Mercedes-Benz Diesel SUVs

Mercedes-Benz is revving up its U.S. market diesel push by offering its ML320 BlueTEC, GL320 BlueTEC, and R320 BlueTEC diesels to American consumers before any other market gets the vehicles. All three Benzes are powered by a 3.0-liter, 211 horsepower turbo V-6 generating 398 lb-ft of torque. Mated to Benz's seven-speed automatic transmission, all three people-movers will meet the U.S. Bin 5 standard as well the European EU6 standard, Mercedes says.

The diesel at the heart of the efficient trio utilizes Mercedes' AdBlue technology, which involves injecting an aqueous urea solution into hot, pre-treated exhaust gases. The process helps reduce nitrogen oxides -- a harmful exhaust gas found in high levels in diesels -- into nitrogen after the exhaust gasses pass through the catalytic converter. The tank carrying the solution is monitored by the engine management system. Since the tank only needs to be refilled at regular service visits, no extra maintenance is required for a GL320 BlueTEC over a GL450 or any other Mercedes SUV.

More on the Mercedes-Benz Bluetec Diesels:

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2009 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class

STUTTGART, Germany — Since it was last redesigned in April 2005, this week Mercedes-Benz unveiled a refreshed M-Class for 2009. The updated Mercedes SUV gets a redesigned front and rear end, new interior appointments and a new four-spoke multifunction steering wheel with added technology.

Reshaped headlamps help define the M-Class' revised front lines, while the rear gets new integrated reflector strips, as well as taillights with a smoked-glass look.



New optional two-tone leather dresses up the cabin and a four-spoke leather multifunction steering wheel with chrome trim puts the latest Mercedes infotainment controls at your fingers. Integrated features include a Bluetooth hands-free system, voice control recognition and an aux-in connection for iPods and the like.

The high-end Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG gets its own fresh look courtesy of new front and rear aprons with a chromed underguard, and a larger AMG grille. New 20-inch AMG light-alloy wheels complete the standard exterior modifications.

What this means to you: Mercedes gives the 2009 M-Class a mid-generation dose of added refinement.

Planned to go on sale in 2009, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz ML 450 Hybrid will be the first German-made hybrid sports utility vehicle on the market. And the German car manufacturer claims that the compact sports 'ute will be the most fuel-efficient two-mode petrol hybrid SUV in the world.



Mercedes-Benz has freshened up the US-built ML-Class SUV for the 2009 model year and will debut the facelifted model at the upcoming New York International Auto Show. As with most mid-life makeovers from the German car maker, the changes are mild with the 2009 ML-class featuring a redesigned front end including headlights, larger side mirrors while the rear end also gets an update including smoked taillights. The interior has also been upgraded with higher grade materials and fuel economy has been improved across the range - reducing petrol consumption by 0.4 litres per 100 km compared with the outgoing models

Mercedes knows the midsized luxury SUV segment is bursting with competition, and if attacked properly, high profits as well. To keep its M-Class moving out of dealerships, Mercedes has refreshed the SUV, making exterior changes that bring it in line with its boxy GL and upcoming GLK siblings while interior upgrades are subtle unless you go for the two-tone leather and the two huge eight-inch screens for watching DVDs in the backseat.

Powertrain options remain the same, although Mercedes notes that fuel economy is marginally improved with most engine options. The easiest way to tell if a refreshed M-Class is following you is to look for the "smiling" lower grille which is especially apparent -- for better or for worse -- on light-colored models. The refreshed grille is framed by fog lights pushed to the edges of the SUV, enhancing its presence. Larger side mirrors that follow the new C-Class design have been added and in back, smoked taillights (clear lenses are available) and reflectors integrated into the rear bumper again emphasize the M-Class' size. 19-inch wheels, standard on V-8 models, won't hurt that impression either.





