Batteries are an integral part of any hybrid automobile. No batteries means no electric assist, which means no point in lugging around all that extra hardware. So Mercedes-Benz is in a world of hurt as it alleges that Cobasys, the chosen battery supplier for the upcoming ML 450 hybrid SUV, has decided not to fulfill its obligation to the German automaker. You might recall that General Motors had problems with leaky batteries from Cobasys, reportedly leading the automaker to consider purchasing the supplier outright from its current parents, Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices.

For its part, Mercedes-Benz has sued Cobasys and petitioned the court to order Cobasys to supply the batteries in had committed to. Cobasys CEO Thomas Neslage has denied that his company ever agreed to supply the batteries in the first place. If this situation isn’t resolved in a timely manner, Mercedes-Benz may be forced to delay the introduction of its first-ever hybrid vehicle.

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An attentive Autoblog reader spotted what appears to be a prototype Mercedes S400 Hybrid in a Houston Texas parking lot the other day. The test car’s badges were all taped over, but the S400 and hybrid badging on the trunk lid seems to match the show concept. The S400 was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall and will launch into production in mid-2009 at about the same time as the ML450 Hybrid. While the SUV will use the Two-Mode hybrid system developed with GM, Chrysler, and BMW, the S400 will use the mild hybrid system created with BMW. The mild hybrid uses a 15kW motor sandwiched between the transmission and 3.5L V6. The Mercedes mild hybrid system is likely to be the first mass production hybrid with a lithium ion battery. At the auto show introduction, Mercedes claimed that the full-size hybrid luxury sedan will achieve nearly 30 mpg.

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 The evil-twin of the recently facelifted Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG has a name: Black Series. The most menacing SL to exit AMG’s factory comes with a breathtaking $320,000 price tag and a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 engine pumping out 661Hp at 5,400 rpm and 738 lb.-ft of torque (SL65 AMG: 612Hp).

But that’s not all as the SL65 AMG Black Series features carbon fiber hood, fenders and trunk, along with a fixed carbon fiber roof with an integrated roll cage that replaces the retractable hard top. As a result, the Black Series weighs in at 4,122 pounds (1,869 kg) or 550 pounds (250kg) less than the stock SL65.

AMG also supped up the appearance of the Black Series with an aerodynamic wide bodykit that features seven air ducts - three in the bumper, two on the hood and two in the fenders- to cool off the massive twin-turbocharged V12 engine. According to preliminary figures, the Black Series can go from zero to 60 mph (96km/h) in 3.9 sec while top speed is limited to 199 mph or 320 km/h. See photos after the jump Continued

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During a media preview of the new BlueTec diesel powered Mercedes SUVs here in Vermont, Thomas Ruhl Director of R-Class, SUV hybrid and BlueTec discussed some of the alternative drive systems coming from Stuttgart in the near future. While he didn’t get into any of the electric car programs that have been discussed recently, he did talk about hybrids. Ruhl confirmed that the S400 BlueHybrid and ML450 BlueHybrid will be launched in the U.S. in 2009. BlueHybrid does not mean these are diesel hybrids, Blue is just the color that Mercedes and others are using to denote their cleaner, more efficient vehicles. When a diesel hybrid arrives it will be called a BlueTec Hybrid.

The S400 will use the mild hybrid system jointly developed by Mercedes and BMW and will be equipped with a lithium ion battery. The ML450 will be the first Mercedes application of the Two-Mode hybrid system. General Motors is building the Two-Mode hybrid transmissions for its own applications as well as supplying Chrylser. Similarly, Ruhl revealed that Mercedes would build the Two-Mode transmissions for both its own and BMW’s vehicles. The X6 will be the first Munich model to get the hybrid treatment. The guts of the Mercedes-built units will be identical for both German brands and, like the American version, the only difference is the mechanical interface to connect the respective automakers engines as well as the control software. One item Ruhl declined to discuss is the battery for use with the Two-Mode hybrids. GM and Chrysler are both using nickel metal hydride. Mercedes is using lithium ion for the mild hybrid and the ‘no comment’ from Ruhl indicates that the same may be true for the Two-Mode.

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By the middle of the next decade Mercedes-Benz wants its entire lineup to be able to operate entirely free of petroleum. The German giant is working on a variety of technologies that will help provide crude oil free transport such as battery electrics, fuel cells and highly efficient internal combustion engines that can operate on biofuels. Mercedes has recently been letting European journalists sample some of these new powertrains at a test facility in Spain.

The F700 concept that debuted last fall in Frankfurt is powered by a turbocharged DiesOtto engine. The DiesOtto is Mercedes’ branding for a combined HCCI and spark ignition engine that provides nearly the same efficiency as a diesel without the need for the expensive after-treatment systems. This and conventional diesel engines can run on biofuels and Mercedes hopes to launch the DiesOtto in production by 2010. Mercedes is also currently field testing electrically-driven vehicles with both batteries alone and fuel cells each of which they also plan to launch at the beginning of the decade. While it may well be that all Mercedes models in 2015 will be capable of running petroleum free, the reality is that many - if not most - will still be using fossil fuels much of the time. That may come in the form of coal for electricity, natural gas reformed into hydrogen, or petroleum fuels blended with biofuels. But you have to start somewhere.

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As announced for the A and B-series, Mercedes is naming its environmental line Blue Efficiency. MB’s compact sedans, the C-Series, will now get the Blue Efficiency treatment. They will be offered with two engine versions, the C180 Kompressor (gasoline) and the C200 CDI (diesel). Both versions are about €500 cheaper than the previous base versions, at €30,613 and €32,516 respectively (in Germany).

