“The Masters has a special status in Mercedes-Benz’ sports sponsorship portfolio. Our brand committment ‘The Best or Nothing’ fits perfectly with the world’s most prestigious golf tournament. It's a great honour for us to be part of the Masters as both brands are connected by the passion for perfection,” says Lüder Fromm, Director of Global Marketing Communications for Mercedes-Benz Cars.Joining long-time Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador Bernhard Langer, Australia’s Adam Scott is expected to tee off for the first time as a new Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador at the Masters. The two golfers are part of an exclusive Meet & Greet for Mercedes-Benz customers. The get-togethers with Scott, last year’s runner-up (T2), and Langer, a two-time Masters champion, are part of an exclusive experiential programme in Augusta for selected Mercedes-Benz customers from around the world.
Lüder Fromm: “In addition to all our golfing activity during Masters week, we will exclusively preview the new Mercedes-Benz SL, which officially launches in the US on April 28, to invited Mercedes-Benz guests. The new SL is the physical representation of ‘living the perfect legend’ and, therefore, ideally suited to be previewed during Masters week.”
Following its success during last year’s Masters week, the Mercedes-Benz Performance Center will once again be open to the public at Mercedes-Benz of Augusta. Two Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans serve as a home for the overall US PGA Performance Center incorporating high-tech golf teaching technologies to improve important skills such as putting and swing mechanics.
Mercedes-Benz has been involved in the professional sport of golf since the 1980s and now in 2012 Mercedes-Benz is extremely proud to be an international partner of three Major tournaments. On a national market level, Mercedes-Benz also supports a variety of professional tournaments around the globe.
In amateur golf, Mercedes-Benz created and still organises the MercedesTrophy, a worldwide premium tournament series for amateurs, it will take place for the 23rd time in 2012. More than 60,000 golfers in over 60 countries play each year in MercedesTrophy events. These participants compete to enter the MercedesTrophy World Final in September. The best individual players and teams are honoured in Stuttgart, the “birthplace of the automobile”, where they also have an opportunity to gain exclusive insight into the world of Mercedes-Benz and in addition, as do all MercedesTrophy players worldwide, take part in the “Drive to the Major” competition.Credits: Daimler AGCopyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Mercedes-Benz is to combine its online activities, developing the international website www.mercedes-benz.com into a digital brand magazine. From March 2012 the contents of the brand platforms Mercedes-Benz TV, Mercedes Magazine Online, Mercedes-Benz Reporter and the Fashion and Golf website are to be integrated here. The user-friendly premium magazine offers editorially prepared contents and aesthetic images. It thus enables surprising insights into the many facets of the world of Mercedes-Benz. As digital heart of the brand, this website is also optimised for tablet PCs.
“With the further development of our website into a central, advanced brand magazine, we can bring together contents from the Mercedes-Benz world and thus provide a clear orientation for the user”, says Anders Sundt Jensen, Director of Brand Communication, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The focus will be on its character as a magazine. We place a premium on an emotionally-appealing presentation of contents, which are furthermore continuously updated. With this, we transcend by far conventional international corporate websites, offering visitors unique possibilities to experience the Mercedes-Benz brand in digital form.”
A modern information architecture and an innovative concept
The new brand magazine is characterised by its modern information architecture, the innovative data visualisation it features as well as further highlights – for example, an incremental search function with image results. The high-quality contents are presented in seven editorial departments: Vehicles, Innovation, Design, Sport, History, Fashion and Zeitgeist, the spirit of the time. Through the full integration of the heretofore separate Mercedes-Benz TV video channel it offers – in addition to articles, photo galleries, reports and interviews – a great amount of video material, too. The video contents from all editorial departments can be also accessed under the heading “TV”. Navigation is extremely user-friendly: vertically on the menu point level and horizontally in the articles. This makes the digital premium magazine compatible for use with tablet PCs. An innovative gallery mode offers the possibility to switch the entire website to an explorative navigation.
