Tag: Midlands Truck & Van

A triumphant end to the 2014 Formula 1 season for Mercedes-Benz as MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton wins the concluding race of the campaign at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi to take the Formula 1 world championship title for the second time in his career. His team-mate Nico Rosberg ends the season as runner-up. Between them, Hamilton and Rosberg accumulated 16 wins, 18 pole positions, 12 fastest laps and 31 podium finishes. With eleven one-two wins in a single season, the team surpassed the previous record set by McLaren in 1988. The 16th victory of the season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix means that MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS no longer share the record with any other team for the highest number of wins in one season.

“Congratulations to the new Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton,” said Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “He has truly earned that title with a fantastic performance this year. At the same time, I would also like to congratulate his team-mate Nico Rosberg and all of our staff in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart on this fascinating and highly successful season. Formula 1 is a team sport, and they have all achieved a magnificent result from their joint efforts this year. The fact is that world champions drive Mercedes-Benz. Motorsport has a long tradition at Mercedes-Benz. The very first Mercedes in 1901 was a racing car. Ever since the invention of the first automobile by Karl Benz, our company has been a force for innovation in the automotive industry. Right from the start, Mercedes-Benz regarded racing as a proving ground for some of our most important developments. The new Formula 1 regulations on hybrid power units has taken the sport in the same direction that the automotive industry was already heading. Formula 1 is carrying out pioneering work in areas that will also be of great importance in the car industry of the future.”

Mercedes-Benz already clinched the F1 constructors’ championship in the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi. MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS became the first team to win the trophy in the new Formula 1 hybrid era. The knowledge gained from using this advanced technology has already proved of immense benefit in car manufacturing. A prime example is the latest series of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, namely the S500 PLUG-IN HYBRID.

“What a great season! Congratulations to the new Formula 1 drivers’ champion Lewis Hamilton and to the constructors’ champions MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS,” said Professor Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes Benz Cars Development. “The success of our Silver Arrows works team in developing the Mercedes-Benz W05 F1 Hybrid is not only restricted to the racetrack, however. Formula 1 serves as the fastest research laboratory in the world. Nowhere else are new technologies so systematically and rapidly developed as in the highest echelon of motorsport. This is where racing and series production derive mutual benefit. In designing the world championship-winning F1 W05 Hybrid, the engineers in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart made full use of existing synergies to ensure that the Silver Arrow would take the title in the first year of the new regulations. Conversely, Formula 1 itself comes up with new solutions that have general applicability. In this way, we have shown the world what is possible. The technology transfer between Formula 1 and series production is highly beneficial. In the past, technologies such as petrol direct injection have found their way into series production via the Silver Arrows of the 1950s. Today, the knowledge gained from Formula 1 can help with the similarly complex challenge of designing pioneering road vehicles such as the S 500 HYBRID PLUG IN. The objective is the same in both areas, namely the conversion of efficiency into superior performance.”

Winning both the drivers’ and the constructors’ world championships represents two special milestones for Mercedes-Benz in what was already a very special year. In 2014, the brand with the three-pointed star celebrates 120 years in motorsport and the 80th anniversary of the legendary Silver Arrows. In the 1954 and 1955 seasons, Juan Manuel Fangio in a Mercedes-Benz W 196 R won the drivers’ championship in the premier class of motor racing.

A giant TV screen was erected in the Mercedes-Benz Museum so that hundreds of Mercedes-Benz employees could watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and cheer on the two Silver Arrows. The new Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg will be attending Stars & Cars on 29th November 2014, a special event in and around the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart to mark the end of the sporting year. In addition to the Formula 1 champions and Mercedes-Benz DTM squad, the guest list for Stars & Cars will also include many other current and former celebrities from the motor racing world. Admission for the general public is free of charge.

Article Source – http://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/news/2014/mercedes-benz-celebrates-one-two-victory-formula-1-drivers-world/

Qualified therapist Caroline Jones has turned a dream into reality, by launching a mobile deluxe treatment room based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

The Zen Ten Spa offers a range of holistic healing, well-being and pamper sessions to individuals and groups of clients. Caroline is also developing partnerships with boutique hotels, restaurants and pubs wishing to add an extra dimension to their customer experience.

Jones purchased her Sprinter 313 CDI Medium chassis cab with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services funding support, from Midlands Truck & Van, Coventry. She has also taken out a Mercedes-Benz ServiceCare contract, under which the Dealer will undertake all routine maintenance.

The vehicle’s purpose-built and climate-controlled box body is the work of M6 Motor Bodies, of Birmingham. Fitted with a folding massage couch, a fruit bowl-style basin in pure mother-of-pearl, gossamer curtains and an abundance of gold-plated fixtures, the room has been painstakingly designed down to the finest detail, to be a relaxing and rejuvenating tranquil oasis.

Jones has been a practicing aromatherapist since the early 1990s, and is also qualified to administer a range of other treatments. She offers a portfolio of ten holistic therapies including Swedish Massage, Reflexology, Reiki, Indian Head Massage, Hot Stone Therapy and Foot Rescue, as well as other, lighter alternatives.