The Official Mercedes-Benz Press Release:

Press Release: At a glance:
new design and technology

Exterior design

- All-new front-end design with prominent horizontal lines
- New radiator grille with three black louvres and chrome highlights (available in sterling silver look with chrome highlights as an option in the exterior sports package)
- New-look projection-beam headlamps
- New exterior mirrors with larger mirror surfaces
- New rear bumper
- Tail lights with darkened lenses (LED tail lights with clear-glass look as an option)
- Twin exhaust system with oval tailpipes (rectangular chromed tailpipes in the exterior sports package as an option, standard for V8)
- Roof rails included in standard specification
- Chrome trim strip in the rub strips (optional in the exterior sports package, standard for V8)
- Waistline trim strip in chrome (optional in the exterior sports package, standard for V8)
- Load sill guard on the rear bumper in chrome (optional in the exterior sports package, standard for V8)
- Exterior sports package with new, enhanced features such as aluminium-look roof rails

Interior design

- Leather-trimmed dashboard in nappa leather or ARTICO man-made leather
- Door linings in ARTICO man-made leather
- New two-tone leather appointments
- Leather multifunction steering wheel in four-spoke design with shift paddles
- Seats with new design
- Three types of wood trim: burr walnut, poplar with bird's-eye look or poplar in anthracite, with stowage compartment in dashboard console as standard
- Luggage cover in standard specification

Comfort

- 4-way electrically adjustable lumbar support for driver and front passenger seats
- Trailer coupling, manually folding

Infotainment

- COMAND system with large colour display and new additional functions
- COMAND APS including hard-disc navigation, Music Register and voice-operated control
- Universal media interface for connecting an iPod and other audio devices
- LINGUATRONIC voice-operated control system with whole-word recognition capability
- Surround sound system with twelve speakers and an output of 610 watts
- Rear-seat entertainment system with larger screens and wireless headphones

Safety

- PRE-SAFE® as standard
- NECK-PRO head restraints as standard

Engines and transmission

- Fuel consumption reduced by up to 0.4 litres per 100 kilometres

Chassis

- New 17, 18, 19 and 20-inch light-alloy wheels
- 19-inch 5-spoke light-alloy wheels standard for V8


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

2009 Mercedes Benz SL550

The optional new Direct-Steer System on this 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL550 Roadster, combined with the suspension's standard Active Body Control, makes the car particularly well suited for, well, anything. And right now "anything" is a hard run through the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. Top down.

The setup gives you perfect feedback and absolutely flat cornering at any speed — so much so that we're soon testing our own mettle, pushing through the next turn at a higher speed, then higher, then higher yet. We never reach the car's limits; instead we reach ours and back off lest we test the laws of physics on a road with no Armco and a 7,500-foot elevation.

A Look at the New Look
The 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL550 represents the first major overhaul of the fifth-generation (R230) SL roadster since the car's introduction in 2003. Mercedes-Benz calls it a partial reskin, and the sheet metal differences are clearly visible.

Mercedes admits that the restyling was necessary because some of its customers complained of the 2003-'08 car being "too girly," perceiving it as a "chick" car. Indeed, there is no shortage of SLs being driven around by wealthy 60-year-old men and 30-year-old trophy wives.

So after more than 140,000 SLs since 2003, the company felt the iconic roadster needed a more masculine design to get more men behind the wheel. This Mercedes-Benz has clearly done.

New Tech Gets It Done
They've improved the SL under that new skin, too. The new Direct-Steer system continually varies the ratio of the steering from 12:1 to 15:1, depending on the angle of the front wheels and the speed and load forces on the suspension components. At the heart of the system is a new rack with ingeniously devised gearing — the gears actually vary in their distance from each other.

In and around the central position, the steering is a larger numerical ratio for good straight-line stability. Once the steering angle reaches 5 degrees, the ratio becomes smaller numerically and the steering quickens, reducing the number of turns lock-to-lock.

Brakes remain unchanged, with 13.8-inch-diameter front discs and 12.6-inch-diameter discs in the rear. And truth be told, no change or upgrade is needed. Apply the brakes hard and a giant hand seems to come out of nowhere to safely haul you down from any speed with excellent pedal feel and modulation.

Tire size also remains the same, 255/40WR18 front and 285/35WR18 out back, but the wheels wear a new design to match the car's more macho look.