Together with the new digital www.mercedes-benz.com brand magazine, Mercedes-Benz will offer three strategic online brand platforms in future. The two platforms established last year: the magazine “mb! by Mercedes-Benz” (www.mercedes-benz.com/mb) and the interview magazine “The Avant/Garde Diaries” (www.theavantgardediaries.com), will remain as independent formats to address new and young target groups in particular. A selection of their contents will also be published at www.mercedes-benz.com in the division “Zeitgeist”. The music download platform “Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape” has been integrated in the mb! magazine.
Design re-brush of the international product sites
In the framework of the brand opening to new target groups, Mercedes-Benz has re-worked the design of its web appearance in 97 markets. From March on, 97 markets will appear successively in a new, modern look and feel with optimised user guidance. The homepage will show topical subjects with a clear layout and integrating links to social media such as Twitter und Facebook. Interaction elements will be highlighted and the most used entry links reorganised in the interests of simpler navigation. With this re-brush Mercedes-Benz transfers the fascination of its products to the country-specific websites, making them even more up-to-date, more informative and with greater emotive appeal.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
It looks the V12 saga at Mercedes-AMG isn't over yet, as we found out the Affalterbach-based company will unleash the new SL 65 AMG beast early in April, at the NYIAS 2012. Little details are known at this moment, but the sports roadster should retain the current V12 twin-turbocharged engine with a total displacement of 6.0 litres. Most probably, the unit has been tweaked for greater performance and a more efficient ride. The powerplant delivers a high-end torque of 1,000 Nm, with the peak output located somewhere between 630 and 650 hp. Maximum speed is rated at 250 km/h and, upon customer request, could reach 320-330 km/h if the electronic limitation is removed. Hopefully, the new SL 65 AMG will display a more personalized design to set it apart from the SL 63 AMG. Chances are this new and terrific AMG V12 convertible costs well over €200,000.Note: SL 63 AMG pictured.
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Illustration Credits: Schulte-Design
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Mercedes-Benz, the German car manufacturer, is delighted to announce the appointment of Australian professional golfer, Adam Scott, as its new international golf brand ambassador. The 31 year-old Australian has had a hugely successful year, including his best finish at a Major championship when he finished in tied second place at The Masters in Augusta. He also triumphed at the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone International, earning him his first career World Golf Championship.
The Australian is currently ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Rankings. The association with Mercedes-Benz will begin in January 2012, and will entail global TV advertising, global print advertising, international PR and social media.
Scott commented: “It’s a real honour to be involved with Mercedes-Benz – a brand with a reputation which is second to none, and whose values mirror those of golf. The company is a huge supporter of the sport around the globe, partnering three major tournaments; The Masters, The Open, and The USPGA Championship as international automobile partner. Its involvement also impacts the amateur game with The MercedesTrophy, a tournament in its 22nd year, which attracts 60,000 amateur golfers from over 60 countries annually.”
Scott continued: “It’s great to be part of a brand that is extensively engaged not only in the world of golf but also other platforms that fit so well with my personal interests. Its motorsport activities are a given, but its sponsorship of Fashion Weeks across the world are fantastic.”
Mercedes-Benz Global Marketing Director, Lüder Fromm, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Adam Scott to the Mercedes-Benz family – our values of fascination, perfection and responsibility fit perfectly with Adam’s own principles. He has had such a great year, and we believe that he will be a valuable asset to the Mercedes-Benz golf. He’s a new breed of golfer who embodies Mercedes-Benz values both on and off the course – the best or nothing.”
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
"Mercedes-Benz writes a new chapter of the Declaration of Independence"
Networked access to information everywhere and at all times has become an indispensable part of daily life. That also goes for the time one spends in the car. And so consumer electronics and the automobile have become more and more tightly interlinked in recent years, because the objective of the two respective industries was and is the same: independence for the customer. Mercedes-Benz realizes this independence not only through the automobile itself. Rather, innovative telematics and infotainment systems in the vehicle and new mobility concepts afford still greater flexibility and freedom. Mercedes-Benz provides a visionary perspective with the "DICE" (Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience) sculpture.
