Mercedes-Benz’s Road to Sustainable Driving
October 26th, 2010 by Armaan Almeida
Living in Southern California has its perks. Besides the cultural diversity, sunny beaches and year-round 70-degree weather, it’s also the hotbed for all-things horsepower. And within the past decade, Green Horsepower. On a typical 10 minute jaunt to the local In-N-Out, we spotted 13 Toyota Priuses (or Prii, take your pick) and 9 other Hybrids ranging from Ford Fusions Hybrids to Lexus RX450h crossovers. And crikey, we even saw a Chevy Volt in captivity.
At this month’s Motor Press Guild (MPG) Luncheon, Sascha Simon, Department Manager of Advanced Product Planning at Mercedes-Benz, furnished an interesting presentation dubbed simply as [the] Road to Sustainable Driving. In the presentation, he outlined Mercedes-Benz’s continuing efforts to optimize vehicle efficiency through improvements in combustion engines (including downsizing, direct injection, turbocharging and BlueTEC), Dual-Mode hybrids, Fuel Cell and Electric Vehicles.
[Listen to the presentation here]
The takeaway? Different driving habits carry different solutions. You have to ask yourself: what type of driver am I?
1. Are you someone who takes long-distance trips? If so, an Electric Vehicle (EV) is not for you due to their limited range. A diesel-powered vehicle would be optimal, though more expensive.
2. Does your commute to work involve a lot of stop and go driving over a relatively long distance? Then a Hybrid, like the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight would be the best fit.
3. Do you live in the city, close to work but still need mobility? Then an Electric Vehicle like the Nissan Leaf would be perfect.
4. But if you plan on taking a long trip that requires transporting a more than 4 passengers and luggage, you’d be better off opting for a diesel-powered vehicle like the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
Moreover, manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz have realized that although the internal combustion engine is a marvelous mechanical marvel, the wondrous liquid used to propel it will continue to move up in price and eventually, cease to exist.
Which is why Hybrid technology has been pushed to the forefront of automobile research & development for almost every manufacturer, including the likes of BMW and Porsche whose legacies are built on the foundation of pure, unadulterated performance.
*Mercedes-Benz currently has (6) models in production that are either Hybrids or Diesels. Click here to see them.