As Easy as ABC
M-B engineers have also further refined the SL's standard Active Body Control (ABC) system. You'll remember that ABC completely eliminates antiroll stabilizer bars front and rear and replaces them with computer-controlled shock absorbers that constantly control body movement depending on the car's speed, steering angle and other factors.

In its newest iteration, the system compensates for the body's pitching, rolling and lifting movements, as well as continually adjusting the suspension settings to changing driving conditions. In fact, the system will automatically dial in oversteer when you're cornering hard to make the car more responsive, change to neutral at lower speeds, then change to understeer at high straight-line speeds to ensure straight-ahead stability.

The suspension ride is also adjustable. In more mundane everyday driving, dial in the suspension's Comfort setting and you could be in a luxury S-Class sedan for all your butt knows. Dial it up to Sport and experience a level of handling and maneuverability that is far beyond the driving capability of 99 percent of the drivers who will ever sit behind the wheel of this car.

Under the Hood
The SL's V8 still displaces 5.5 liters and develops 382 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 391 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 rpm. But M-B claims an improvement in fuel consumption. New EPA estimates for the car are 14 city/21 highway.

We wish the carmaker would improve the DOHC engine's bottom-end torque. When you punch down the throttle, you still have to wait a few milliseconds for the revs to build and the engine to climb up on the cams. When that happens, however, things happen, fast.

M-B claims a 0-60 time of 5.3 seconds, which is quicker than about 95 percent of all other cars we've ever tested. Still, thanks to the SL's numerically low 2.65:1 rear axle ratio, you can't really call this car's acceleration explosive. Instead there's a hard, steady push against your spine and eyeballs that doesn't let up until you either lift or hit the electronically controlled rev limiter at the car's 155-mph top speed.

Automatically Cool
Backing up the engine is the same seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic transmission from last year, which, by the way, is not the same as the seven-speed auto in the SL63 AMG version of this car. In the SL550, the trans still uses a torque converter while the new Speedshift MC7 version in the SL63 AMG replaces the torque converter with a wet clutch.

We don't like the SL550's transmission; we love it. As the revs climb, you can bang off shifts right at the redline with either the steering wheel paddles or the good old console-mounted stick. Either way, shifts are bang-quick and solid as a safe.

What are even cooler are the downshifts. The 7G-Tronic boasts fast-action downshifts with a double-declutching function that is automatically triggered during manual downshifts. What that means is that the computer blips the throttle for you just like on a stick shift transmission with a clutch. It sounds so cool and it makes you feel like Helio Castroneves — driving, not dancing.

Inside the Cockpit
Mercedes-Benz executives are very proud of the state-of-the-art telematics system in the SL. The dash-mounted monitor is now brighter with better graphics and the company claims it has a more streamlined user-friendly menu structure.

A new music capability gives you a capacity of 4GB on the 40GB hard drive, enough for storing about 1,000 tracks of music. And they'll play back with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. You can also simply plug your SD card into the slot on the head unit and play back your own music catalog.

There's other newness inside as well, starting with a new-design three-spoke sports steering wheel with the now ubiquitous shift paddles. The instrument panel sports new-design dials with 3-D scale rings. When the ignition is switched on, the tach and speedo needles flick all the way to the peg, then settle back on the 6 o'clock position until the engine is started.

M-B claims that the new-design instrument panel provides optimal instrumentation shielding, but we found the electronic LCD information readouts virtually impossible to see, top up or down. If there is a control to make them brighter, we never found it. So when manually shifting, we never really knew what gear we were in or, for that matter, what suspension setting.

SL in Retrospect
Now that we're a few days separated from our drive, the word "capable" keeps coming to mind. This is a car that is immensely capable no matter what the road challenge or driving condition.

Yes, you can probably say the same thing about almost any Mercedes-Benz automobile. Still, we wouldn't trade the two-seat sportiness or the surrounding luxury for any other car — at least for the two days we were in the SL. It really is a unique combination of very-high-performance sports car and luxury car. There's still nothing else quite like it in the marketplace.

And the top drops in 16 seconds.