For the C-Class Blue Efficiency, Mercedes has installed lighter glass (1.2 kg less) and lightweight alloys, as well as using tires that have 17 percent less rolling resistance. The car was also lowered and got a revised engine bay, closed underbody and redesigned mirrors for slicker aerodynamics. These changes reduce overall resistance by seven percent.

The C180 Kompressor had its engine size reduced from 1.8 to 1.6 liters while keeping its power and torque figures, 156 HP and 230 Nm (170 lbft), respectively. The C200 CDI got no significant improvements, and neither of the two versions got the Stop/Start feature. However, fuel consumption figures are already pretty good: 6.5 l/100 km (36 mpg U.S.), and 5.1 l/100 km (46 mpg) for the C200 CDI. Even without out any serious changes to the C200 CDI, these are 0.9 and 0.6 liters lower than the previous most economical versions, respectively.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

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Every major carmaker in the world has had its attention drawn, forcibly in some cases, to the issues of fuel efficiency, carbon emissions and sustainability. As the industry moves forward, these concerns are staged to take even greater importance in the overall design and planning of new cars. Mercedes-Benz has released an outline of how it will accomplish this task in the years ahead.

By applying technologies currently in existence and developing them further, Mercedes hopes to combine several angles of engineering and design to yield a line-up of efficient and green cars that still offer Mercedes’ trademark mobility and luxury. Under the BlueEFFICIENCY label, which includes aerodynamic upgrades, lightweight design and energy management and the BlueTEC label, which focuses on the mechanical improvements to be made, like forced induction, direct injection and smaller displacement engines, Mercedes will work to make conventional cars that place environmental sustainability at the forefront of design. The combination of these technologies can yield over 12% improvements in  Fuel consumption.

The company also has plans for hybrid drivetrains, zero-emissions battery-powered vehicles and cutting-edge combustion engine technologies that marry the best of diesel and petrol engine design, like Diesotto.

Mercedes’ F700 ‘research vehicle’ (pictured) equipped with a Diesotto engine has shown it can offer 238hp and 400nm of torque while still delivering fuel efficiency of 44.4 US mpg (5.3L/100km) on standard petrol. Carbon dioxide emissions are similarly low at 127g/km, about 20g/km higher than a significantly less powerful Toyota Prius Hybrid.

The company’s pure electric offerings are still in the distance, but its S400 BlueHYBRID is due for release in 2009, and will use high-tech lithium-ion batteries to help it achieve greater fuel efficiency while still remaining a suitable executive sedan.

The new S400 Hybrid will feature a 279hp (205kW) petrol V6 combined with a hybrid module delivering an additional 20hp (15kW) and 160Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is expected to average 30mpg (7.9L/100km) and CO2 emissions stands at 190g/km, which are quite low for the class of car.

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Hofele is a tuning company that many of you out there possibly haven’t heard of, but when located in the realms of Germany, it will take a lot to get noticed around the super tuners such as Hamann, Brabus and Abt. The small tuning company specialises in tuning packages for Audi, VW and Porsche focusing on body kits. What you see before you now are their latest body kits for the facelifted Porsche Cayenne, which includes a regular “GT 500” styling kit as well as a “GT 600” widebody kit.

The Hofele GT 500 gets a completely new aerodynamically enhanced front bumper including mesh inserts with 2 additional fog lights and LED daytime driving lights, the rear gets a removable diffuser along with double tailpipes. A similar setup is given to the GT 600 with the addition of 2 front fenders with air vent opening and wheel arch extension.

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 This fall, Mercedes-Benz will offer a new A-Class coupe - the A 160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY - that gets 52mpg (U.S.). In the NEDC consumption calculation, the car comes in at 4.5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres and emits just 119 grams of CO₂ per kilometer. Those are the best ratings in the A-Class range, and the A 160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY will still deliver 60 kW/82 hp.

As is standard in the BlueEFFICIENCY range, minor tweaks to the styling and the addition of start-stop capability are what turns a standard A-Class into a more efficient ride (other new vehicles in the line-up get “just” 29mpg). Starting with an old standby - a manual transmission - and adding low rolling resistance tires and weight cuts, the A 160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY also features a new closed-off aerodynamic grille and lowered suspension to make the car as slippery as possible. Daimler can likely count on solid sales of the new A 160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, as more than 1.7m A-Class vehicle have been sold since the model launched in 1997. More details after the break.

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Mercedes-Benz is giving second life to the former Chrysler Pacifica Advance Design Center and plans to purchase the building in Carlsbad, California. The companies have entered a contract for the sale of the building though it hasn’t closed yet. Terms weren’t disclosed, but the nearly 35,000-square-foot building listed for $7.3 million. Spokespersons for each company confirmed the pending sale. Chrysler closed the site earlier this year as part of a plan to streamline operations. The 20-person Pacifica design team has relocated or left the company.  Mercedes’ plans for its existing studio, 51 miles to north in Irvine, California, are unclear. It opened in 1990 and employs about 18 people, according to company materials. However, it measures about 13,000 square feet–less than half of the size of the Chrysler property.

The West Coast has been a hotbed of design for both automakers.

The Chrysler Pacifica studio opened in 1983 and spawned the Dodge Challenger concept in 2006. It also was responsible for the concepts that led to production versions of the Dodge Intrepid, Plymouth Prowler and Jeep Compass, as well as a number of influential concepts that were not produced, including the Chrysler Millennium and Chrysler Atlantic.

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