Mercedes Benz

Mercedes B Class Electric Drive at the Detroit Auto Show

January 24, 2014January 18, 2015evcentralLeave a comment

Original content from Gas 2 by Jo Borrás

Mercedes Benz Electric Drive B-Class at the Detroit Auto Show 2014 (NAIAS 2014)

From a sporty, V12 S Class to a bewinged Smart car, Mercedes brought everything (and a little in-between) to the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, and parked it right across from Cadillac.

If you don’t think that’s Mercedes making a deliberate statement, then you don’t know enough Germans, kids.

Case in point: parked right across the hall from Cadillac’s Golden-girl getting ELR EV was this “pure” all-electric Mercedes-Benz.

First shown back in 2012, the electric Mercedes-Benz B Class was heralded as a “no-compromises” luxury EV that, unlike the Chevy Volt, didn’t have to sacrifice seating or interior room compared to its gas-powered siblings (the Volt rides on the Chevy Cruze’s global compact-vehicle platform).

At the time, the B Class Electric Drive’s 134 hp electric motor was said to deliver a 200 km range (about 125 miles), and re-charging times of just over an hour on what has come to be called a “Supercharger.”

At the Detroit Auto Show, the Mercedes B Class Electric Drive showed up in a slick white paint job with metallic blue accents over what is, usually, chrome. That’s a feature it has with other “green” cars like the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Honda Accord PHEV I tested last summer.

The Benz, however, seems to offer a step-up, interior-wise, along with better headroom. Good stuff, in other words — and the electric Mercedes B Class was built to nicely occupy the space between the Nissan Leaf and the pricier Tesla Model S in the marketplace. That’s something the over-priced Cadillac ELR certainly can’t do, for now.

Mercedes didn’t announce any sort of pricing or on-sale date at NAIAS, but I’d expect to hear something about that after the Chicago show in February, but before the LA Show in the fall. Feel free to share your predictions, comments, or assertions that the Chevy Volt/Cadillac ELR twins aren’t hybrids in the comments, below.

Mercedes Benz Electric Drive B-Class at NAIAS 2014. Image 2

Mercedes Benz Electric Drive B-Class at NAIAS 2014. Image 5

Mercedes Benz Electric Drive B-Class at NAIAS 2014. Image 4

Mercedes Benz Electric Drive B-Class at NAIAS 2014. Image 3

This article, Electric Mercedes B Class Arrives in Detroit, is syndicated from Gas 2.0 and is posted here with permission.

About the Author

Jo Borrás I’ve been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and write for a number of blogs in the Important Media network. You can find me on Twitter, Skype (jo.borras) or Google+.

New Mercedes Hybrid Diesel C Class at NAIAS 2014 + VIDEO

January 19, 2014January 18, 2015evcentralLeave a comment

Original content from Gas 2 by Jo Borrás

When you put green-minded car guys into a room, you almost always hear arguments for “clean“ high-MPG diesel cars vs. more complicated, but more prevalent (in the US, at least) gas-electric hybrids. Almost always, the conversation ends with someone saying “too bad you can’t buy a diesel hybrid” with many nods being shared over beers.

Well, if remarks from Mercedes’ execs at this years North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and the release of this video are any indication, it seems like Mercedes-Benz has done it.

Not only does the new for 2014 Mercedes C Class feature a C300 Bluetec diesel model, but Mercedes seems to have built a C300 Bluetec Hybrid, as well. There’s more on that, and photos from the floor of Cobo Center. Enjoy!

Mercedes brought the latest version of its C Class sedans to the 2014 Detroit Auto Show – make that, the latest versions of its C Class sedan. According to the announcer at the MBUSA press conference, buyers will be able to choose the “traditional” Mercedes-Benz slatted grille or the “SL style” grille with a prominent 3-pointed star. The biggest news, however, is the availability of a Bluetec Mercedes diesel engine in the C Class.

In addition to the C300 Bluetec Mercedes Diesel shown here (in white), you’ll be able to order a C250 powered by a 201 hp, 1.8 liter 4 cylinder engine or a C350 that’s powered by a 3.5 liter V6 capable of delivering more than 300 hp while getting 29 MPG highway.

