and his battle with two-time champion Alonso, has seen recognition of the company's involvement soar following its switch to the McLaren Mercedes team.


		Norbert’s surprise Lewis Hamilton's great start as a Formula One driver has surprised Mercedes chief Norbert Haug. Despite being part of McLaren since his teenage years when he was taken under the wing of team boss Ron Dennis, Haug is still shocked at how Hamilton has taken to F1 like a duck to water. Haug said: "We obviously had some expectations because we've known Lewis for some time since he approached Ron. A couple of years later, he asked me if it was a good idea. I said it was and so we started a supporting programme. We helped finance the whole thing. After watching him in testing, you could see he was quick, but to get the results he has is still a suprise"

Terminal transport
British Airways has taken delivery of 38 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses. The vehicles are to be used to transport passengers at Terminal 5 at Heathrow, which is due to open in March 2008. The equipment includes automatic air-conditioning and three doors for passengers, one on the driver's side and two on the opposite side, thereby guaranteeing a speedy flow of passengers. To be able to offer the greatest comfort, the capacity of the new buses was reduced from 100 passengers to 45 while maintaining the vehicle length at 12 metres. A major reason behind British Airways choosing these buses is the modern environment-friendly vehicle technology, which features Blue-Tec 5.