Archive for Mercedes Benz

I’ve been wondering about one thing for quite sometime now. Why isn’t Mercedes Benz putting the M266 into more of it’s cars? Where does the engine come from? Is it a Mercedes Benz development used solely in vehicles like the A-class and B-class or is it shared with other cars like Chryslers? As far as I know, Chrysler inline-4 engines use the GEMA engine (4B11) found in Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Chrysler cars.

The M266 comes in a few displacements, but one of the most notable ones is the M266 Turbo (M266.980), found in the Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo. Unlike Mercedes Benz’s other inline-4, the M271 Kompressor which uses a supercharger, the M266 Turbo uses a turbocharger. It is mounted transversely and is mated to either a 6-speed manual or an AUTOTRONIC CVT gearbox, sending power to the front wheels. It uses a BorgWarner K03 turbocharger. The M271 is a longitudinal rear wheel drive design.

Here is a comparison table between the M266 and the M271. The M271 specs used in this comparison is of the W204 C200K specifications. The M271 comes in different specs like different boost levels, which result in different performance statistics. Note that the W204 C200K’s M271 is not the most powerful M271 around, with factory tuning of course - the W203’s C230K has a slightly higher power output (192hp).

Based on the comparison table above, which engine looks like the better performer to you? I’m not sure why Mercedes Benz has two inline-4 engines. It should just pick one and stick to it, economies of scale are better that way.

Maybe the M266 could be adapted to rear wheel drive, or the M271 could be adapted to front wheel drive, though I think the former is easier, plus the M266 is a newer engine anyway and its performance looks better to me. However some might be turned off by the 8-valve SOHC valvetrain design, but then again what does that matter when the performance results are there? Power peaks earlier in the rev range, and torque has a wider spread and kicks in lower and stronger.

DaimlerChrysler is currently using three different inline-4 engines in it’s cars, the GEMA 4B11 engine, the M266 and M271. There is no place in the world’s automotive industry for inefficiency. Everyone is sharing components - a recent example would be BMW and Peugeot sharing a common engine with different configurations for the MINI Cooper and a few Peugeot models.

These are just my thoughts - if anyone knows these two engines in further technical depth and know why both need to exist, please do share in the comments for the benefit of all motorheads!

Yet another British car show tries to destroy a car. This time, the victim is the Mercedes Benz W124, but the motive is very different. Much like what Top Gear did to the Toyota Hilux some time back, Fifth Gear intends to test how much abuse the W124 can take before giving way, instead of trying to destroy it because they dislike it.

It’s interesting to note that you can still buy a stretched version of the W124 E-Class brand new today, badged as a Ssangyong Chairman.

Video after jump!

Click here to read the rest of Fifth Gear puts the Mercedes Benz W124 to the limit

DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche was “grilled” at a shareholder’s meeting yesterday, for not moving fast enough to dispose of Chrysler, seen as a patient leeching off the profitable German half of the DaimlerChrysler supposed “merger of equals.”

Lawyer Hans-Richard Schmitz represented the shareholders and issued this statement on behalf of the shareholders: “Chrysler is the worst problem in the group. It has been a patient for so many years and a burden for some time. I dont understand why you are so hesitant. The only thing to do is execute a separation. You are underestimating how poisonous this pill can be for your company.”

Besides Schmitz, more shareholders came forward personally to criticize Zetsche during the meeting. “For nine years you have been sitting on this scrap heap called Chrysler. What have you been doing for nine years? Nobody has learned anything. To call this a sale is a euphemism. If you pay for the garbage man to empty the dust bin, then does that mean you have sold something to the garbage man?” said Ekkehard Wenger.

Previously Ekkehard Wenger and another shareholder Leonhard Knoll proposed a name change of the company back to DaimlerBenz because the name Chrysler brought a negative image to the company. DCX’s board responded by saying that was not a valid ground to change the name of the corporation.

Other shareholders have blamed the failed partnership on cultural differences. “Germans care about quality and technical expertise. Americans only want money. They dont care about the craftsmanship of the product. This is an arrangement that must end,” said Georg Nuemeier, also a DCX shareholder. “Ten years should have resulted in a better return. The fact is just that the marriage never worked,” said shareholder Klaus Fiereck.

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Shareholders want Chrysler name dropped from DaimlerChrysler

Malaysia has been appointed as the regional hub for the Asia Pacific market by Kleemann, a tuning company specialising in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Running the operations in Malaysia is Kleemann Asia Pacific Sdn.Bhd., a joint venture company between Kleemann and a local team, headed by Chairman Datuk Subhi Dziyauddin and Executive Director Khairul Anuar Abdul Rahman.

Kleemann intends to get 3% of current Mercedes Benz owners to upgrade their cars with Kleemann parts and technology, and also intends to increase sales of Kleemann pre-tuned Mercedes Benz cars by 5% by the end of 2008.

Yet another German tuner has laid their hands on the new W204 Mercedes Benz C-Class. This time, it’s Carlsson, who took the standard Mercedes Benz C350 and engineered this new Carlsson CK35. It features a race-proven Carlsson kit, with a bodykit made of high-grade polyutherane, an upgraded interior, as well as Carlsson 1/11 Brilliant Edition 19″ wheels wrapped with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres.

What does Carlsson mean by race-proven? Basically, the 3.5 liter V6 in the C350 had been tuned up and used in a Mercedes Benz SLK in the VLN Long Distance Trophy at the Nürburgring for many years. The 3.5 liter V6 now makes 295 bhp and 385 Nm of torque, and 0-100km/h now takes 6 seconds.

