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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
- Mercedes-Benz takes first place in the Safety category and overall
- Significant improvement in the CO2-ranking: Star brand moves up 11 places
- Mercedes-Benz the most successful brand since the introduction of AutomarxX, capturing first place a total of 13 times
Stuttgart, Germany, May 26, 2011 – Mercedes-Benz has once again defended the top position in the ADAC AutomarxX study, making it Germany’s strongest automotive brand. Mercedes-Benz is the most successful brand since AutomarxX was introduced in 2001, capturing first place a total of 13 times and beating its competitors in more than half of all the rankings. The ADAC AutomarxX study assesses the automotive brands sold in Germany in six categories: Brand Image, Market Strength, Customer Satisfaction, Product Strength/Vehicle Quality, Environment, and Safety. The results reflect the current capabilities of all automakers that are of relevance in Germany. A winner is ascertained for each category and out of this the overall winner is determined.
“We’re very pleased that we once again are ranked first in the ADAC AutomarxX study,” says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The result confirms our ambition to deliver our customers the very best. Our first place finish demonstrates that Mercedes-Benz continues to be the strongest brand. This also includes Mercedes-Benz being a pioneer in the development of active and passive safety systems. We also want to set benchmarks when it comes to continuous improvement of our vehicles’ efficiency. The significant improvement in the CO2-ranking shows we are successful in this as well.”
Taking the number four slot, Mercedes-Benz moved up 11 places in the CO2-ranking, far ahead of its competitors in the premium segment. The improvement was mainly due to the introduction of new, highly efficient engine variants in high-volume models such as the new-generation C-Class. The new engines, the enhanced 7G TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission, and the ECO start-stop function reduce fuel consumption by up to 31 percent compared to the figure for the predecessor model.
The main factors in the Safety category are availability of active and passive safety systems and the fact that the systems are fitted as standard. The new-generation C-Class, for example, impresses not only as a result of its greater efficiency, but also because of its many new assistance systems. Thanks to features ranging from the ATTENTION ASSIST fatigue detection system to DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control, the C-Class reaches a new level of safety.
The evaluation for the Brand Image category incorporates the results of the ADAC Motorwelt image survey of 4,000 German respondents as well as an assessment of vehicle residual values. In the image survey, the participants were primarily interested in maximum quality and the highest-possible safety standards. Not only did Mercedes-Benz take first place in both of these areas; the people surveyed also ranked the brand at the top with regard to automotive research and development.
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The new Mercedes-Benz SLK is celebrating a brilliant victory in the great AUTO BILD magazine design competition. After the E-Class in 2009 and the SLS AMG in 2010, Mercedes-Benz has now won the AUTO BILD Design Award for the third time in a row. The new Roadster from Mercedes-Benz was voted as the overall winner of the automotive beauty contest by around 90,000 readers of the popular specialist magazine. As a result, the SLK can now proudly carry the title of "Germany's most beautiful car".
The new roadster uncompromisingly takes driving pleasure and open-air enjoyment to a new level. It blends light-footed sportiness with stylish comfort, a striking sports-car design with total suitability for everyday use, top performance with exemplary ecology. What’s more, the SLK is proud to present the world premiere of the panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL, which switches to light or dark at the touch of a button. Exemplary efficiency and sporty flair come courtesy of powerful new 4- and 6-cylinder engines featuring the standard-specification ECO start/stop function. With their superb levels of performance they are up to 25 percent more economical than their predecessors. And a unique set of safety equipment bestows role-model status on the SLK in this segment. With its wealth of technical innovations the SLK is once again the benchmark in its class.
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
• No ground too soft, no hill too steep: Jens Seiner’s Unimog U 400 gets through everywhere
• Ingenious operations in Thuringian Forest Authority District Paulinzella
• Transporting timber – only one of a number of special operations
Stuttgart/Ilmenau, Germany, May 17, 2011 – With his Mercedes-Benz U 400 Unimog, Jens Seiner is adept at finding clever and simple solutions. Just like Columbus when discovering America, the owner of Autotechnik Seiner manages to devise simple solutions to problems for which there is no apparent solution. In order to be able to collect timber efficiently from the forest and deliver it to timber specialists a long way away despite rising diesel prices, Seiner uses a combination of two different methods of transport: His Unimog is fitted with a timber crane superstructure to collect tree trunks from the forest, and then a Unimog truck-trailer unit delivers the goods to the customer.
So that he can avoid wasting time reloading, Seiner does not put the tree trunks on stanchion truck-trailer combinations but in roll-off containers. "This solution allows me to kill two birds with one stone,"says the man from Ilmenau. "In this way no difficulties arise when securing a load with two metre trunks lying crosswise to the direction of the road;also it is virtually impossible to overload the vehicle and there are a lot fewer empty runs as there is always scrap metal, rubble or other debris to be carried on the return journey."In addition he saves fuel. The Unimog U 400 with its 4.2 l four-cylinder 130 kW (177 HP) diesel engine uses a lot less fuel for loading and transporting than a powerful timber truck for long distance trips. The man from Thuringia is more than satisfied with its diesel consumption of about eleven litres per operating hour.
The Unimog with its very ingenious hydraulic system is vital for Autotechnik Seiner. There is hardly any other vehicle which can be used for so many jobs as this comparatively small power pack. Where a normal truck does not even arrive, this sturdy, manoeuvrable four-wheel drive still manages to get through. This is really appreciated by skilled tool-maker and car mechanic Seiner when travelling over snowy or muddy forest roads.
"It doesn't matter what the weather is like, I can collect timber from any corner of the Thuringia Forest with my tough mate from Mercedes-Benz. But I don't let the container roll off the fixed centre trailer using the hooking device until my 30-tonne truck-trailer combination has once more got firm ground under its wheels. The roll-off loader with its trailer is there ready and waiting to take on two full containers at the same time which makes the transport by road to wood pulp or chipboard plants, or sawmill very cost-effective,"explained Seiner. He goes all year round with his U 400 to collect wood from the forest district run by the Thuringian Forest Authority Paulinzella which covers a total area of almost 50,000 acres of woodland and provides a harvest of about 78,500 cubic yards of wood a year.
A multitude of attachable implements for various kinds of work
When Seiners doesn't happen to be using his "Universal-Motor-Gerät" (shortened to: Unimog) for moving wood, he uses his four-wheel drive vehicle for winter services to clear snow from roads, forest trails or the nearby ICE railway track construction site. In addition he uses it to clean roads, mow verges and green areas, build trails, help on construction sites or tow cars. For all these different types of jobs, the enthusiastic Unimog fan has a whole range of implements which can be attached or mounted to his vehicle such as a snow plough, gritter, water tank, cutters or crane. Some of his atttachments are produced at his headquarters in Geilsdorf which is close to Ilmenau. The equipment transforms the Unimog U 400 in no time at all into a suitable workhorse which is simply born to achieve.
60 Years Jubilee for the Mercedes-Benz Unimog
Sixty years ago, to be exact on June 3rd, 1951, the first Mercedes-Benz Unimog rolled off the assembly line in Gaggenau. A unique vehicle concept with outstanding off-road mobility due to its four-wheel drive and fast driving features for road use had come into being. Daimler AG is celebrating this jubilee in 2011 with a multitude of events. These include a huge rally of historical and current Unimog models at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth Plant on Saturday, June 4th. Detailed information about the event as well as how to register for it can be found online: www.mercedes-benz.com/unimog-60jahre . On Sonntag, June 5th there will be jubilee celebrations at the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau (www.unimog-museum.com).
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