“It’s been more than a year since I began evolving the concept of the Zen Ten Spa and having put so much work into the project I’m really excited finally to be up and running,” she said. “My business is not a beauty parlour; it’s a spa, and aimed at a high-end, lifestyle-focused customer base. So given its premium brand values and the unrivalled quality of its products, Mercedes-Benz was the only manufacturer I wanted to work with.”

She continued: “My Sprinter is very smooth and easy to drive, as well as being impressively fuel-efficient. Thanks to Midlands Truck & Van Sales Executive Gez O’Reilly and the team M6 Motor Bodies, the finished vehicle is even greater than the sum of its parts – it’s everything I’d hoped it would be, and more.”

Jones has also benefited from a programme of instruction delivered by the Dealer’s driver-trainer Chris Round, to ensure she can negotiate even the tightest turns to customers’ homes and premises.

Article source http://www.fleetnews.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz Trucks: The trucks of tomorrow and cutting-edge technology of today

The trucks of tomorrow and cutting-edge technology of today – Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Fuso at the 2014 International Commercial Vehicles show (IAA) in Hanover

• Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 – a glance at the future shape of trucks
• Fascinating technology: new Actros SLT heavy-duty tractor unit
• Actros, Arocs, Antos and Atego – A-series in top form
• Innovative M 936 G natural gas engine in the Econic
• High-tech tools and all-terrain specialists – Unimog and Zetros
• In top form: Fuso Canter with three drive systems

Stuttgart – The A-series are setting the pace: from the Actros and Arocs to the Antos and Atego, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is the first European manufacturer to have rolled out its fleet with Euro VI technology. At the same time the current Mercedes-Benz truck portfolio sets new standards in terms of cost-effectiveness, safety and operating comfort. The same applies to Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks with the Econic, Unimog and Zetros. And now, Mercedes-Benz is topping this with a new natural gas engine and further model variants at the 2014 International Commercial Vehicles show (IAA) in Hanover. A study providing a fascinating vision of the future shape of trucks will also be presented.

Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 – a glance at the future shape of trucks

Visitors to the Mercedes-Benz stand at the IAA will have an opportunity to witness the truck of tomorrow. At the beginning of July, Daimler demonstrated the outstanding capabilities of the autonomously driving “Future Truck 2025″ on the A14 motorway near Magdeburg.

The Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 constitutes a revolution in efficiency and safety, a revolution for road traffic and its infrastructure, for professional driving and for the road transport sector. In ten years trucks will be able to drive autonomously on the motorways and highways of Europe. Developed by Daimler Trucks as part of the “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative to save resources and reduce all types of emissions while also ensuring the highest possible standard of road safety. Connectivity is one of the pillars on which this technical quantum leap is founded.

Mercedes-Benz will be presenting the undisguised study boasting a spectacular interior and exterior design at the IAA.

More than 20 trucks from all model series, TechLane, “Driving Experience” Laatzen

From 25 September to 2 October, Mercedes-Benz is presenting the state of the art in truck engineering with around 20 vehicles from all the model series in hall 14/15 at the show. In addition, visitors to the stand and its TechLane will find exhibits explaining the technology that lies behind the outstanding cost-effectiveness of the new truck generation.

Visitors to the show can also experience the very latest truck technology live during the course of test and demonstration drives on the nearby practice site in Laatzen.

Fascinating technology: new Actros SLT heavy-duty tractor unit

The new Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT heavy-duty tractor unit is celebrating its public debut at the IAA show. This is the crowning glory of the Actros series, which ushered in the latest generation of Mercedes-Benz trucks and is now Europe’s No. 1 long-distance truck. The Actros SLT copes with a gross combination weight of up to 250 t and is full of fascinating technology. The innovative turbo-retarder clutch (TRC) combines a wear-free hydraulic start-off clutch and a retarder with high brake power. The 16-speed Mercedes PowerShift 3 transmission with a specially developed shift programme ensures the most suitable ratio at all times. The prominent cooling tower behind the cab contains exclusive special technology. Mercedes-Benz supplies the heavy-duty tractor unit in a wide variety of axle configurations culminating in the Actros SLT 8×8, a powerful four-axle truck with all-wheel drive.

Actros, Arocs, Antos and Atego – A-series in top form

Appearing together for the first time at an IAA show – the four model series Actros, Arocs, Antos and Atego. With a whole host of new features. The Actros, for example, is looking for a challenge right now: in the “Fuel Challengerl” taking place in 22 European countries, it is competing against its competitors in fleets under defined conditions. What we promise: The Actros is the most cost-effective truck, and consumes less fuel than the most economical truck in the fleet taking part. To date the Actros has fought this duel in more than 300 fleets – and emerged the winner in an amazing 99 percent of cases. On average, the Actros achieved impressive fuel savings of almost ten percent.

