Posts with tag: Technology

Daimler And Toray Of Japan Set Up Carbon Fiber Parts Company

by (RSS feed) February 9th, 2011 at 2:57 am

toray logo Daimler And Toray Of Japan Set Up Carbon Fiber Parts Company
In a sign of the company’s cooperation strategy with other manufacturers, Daimler AG, in cooperation with Toray Industries of Japan have announced a joint venture effort in making automobile parts. It seems highly unusual for Daimler to partner with Toray, a textile manufacturer, in forming a company to make mercedes benz parts but this announcement is an offshoot of the alliance the two companies formed last spring to cooperate on the development of carbon fiber components.

While carbon fiber reinforced plastics have drawn attention for their lightness and strength (which can achieve better fuel efficiency for vehicles), the laborious manufacturing process does not sit favorably with auto manufacturers who need to drive costs down while mass-producing parts at the same time.
Toray and Daimler have apparently succeeded in developing a technology to mass-produce CFRP parts in a short period. As a result, the venture aims to start supplying carbon fiber components for Mercedes-Benz cars by 2012.

The headquarters for the new company will be in Esslingen. However, Toray will be the majority stakeholder with 50.1 percent. Daimler will have 44.9 percent and other investors will own the remaining 5 percent.

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Mercedes Power Motivates New Baby Infiniti

by (RSS feed) February 7th, 2011 at 5:45 pm

InfinitiMerc Mercedes Power Motivates New Baby Infiniti
The Mercedes-Benz – Renault-Nissan collaboration has resulted in the DE18LA engine being used for the upcoming baby Infiniti. The DE18LA is a turbocharged 1.8 liter inline four that produces around 200 horsepower.

The new Infiniti is slated to be introduced at the Geneva motor show next month. In keeping with the Infiniti name, the car will be a small premium luxury three-door coupe, with styling cues borrowed from the Essence concept car. Industry sources revealed that the production model may be based on a Renault-Nissan platform that will be shared with the Megane. In turn, Mercedes will get to use Renault-Nissan’s small-capacity engines and electric systems. Nissan went to Mercedes-Benz for this Infiniti’s engine to fast-track its compliance with tightening European emission controls. As used in the C-Class, the DE18LA emits but just 178 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

Infiniti’s Mercedes collaboration may also include the upcoming S-class platform for use on a bigger Infiniti model which would in turn use an in-house hybrid V6.

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Fuel Celled Cars To See Rapid Price Declines By 2015

by (RSS feed) February 1st, 2011 at 5:52 am

2015FCV Fuel Celled Cars To See Rapid Price Declines By 2015
Achieving a $50,000 price point for a fuel-celled sedan by 2015 is going to be difficult but doable. This was the statement given to Automotive News by Daimler’s e-drive and future mobility chief Herbert Kohler. With Toyota declaring its intention to launch a fuel-celled vehicle at such a price point in four years, Mercedes, a strong proponent of fuel-celled vehicles has no choice but to match this declaration. Kohler admits that “ By 2015, we think a fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard. By 2013-2014, we want to bring a four-digit-number of fuel cell vehicles to market”.

Mercedes-Benz is also contemplating the development of fuel cell versions of the A-, C- and E-Class lines in the next five years. Costs would rapidly decline if Mercedes can incorporate its fuel cell technology into several models and hit mass production levels.

Kohler added that fuel celled vehicles can be expected to be cheaper than battery-powered cars of the same size in the next five years. He also said that the second-generation fuel cell cars would use less expensive hardware when they are introduced in 2013. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell is currently available for lease to selected customers in the U.S. for $849 a month.

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Mercedes Spending Billions To Fast-Track Alternative Powertrain Development

by (RSS feed) January 26th, 2011 at 4:32 pm

hybridS400 Mercedes Spending Billions To Fast Track Alternative Powertrain Development

Despite its luxury stature, it cannot be said that Mercedes-Benz is a ponderous company, and it is light on its feet when distinguishing trends that will be good for the company and its customers. A case in point is the company’s decision to bring to market 8 new diesel variants in the next few years. There is also the reported fast-track development of several hybrids for Mercedes’ primary markets. A news item in an industry publication reports that Mercedes-Benz is looking to introduce C-, E- and S-Class hybrid variants in the coming three years. Apart from recognizing the market potential of hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles, the move aims to prepare the company for tightening fuel-economy legislation in both the U.S. and Europe. The diesel and hybrid combination should provide Mercedes-Benz with the figures they need to attain the required corporate average fuel economy.

While Europe can expect these gas/electric hybrids to appear in C- and E-Class vehicles by 2013, North American buyers will have to wait for half a year to see these cars in their local showrooms.

Mercedes is reportedly spending almost 3 billion dollars on researching and developing alternative powertrains. This is according to Herbert Kohler, the company’s head of E-Drive and future mobility.

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SMART Sites To Provide Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles

by (RSS feed) January 26th, 2011 at 4:01 pm

modalterminal SMART Sites To Provide Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles

If it were possible to time travel an automobile user from the 50s or 60s to the upcoming terminal to be built in Tennessee, he would be bewildered by the fact that there were no gas pumps to fill up his car. Add to that the terminal’s futuristic design and he would probably think that modern conveyances were the stuff of science fiction.

In Knoxville, such a terminal is being built with the moniker of SMART, for Smart Modal Area Recharge Terminal. This site and its technology were created by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The proponents of the project hope that it will surpass all other similar projects in terms of efficiency and power. SMART was built to harness solar power to charge vehicle batteries, in the same way that today’s petrol-engined vehicles pull up to a gas pump to fill up with fuel. In this case, it will be solar power converted to electricity which will fill up an electric car’s batteries. Equipped with a storage system, the terminal would have 5 kilowatt-hours of power for each charging space, of which there will be 10.

“Electricity as a transportation fuel can benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and it can save consumers money by lowering their driving costs. These all-in-one charging stations are important to the development of electric vehicles and also to TVA’s goal to provide cleaner, low-cost energy”, said the TVA senior vice president of Environment and Technology, Anda Ray.

The terminal will shortly undergo field trials of between three to six months duration, where TVA will asses the viability of installing more terminals. TVA’s goal is for Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville to provide 125 charging points between the SMART sites.

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