Source:

Mercedes Benz CL 65 AMG 40th Anniversary Edition

Mercedes Benz CL 65 AMG 40th Anniversary Edition offers the usual AMG upgrades — perfected styling and a 6.0-liter V12 Biturbo engine that's good for 612-hp — along with a paint finish that you won't find on any other production model car. Called Alubeam, the silvery paint is made with pigment particles that measure just 30 to 50 nanometers (much smaller than normal metallic paint), allowing it to coat the surface more evenly and reflect the light more intensively. Basically, it "gleams like liquid metal" and seems to be "stretched over the vehicle body like a metallic skin," as Mercedes says.

2008 Mercedes Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series

The CLK63 AMG Black Series joining the CL65 AMG on its show stand. Also like the CL65 Anniversary Edition, the Black Series is another vehicle produced to celebrate AMG's 40th birthday. A street-legal version of the Official F1 Safety Car, the special CLK63 is powered by AMG's 6.3-liter V-8, tuned to produce 500 horsepower, mated to mildly upgraded AMG's seven-speed SPEEDSHIFT transmission.

Acceleration has been pegged at a blistering 4.1 seconds with a top speed of 186 mph. Exterior enhancements include carbon-fiber flared fenders that house new AMG forged aluminum wheels (9 x 19 front, 9.5 x 19 rear) shod with Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber (265 / 30 R 19 front, 285 / 30 R 19 rear). The vented and perforated composite disc brakes are 14.2 inches in diameter at the front, 13.0-inches at the rear. The car looks mean at the front, with carbon cooling air intakes under the front bumper and trick air outlets in the front fenders. Add-ons from the F1 Safety Car include an AMG sports exhaust, a limited-slip rear differential, a separate oil cooler for the rear final drive and a carbon-fiber spoiler.





The chassis features adjustable suspension with new spring links, wheel carriers, thrust arms and camber and torque struts, additional adjustments can be made for track use, and its ASR traction control and ESP stability control systems have been calibrated with racing in mind. Larger intake ducts, a new AMG sport exhaust with full-length twin pipes and a recalibrated engine control unit are also part of the package. On the inside, the rear seatshave been removed, and numerous interior AMG touches have been added to the mix.

Mercedes S65 AMG

Mercedes-AMG is the high performance division of the Mercedes-Benz car company. Mercedes-Benz acquired majority interest in AMG in 1998.
AMG or Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach was founded in 1967 as AMG Motorenbau und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (AMG Engine Production and Development, Ltd.) by former Mercedes engineers Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher in a town near Stuttgart called Großaspach."AMG" is an abbreviation that stands for: Hans Werner Aufrecht (A) and Eberhard Melcher (M) who were partners, while Aufrecht’s birthplace of Großaspach (G) supplied the third letter in the company name.

And for this particular W221 'supercar' ... The S 63 AMG and the S 600 makes the same sprint in about 4.6 seconds. The twin-turbo V12 in the S 65 AMG is also found in Mercedes roadster SL 65 AMG.

First Drive: E 300 Bluetec by Brabus

Brabus

Brabus

Brabus

You know the green bandwagon has gathered momentum when a horsepower hungry tuner like Brabus turns its attention to eco-friendly models like the Mercedes E300 Bluetec. Coming from a company better known for big-cube, bonkers bhp engine conversions this may be a surprise, but in fact diesel tuning has become a huge part of Brabus’s business.

The Bluetec exhaust treatment has been a key component in Mercedes’ attempt to woo American buyers into diesel cars, and has been offered Stateside in E320 CDI form since 2006. Continental Europe got its own version in 2007, in detuned (read more economical) E300-spec.

So why don’t we get it in this country – especially given the current obsession with emissions? Well, blame our legislators’ simple-minded obsession with CO2 for that. The Bluetec system tackles tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons. But CO2 is a separate matter and so long as our taxation system is driven by this single issue Mercedes sees no market incentive for selling Bluetec cars in the UK.



So why are you telling me about a Mercedes E300 Bluetec that I can’t buy?