Power, robustness and efficiency – from a tipper to a semitrailer tractor, the Mercedes-Benz Arocs has all the attributes demanded in tough construction site operations. The Arocs is likewise optionally available with the turbo-retarder clutch, which ensures maximal load-bearing capacity when moving off and manoeuvring with heavy weights and high torque. The new “Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive” (HAD) caters for on-road operation with an occasional need for increased traction. This has selectable wheel hub motors to drive the front axle. The Arocs 6×4 with a low cab mounting height is a new addition to the range. It is suitable for areas with low overhead clearances. The Arocs is now also available with Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC), the predictive cruise control with transmission intervention. This quickly pays off in on-road operations.

The Mercedes-Benz Antos is the first specialist for heavy distribution operations, and at the same time an all-rounder. With numerous available variants, it can be specifically configured for an individual operating profile. This is aided by the new option of a front axle with air suspension. It is primarily intended for through-loading combinations, so that the necessary height can be precisely set within a truck/trailer combination. The Antos is the epitome of high class, efficiency and excellent handling.

The Mercedes-Benz Atego is the European market leader for distribution trucks with 6.5 to 16 t permissible gross vehicle weight. In the revised version it has the benchmark position with respect to quality, reliability, repair and maintenance costs and longevity in the light and medium truck segments. Like the Antos and Arocs, the Atego is celebrating its IAA debut in Hanover.

Innovative M 936 G natural gas engine in the Econic

The new M 936 G natural gas engine in the Econic is based on the OM 936 turbodiesel engine from the new 7.7 l BlueEfficiency Power generation. As a mono-fuel engine, it runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) and has an output of 221 kW (301 hp) while delivering maximum torque of 1200 Nm. Figures like these, in combination with its impressive power delivery, place the single-stage turbocharged engine on a par with its diesel-powered counterpart. At the same time, it sets new standards in terms of environmental compatibility, with CO2 emissions up to 22 percent below those of a diesel engine. Using biogas further improves the carbon footprint.

Virtually soot-free combustion obviates the need for a particulate filter of the kind now customary in diesel engines with the introduction of the Euro VI standard. Exhaust gas after-treatment is by means of a three-way catalytic converter. And another advantage: The natural gas engine has an even lower noise level than the already quiet OM 936 diesel engine. The additional weight compared to diesel drive has been halved to only around 500 kg. This is by virtue of gas cylinders with thin steel walls and a carbon-fibre mantle.

High-tech tools and all-terrain specialists – Unimog and Zetros

The Unimog is appearing as a new implement carrier in two model series: the U 216 and U 218 are the particularly compact entry-level models, while the U 318 to U 530 are the successors to the familiar implement carrier. The new generation not only looks attractive, it is above all even more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective, and its typical characteristics are considerably further enhanced. For example, the new working hydraulics operate precisely and allow fine control, despite an increase in hydraulic power. The implement carrier brings a new version of hydrostatic drive onto the road by the name of synergetic traction drive: the combination of a hydrostat and manual transmission now allows the driver to switch between systems while on the move.

The new all-terrain Unimog models are even more environmentally friendly and efficient, and just as capable off-road as the preceding series. They have the model designations U 4023 and U 5023. From the cab design and cockpit to the engine and its position, the new generation is fundamentally different from its predecessor. As the most powerful engine ever used in the Unimog, the four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz OM 934 develops 170 kW (231 hp) and a powerful 900 Nm of torque from a displacement of 5.1 l. The engine has been relocated to the rear beneath the cab. Owing to this mid-engine position, the vehicle’s centre of gravity is lower while allowing more ground clearance – another benefit for the outstanding off-road handling characteristics.

When outstanding traction and load-bearing capacity are required in extremely difficult conditions, the cab-behind-engine Mercedes-Benz Zetros comes to the fore. It combines extreme off-road capabilities with a high load capacity. As a new and very important aid to traction, an optional tyre pressure control system with push-button controls in the cab is available. Also new is an extended wheelbase with a larger rear overhang for the two-axle model. Preparations are under way for a further engine to power the three-axle Zetros 6×6: it will become available with the globally successful Mercedes-Benz OM 457 in-line six-cylinder engine. This has an output of 315 kW (428 hp) and a maximum torque of 2100 Nm.

In top form: Fuso Canter with three drive systems

The cleanest technology, whatever the application: Fuso is a pioneer in environmentally friendly drive systems for the commercial vehicle sector. The new Fuso Canter E-Cell represents the state of the art for all-electric, locally emission-free light trucks: an operating range of over 100 km, powerful output of 110 kW (150 hp), chassis payload of around 3.0 t and a permissible gross vehicle weight of 6.0 t. Eight Canter E-Cell trucks have been undergoing practical trials with customers for a year. The Canter Eco Hybrid has already been available in Europe since the end of 2012. This produces fuel and CO2 savings of up to 23 per cent, and is available at a moderate extra cost. The diesel-powered Fuso Canter is even more economical and cost-effective since the move to Euro VI. The Ecofficiency package included as standard reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to nine percent. Now with a permissible gross vehicle weight of up to 8.55 t, with dropsider and tipper bodies ex-factory as well as the further refined all-wheel drive of the Canter 4×4, the Fuso Canter will present itself in top form at the IAA show.