The polyutherane bodykit includes a front lip, a rear diffuser-style skirt, side skirts, as well as an aerodynamically functional rear spoiler. The bumper grille gets a new insert made from electro-polished material, and this is matched to double-headlight units with fog and driving lights. These parts can also be fitted with the W204 standard bumper instead of the CK35’s bumper.

Check out two more photos and a video after the jump. Enlarged versions of all photos in this post available by clicking on the original images.

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Click here to read the rest of Carlsson CK35: Carlsson tunes up the W204

The latest AMG tuned-up version of the luxurious CL Coupe has been unveiled at the 2007 New York Auto Show. Powered by a 6.0 liter AMG-engineered V12 bi-turbo engine, the CL65 AMG puts out a nice 612 horsepower between 4,800rpm and 5,100rpm, as well as 1000Nm of torque between 2,000rpm to 4,000rpm, making the engine seem like a really beefy but low-revving unit. This engine is mated to a 5-speed AMG Speedshift gearbox, as the engine’s massive torque is just too much for the 7G-Tronic 7-speed to handle.

Aesthetically, the CL65AMG features an AMG bodykit, 20 inch AMG forged wheels wrapped with 255/35/ZR20 tyres up front and 275/35/ZR20 tyres at the rear, as well as an AMG interior. Handling is improved via an AMG sports suspension featuring Active Body Control. Active Body Control counteracts body roll via an adjustable suspension strut, similiar to Porsche’s Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and BMW’s Dynamic Drive. The center console has an S/C/M button which changes transmission, accelerator response and suspension spring/damper settings.

The car stops to a halt via an AMG brakesystem featuring new double-frame sliding calipers. 100km/h to a complete stop takes 35.6 meters.

Check out more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes Benz CL65 AMG Revealed!

Brabus has put their tuning touch on the new C-Class, not long after it was launched. The main highlight is a new 4.0 liter engine, basically derived from the existing V6 engines in the C280 and the C350. The engines are fitted with a more aggressive camshafts, a special crankshaft and larger pistons to increase the displacement to 4.0 liters, resulting in a maximum output of 332 horsepower and a peak torque of 420Nm at 4,200rpm. 0-100km/h takes 5.9 seconds, and the car goes to a top speed of 275km/h.

More after the jump…

Click here to read the rest of Brabus tunes the W204 C-Class

A woman in her late 20s driving a Mercedes Benz SL500 costing £96,000 drove her car into a ford and ended up getting washed downstream the river until a stable-owner heard her and risked her own live to save her.

Apparently, the SL500’s satellite navigation system told her to take a road that was actually meant for farmers in their big 4X4 vehicles. The road had a big sign that said “unsuitable for motor vehicles”. She trusted the sat-nav guidance and went down the road. And ended up in a ford. Because although it was swollen after a few days of heavy rain, she still tried to cross it in her 302hp, V8-powered, rear wheel drive sports car. And the car ended up getting washed away.

Alice Clark heard the lady’s screams of help and waded through the waters with the help of a log and hanging on to some barb wire, risking getting washed away herself. She pulled the SL500’s owner out just in the nick of time. Seconds after she got out, the car sank. The car’s electronics short circuited causing the windows to open, letting more water in until the car was completely submerged.

The SL500’s owner was sent to a motorway service station where a Bentley that was chauffeur-driven picked her up. The Mercedes Benz SL500 remained in the river for a week until a tow truck pulled it out. It was a complete write-off. This my friends, is proof that money can’t buy braincells.

Source

Two DaimlerChrysler Shareholders, Ekkehard Wenger and Leonhard Knoll have submitted a name change proposal to the DaimlerChrysler board of directors, detailing their wishes for the company to drop the name Chrysler regardless of whether Chrysler gets sold off or not. “If a proper separation cannot be effected within one year, this would only serve to underscore the need to remove this affliction on the image from the corporations name,” said Wenger and Knoll.

However DaimlerChrysler’s board opposes the change, saying there is no grounds for the name change proposal. “The DaimlerChrysler name is established all over the world. There are no grounds to change the name of the corporation,” the company said in a statement.

Nevertheless, a vote on the name change will be held at the shareholder’s meeting in April. DaimlerChrysler was previously known as Daimler-Benz until the merger with Chrysler in 1998. From what was supposed to be a merger of equals, Daimler-Benz ended up babysitting Chrysler through the years.

On the matter of who’ll Chrysler end up with, it seems that private equity groups are willing to pay alot more money than General Motors and automotive-related firm Magna International. The highest bid is currently at US$5 billion, while Magna is offering US$4 billion. Chrysler posted a US$1.5 billion loss last month.

However, employees do not want Chrysler to fall into the hands of a non-automotive owner. “We wouldn’t support a solution such as a private equity firm that would cut out choice bits. We prefer if a manufacturing company like another automaker take control of Chrysler in the event of a sale,” said Helmut Lense, one of the 10 employee representatives on DaimlerChrysler’s 20-member supervisory board.

Lense is also against the Chery deal. “Chrysler won’t improve its image by selling what are effectively Chinese cars,” he said. Lense also thinks a sell-off is not really necessary, as a revamp of Chrysler could be done by doing a total revamp of it’s passenger car model line-up. Chrysler has been over-reliant on truck sales, which have taken a downturn the past 2 years. One solution proposed would be for Chrysler to take over the Mercedes Benz A-Class and B-Class, leaving Mercedes to focus on more premium vehicles.

Mercedes Benz’s ML63 AMG makes 510ps and goes from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds, faster than a BMW 335i. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo S makes slightly more horsepower - 521ps, but is slower to hundred at 5.3 seconds. Watch the video after the jump for an utterly pointless comparison between these two overpowered SUVs, in German. Video after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of Battle of the luxusport SUVs: Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG vs Porsche Cayenne Turbo S