Given the importance being placed on all matters eco the fact that even the tuners are taking notice is significant. And there’s also a perverse pleasure to be had in driving a mean-looking, ruded-up Benz that also happens to be far more deserving of its green halo than the pious hybrid driving masses might expect.

But there is relevance for UK Merc drivers too. Brabus diesel upgrades have quietly been offered in UK Mercedes dealerships for some time now. And a version of the D6 tweaks on this E300 Bluetec can also be fitted to the familiar E320 CDI we get over here.

Indeed, somewhat surprisingly Brabus boasts of a long history of eco-friendly diesel upgrades, even claiming the first-ever use of a particulate filter on its E V8 diesel of 2001. And it has a full range of PowerXtra upgrades for all diesel Mercs, again available through official Merc dealers.

Ok, so the basic gist is I can go fast and save the planet?

That’s probably putting it a bit strongly. But with 255bhp and a thumping 450lb ft of torque – up from the standard E300 Bluetec’s 208bhp and 398 lb ft – the D6 Blue has the power to sprint from 0-62mph in just 6.8 seconds. Not bad for an eco special.

And all the while puffing out emissions that better the 2011 Euro V emissions standards by 65 percent – Brabus is the first tuner to offer such compliance. What’s more, Brabus claims this comes with no penalty over the standard car’s 38.7mpg combined fuel consumption or 184g/km CO2 emissions. Impressive.

The E300 Bluetec uses a lower compression ratio than the standard 320 CDI on which it’s based, together with a particulate filter plus oxidising and NOx storage catalytic converters to reduce hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions. The Brabus PowerXtra plug-in unit further refines the fuelling and other parameters to create the power gains.

What if I don’t care quite so much about the environment and just want to tweak my E320 CDI?

The V6 diesel E-class’s 221bhp and 398lb ft is already pretty healthy. Add the D6 PowerXtra chip and this is boosted to 268bhp and 413lb ft, slashing three tenths off the 0-62mph sprint and boosting in-gear acceleration across the board. Brabus remains cagey about exactly how the PowerXtra unit achieves these gains but the bottom line is that it works a treat.

If you get the kit fitted at a Mercedes dealership when the car is new there is no change to the three-year manufacturer’s warranty and you’re also covered by the Brabus three-year/60,000-mile guarantee. The kit can be retrofitted to existing cars too, although Mercedes will not cover any consequential damage to cars older than two years or with more than 18,000 miles on the clock.

So it’s a hassle- and worry-free upgrade. And nor need it trouble your conscience, Brabus claiming the extra power means the engine doesn’t have to work as hard to achieve comparable performance thereby saving fuel. And when you need a bit of extra shove it’s a twitch of your right foot away. A D6 kit for the E320 CDI costs £1370, plus around half an hour’s labour for fitting.

Just how do these tweaked diesels drive?

Muscular in a word, even in the environmentally conscious Bluetec version we tested. The Mercedes V6 diesel is a brilliant engine anyway and, in all honesty, not compromised at all by the Bluetec modifications.

Throttle response is sharp, the torque seemingly unstoppable and on the autobahn you’re playing with the big boys in the fast lane in no time. It means back home in the more regulated UK you’ll have to watch yourself if you’re to keep your licence clean, so effortless are big speeds in this car.

If you really want to drive hard you’ll still get more satisfaction from a petrol motor, for which Brabus also offers numerous upgrades of course. But if you cover a lot of miles and want some hassle-free extra oomph for minimal outlay there really seems no good reason not to spec your E320 CDI with a bit of Brabus magic if you live in the UK.

Verdict

Win-win. For a modest outlay you get more go, and if you want more show Brabus can always help you there too. There is of course an expansive range of Brabus styling and performance upgrades to feast upon, from bodykits to wheels and even chromed quad exhausts. Bling or stealth – the choice is yours.

And the diesel upgrade is equally effective on all the 280 and 320 CDI engined Mercs, proving especially popular among ML buyers. Brabus is to be applauded for including eco-conscious Bluetec buyers among its potential customers, and if the technology is ever offered in the UK it’s nice to know you can have your eco cake and eat it with the D6 Blue package.