The new engines come with a refreshed exterior more in tune with Mercedes’ new S600 flagship sedans. Softer edges, improved aerodynamics, and an interior featuring a prominently placed “tablet” floating above the dashboard work together to keep the newest “baby Benz” culturally relevant in the face of what’s sure to be stiff competition from Tesla’s upcoming Model E and Fisker’s Nina (assuming anyone’s willing to pay the now $55 million needed to make that a reality).

Even more telling, perhaps, that Mercedes considers Tesla and, now, Lexus as its primary competitors might be the announcement from MB brass that a Bluetec hybrid C Class will be coming next year to join the company’s bigger, badder, S class hybrid offerings. So far, details are scarce- but you can check out a quick video of the upcoming C300 Bluetec Mercedes diesel hybrid, here …

… and check out the new C Class’ available nose options in these photos, below, and let us know what you think of Mercedes’ newest C Class options in the comments section at the bottom of this article. Enjoy!

Sporty Mercedes Diesel C300 C Class

Sporty Mercedes Diesel C300 C Class_interior — Mercedes Diesel C300 C Class Interior

Comfortable Mercedes C250 C Class

2014 Mercedes C250 C Class_interior — 2014 Mercedes C250 C Class

This article, New Mercedes Diesel C Class Debuts at NAIAS 2014, is syndicated from Gas 2.0 and is posted here with permission.

About the Author

Jo Borrás I’ve been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and write for a number of blogs in the Important Media network. You can find me on Twitter, Skype (jo.borras) or Google+.

Mercedes B-Class EV comes with 124-Mile Range and Tesla Technology

December 28, 2013January 18, 2015evcentralLeave a comment

by Nicholas Brown

Mercedes Benz Electric B-Class/B-Klasse. Image Credit: Chris DeMorro / Gas2.

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class EV will come with three regenerative braking options (three levels of regenerative brakes). It can accelerate from 0 to 62 MPH (0 to 100 km/h) in 7.9 seconds, which is comparable to the average new car, and it has an electronically limited top speed of 99 mph (160 km/h).

Hold on…99 mph?! That is well below average. How could Mercedes-Benz expect people to buy something with such a low top speed?

Practically speaking, this is not an issue, as 99 mph is above the speed limits of almost all roads. So whether your car’s top speed is 99 mph or 200 mph, it won’t matter on the road, as you cannot legally go up to either speed anyway. Of course, this isn’t the case on the Autobahn. And some people may want to drive above 99 mph even if they’re not legally allowed to.

Apart from that matter, as the Autoblog video summarizes, this vehicle’s powertrain comes from Tesla Motors, and its 130 kW (174 HP) electric motor achieves 340 Newton-meters of torque (250 foot pounds) and should provide a range of 124 miles (200 km) per charge.

Charge time for its 28 kWh battery pack is 1.5 hours at 400 volts (to provide 100 km of the range).

We know that Tesla Motors has developed the best electric vehicles (or even cars of any kind) in the world, so it is a clear plus that the vehicle is using Tesla technology.

Daimler writes:

Mercedes-Benz has collaborated with TESLA Motors to develop the electric B Class.

The two companies share many years of cooperation in the field of electric mobility.

As a shareholder in TESLA, Daimler has also been represented on TESLA’s supervisory board since 2009.

The battery for the predecessor model of the Smart Fortwo electric drive, for instance, comes from TESLA.

For the B-Class Electric Drive, Mercedes-Benz is once again availing itself of the extensive know-how available from the electric car pioneer and is using the TESLA drive system in its own vehicle.

The Mercedes B-Class EV should be available in Germany by the end of 2014. At some point, the B-Class EV is also supposed to arrive in America.

This article, Mercedes B-Class EV Comes With 124-Mile Range, Tesla Technology, Multiple Braking Options, is syndicated from Clean Technica and is posted here with permission.

About the Author

Nicholas Brown has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, geography, and much more. My website is: Kompulsa.