"Here at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas there are some people who view the automobile as an accessory to consumer electronics. Conversely, at the auto show in Detroit there are many people who view consumer electronics as mere trimmings for the car. Both points of view miss the point: as much as a smartphone can be far more than just a tool for communication, a smart car can be more than just a means of transportation. Precisely at the interfaces between communication and mobility, vast potential for innovation lies dormant, and we intend to tap it," says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Mercedes-Benz satisfies the growing customer need for independence with its telematics strategy @yourCOMAND: the car becomes a mobile communications center that enables driver and passengers to access all modern media and services at any time. Uncoupling from the conventional vehicle development cycles is achieved on the one hand through secure and comfortable integration of the smartphone in the vehicle, and on the other hand through the use of a consistently Cloud-based solution. This ensures that one is always in close touch with the rapid developments in the smartphone and computer world. Mercedes-Benz customers consequently always have access to the latest applications for comprehensive connectivity in their automobiles.
@yourCOMAND builds on four strategic pillars:
- holistic experience,
- natural interaction,
- sensory perfection and
- convenient remote control.
Digital Premium through Augmented Reality
With the DICE (Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience) sculpture, at the CES Mercedes-Benz provides a vision of the interactive, intuitive and simultaneously safe operating experience in premium automobiles of the future. DICE impressively demonstrates how the vehicle becomes an intelligent mobility partner through bidirectional interaction.
"The intelligent car communicates not only with the driver, but also with other transportation modes and its entire environment in order to be able to assess all relevant information for a trip and make practical use of it immediately," says Zetsche.
The complete windshield becomes a brilliant head-up display; the dashboard, a display band. Digital information about the actual vehicle surroundings, points of interest, friends, pedestrians and other vehicles is presented there and a natural interaction by means of gestures is made possible. For this Mercedes-Benz uses a combination of Augmented Reality and natural gesture control to realize a completely new, exciting form of communication between people and their environment.
The interactive logic of the novel control concept is very imitative of intuitive human behavior. Along with functional aspects it now also involves emotional and social aspects and so creates a unique operating and driving experience. For example, when one drives past a club, by a simple movement of the hand one can transmit the music playing there by live stream into one's car. In the same way, local news from social networks, about points of interest, buildings or localities can be retrieved, or news can be left for others.
Vehicles approaching intersections will be virtually superimposed on the windshield to help avoid possibly hazardous situations. To simplify the search for a parking space, mobility concepts like car2go or network information, can be used to proactively identify spaces which will become vacant soon. These are virtually displayed on the windshield, showing the actual environment.
A world first is the context-dependent, place-related presentation of the menu contents "Media", "Social" and "Places" of the infotainment system as information swarm. Under "Social", for example, friends from one's social networks are shown in the 3-D city arranged underneath. The same goes for "Places", where the personal points of interest like restaurants or movie theaters can be stored. 3-D gestures and the swarm permit dynamic and intuitive control.
"Always on" with COMAND Online
Secure and comfortable internet access in the car already is offered by Mercedes-Benz today in numerous models: the multimedia system COMAND Online was introduced last year in Europe. It offers new functions like the innovative Mercedes-Benz Apps, for example Google Local Search including Google Street View and Panoramio, or Facebook. With mbrace2 in future they are available in the USA as well.
And for a sound experience on the highest level, Mercedes-Benz has introduced the new FrontBass system. The automaker thus revolutionizes the reproduction of bass sounds in the automobile – specifically in open roadsters. The unique FrontBass system which is premiering in the new SL and is being presented at the CES uses cavities in the aluminum bodyshell structures in front of the footwell as resonance volume for the bass loudspeakers. The result: crisp basses make a concert hall atmosphere possible even in an open-top car.
Independent, flexible and spontaneous with car2go
Tremendous technological advances and the stronger interlinkage of consumer electronics and the automobile have also made new mobility concepts possible. In particular, the introduction of mobile internet access exploits independence in the area of mobile services for new mobility concepts like car2go, which meet with correspondingly high demand and extend the urban transportation spectrum.
Thanks to the smartphone, not only is constant access to information of all kinds a reality, but also the possibility of communicating at any time, be it through speech input, email or in social networks. Accordingly, car2go allows customers to get hold of a vehicle at any time, whenever they need it.