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Source:[CarMagazine] First Drive: E 300 Bluetec by Brabus, By Dan Trent

2009 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Facelift

Mercedes-Benz will unveiled the facelifted A-Class at the Auto Mobil International show in Leipzig in early April 2008. New fuel saving features have been added to the range, with the A150 and A170 baseline models getting the ECO start/stop function. There is also a new 82 horsepower A160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY 3-door model with manual transmission which uses just 4.5 liters of diesel per 100km.

The BlueEFFICIENCY package for the A-Class includes a body that is 10mm lower, an aerodynamically optimised radiator grille with a sealed off rear side, and brake energy regeneration for the onboard electrical systems.

On the interior, the storage area in the center console has been enlarge. There are now new trim elements done up in smoke grey and diagonally brushed aluminium.

New Mercedes-Benz OM651 twin turbodiesel

A twin turbocharged inline-4 diesel engine producing 204 horsepower? Sounds familiar but we are not taking another look at the engine powering the BMW 123d again here, instead this is Mercedes-Benz’s new OM651 turbodiesel engine, which is available in 3 stages of tune.

In the 250 CDI state of tune, the 2,143cc turbodiesel produces 204 horsepower at 4,200rpm and 500Nm of torque between 1,600rpm and 1,800rpm. Two lower states of tune are available - a 220 CDI tuning which results in 170 horsepower between 3,200rpm and 4,800rpm and 400Nm of torque between 1,400rpm and 2,800rpm, and another 200 CDI tuning produces 136 horses between 3,000 and 4,600rpm, and 330Nm of torque between 1,600rpm and 2,800rpm. Installed in the W204 C-Class, the 204 horsepower engine pushes it up to 100km/h in a mere 7.7 seconds, with 60 to 120km/h taking 9.4 seconds.

The twin turbochargers are installed in a sequential manner, with one high pressure small turbocharger spooling up quickly for low revs and the other low pressure large turbocharger taking care of the higher engine speeds. The high pressure turbo that serves the low revs has a bypass duct to prevent it from being overloaded, and it ceases work from medium engine speeds onwards.

The engine also has a fourth generation common rail system with 2,000 bar rail pressure, a big up from the previous generation 400 bar pressure. Maximum ignition pressure is 200 bar, and injectors are piezoelectric.


For smoother operation, two Lanchester balancer shafts with low-friction roller bearings help counter the vibration inherent with inline-4 designs. The engine’s forged crankshaft also has eight counterweights turns supported by five bearings. Conrods are made of forged steel, with weight optimised by Mercedes-Benz engineers. The aluminium pistons slide up and down in cast-iron barrels for minimum frictional resistance.

Lastly, the engine uses a two-mass flywheel which connects a primary flywheel to a secondary one by use of springs to isolate the crankshaft’s vibration from the drivetrain.

Maybach Landaulet priced for the super rich

Maybach Landaulet

The Maybach 62 Landaulet started as an unusual design study from a marque whose sales to the super-rich have been dwindling. Maybach failed to sell even one of its million dollar plus autos in Australia in 2007, while across North America Maybach dealers suffered dwindling sales as the wealthy preferred to plonk their hard earned down on the far more inspiring Rolls-Royce Phantom and its ilk.

Then we learnt that Maybach were biting the bullet and putting the 62 Landaulet into production. It’s hard to believe that a company struggling with a product range that borders on automotive perfection but fails to stir the loins, would proceed with the production of such an odd-ball machine – but they are.

Now we know the price, and surprise turns to amazement. Buying a 62 Landaulet for your chauffer will set you back a whopping US$1.35 million. That’s the price to buy one in the States, keeping in mind that the standard 62 Maybach costs around $US430,000 in the same market…

Maybach are far more positive about their new squillion dollar baby with Hans-Dieter Mulhaupt, the chap in charge of the Maybach program noting: “The Landaulet is for a superrich individual who wants something that is extremely extraordinary and enjoys being driven in a car with acres of sky above them.”






























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Source: Australia Motor Report