The vehicles can be located through the internet, can be rented on the spur of the moment, used as long as one likes, and afterwards simply parked again in any public parking space within the city limits. Urban mobility couldn't be more spontaneous and flexible today.
car2go already is operating in seven cities worldwide and is scheduled to start in further cities. In North America car2go has taken up service in Austin, the capital of the State of Texas, in Vancouver, Canada, and in San Diego, California – in San Diego with a pure electric fleet consisting of 300 smart fortwo electric drive, making this America's first and biggest purely electrically operated car sharing fleet.
Always up to date
To make optimum use of consumer electronics' innovative power and fast time to market for the automobile industry, the company has been cooperating closely with this innovative sector for many years. This is because the market for infotainment and telematics systems is decisively influenced by developments in consumer electronics and the mobile telephony market. In 1995 Mercedes-Benz was thus the first carmaker to set up a research and development facility of its own in Palo Alto, California, and since then has a presence in Silicon Valley in the immediate vicinity of Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Yelp, Wikipedia and other important players. The collaboration with these companies is based on short communication channels and distinguished by close cooperation and joint product innovations with big customer benefits. The result, achieved in close cooperation with the Development units in Germany, is custom-tailored infotainment and telematics solutions which are optimally integrated into the overall vehicle design and enable customers to continue their digital lifestyle in the vehicle without interruption.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is among the most popular cars – worldwide. This is confirmed by two recent awards: in Japan the C-Class leads the field as the best imported car for the second time in succession. Down under, the C 250 CDI and the C 63 AMG Coupé scooped the "2011 Australia’s Best Car Award" in their respective segments.
The title "The Imported Car of the Year Japan" is traditionally awarded at the Tokyo Motor Show for the automobile with the best concept and the most innovative technology. As in the previous year, the title for 2011/2012 went to the C-Class Saloon and Estate. C-Class models also claimed Australia's most important independent automobile award. The Australian Automobile Association presented the C 250 CDI as the best of the best premium mid-size cars. The C 63 AMG Coupé won its award category as best sports car.
Mercedes-Benz carried out a comprehensive upgrade of the C-Class in the spring of 2011. The new generation boasts a dynamic design and numerous new assistance systems: from the ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection system to proximity control with DISTRONIC PLUS, it offers a new standard of safety in this segment. In addition, fuel consumption has been cut by up to 31 percent in comparison to the previous generation.
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
His Heighness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Opens the 2011 DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW and Welcomes BRABUS Middle East to his Country
A prominent visitor for BRABUS and the team from BRABUS Middle East, the new branch in the United Arab Emirates: at the opening of the 2011 DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, visited the BRABUS show exhibit.
He congratulated Prof. h.c. Bodo Buschmann, CEO of BRABUS Group, on the founding of BRABUS Middle East LLC in Dubai. On behalf of the government Sheikh Maktoum presented him with a marble slab as a valuable good-luck charm, which will receive a special place of honor in the new state-of-the-art tuning center in the Arab metropolis.
“We feel very honored that His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visited us here at the show and welcomed us and our new subsidiary to Dubai on behalf of the government,” Prof. h.c. Buschmann declared. “The United Arab Emirates are one of our most vital markets in the world. That is one of the reasons we decided to found BRABUS Middle East LLC here in Dubai.”
The modern building with more than 3,000 m² of floor space is adjacent to Sheikh Zayed Road, the country’s most important traffic artery. The Arab headquarters of BRABUS houses not only a large show room, but also a modern workshop with its own upholstery shop and a large logistics center for the rapid supply of customers and dealers on the Arabian Peninsula with BRABUS tuning components.
The BRABUS team in Dubai consists of German and local specialists who were all trained extensively at the BRABUS factory in Bottrop.
BRABUS Middle East LLC presents two world debuts and several premieres for the Arab market at the 2011 DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW. The BRABUS 800 Coupe based on the Mercedes CL-Class sets new standards for this type of vehicle with its 800-hp (788-bhp) / 588-kW V12 Biturbo engine. The second world debut is the BRABUS 800 E V12 Cabriolet, the world’s most powerful and with a top speed of up to 370 km/h (230 mph) fastest convertible.
* Official photos and details courtesy of BRABUS *
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
