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  #1  
Old 01-25-2005, 02:27 PM
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Could Be Good News/Bad News from Mercedes

Press Release by Mercedes
i-Newswire, 2005-01-25 - Mercedes still continues on its quest to give its patrons nothing but the best. Below is a list of the up and coming state of the art features engineered by Mercedes.

Latest Mercedes technology that will be used in its future cars:

1 ) Safety systems with radar and cameras that watch out for danger as you drive. These safety equipment will be able to warn you of imminent danger by using advance mathematics to calculate the possibilities and the chances of danger occurring. This will be the future’s way of fortune telling!

2 ) Keyless entry is already being used on other vehicles like the Cadillac, Infinity and BMW models, Mercedes on the other hand is on its way to using a credit card style system which will replace car keys in the near tomorrow. That will make for lighter pockets!

3 ) Highly improved navigation console systems that includes computer-like screens on the dash, global positioning satellite and on board DVD’s which can easily flash directions, maps, vital information on businesses like hotels, hospitals etc will be installed in every Mercedes. Getting lost will be a lot harder with these in your car!

4 ) Wi-Fi hook-ups in almost every vehicle will provide weather, news, and other information. Long trips won’t be the same with these kinds of entertainment on board!

5 ) Various parts of the vehicle will be connected to a computer program which will be able to store relevant data to aid dealers, manufacturers and your mechanic in diagnosing the problem. With a handy cellular phone or laptop, you can transfer the data to the Internet and get a long-distance troubleshoot for your Mercedes. New technologies such as these, nothing IS impossible!


6 ) 40 Volt Electrical Systems will be a standard feature on the Mercedes which will allow for more electrical equipments to be brought into the vehicle.

7 ) Voice prompts allows you to “talk” to your car and command it to operate various basic functions such as locating a radios station. This technology is already used in certain BMW’s, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes models and will continue to be used and adapted as standard features on all trims and models.

8 ) Electronically controlled pedals, already used by Mercedes, will be installed in more of its vehicles. It sends an electronic signal rather than set the brake or accelerator in motion through physical contact which allows a split-second action.

9 ) Programmable Mercedes vehicles will arrive in the foreseeable future. It allows the driver to choose the type of vehicle to drive and uses electronics to adjust his Mercedes according to his personal preference like lowering or raising ground clearance for varied ground effects. The choice between sporty and luxurious, stylish and chic has never been easier!


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Old 01-25-2005, 02:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
6 ) 40 Volt Electrical Systems will be a standard feature on the Mercedes which will allow for more electrical equipments to be brought into the vehicle.
[/i]
Hmmm...can't go to Walmart anymore for a battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
8 ) Electronically controlled pedals, already used by Mercedes, will be installed in more of its vehicles. It sends an electronic signal rather than set the brake or accelerator in motion through physical contact which allows a split-second action.[/i]
In other words, it gives you a 300 amp "jolt" if you don't react fast enough!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
9 ) Programmable Mercedes vehicles will arrive in the foreseeable future. It allows the driver to choose the type of vehicle to drive and uses electronics to adjust his Mercedes according to his personal preference like lowering or raising ground clearance for varied ground effects. The choice between sporty and luxurious, stylish and chic has never been easier!
[/i]
Will there be a setting for "Pimp"?
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  #3  
Old 01-25-2005, 02:46 PM
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All the new tech gadgets are alright, although, I would like to see a return to "fit and finish", less vinyl in the interiors, more wood. I also hope all these goodies are options, and that they don't drive up the price of the base car.
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Old 01-25-2005, 07:23 PM
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So when those computers break do they have NASA techs to fix it? I hope they include a bottle of lube for when you have to get it fixed out side of the warrenty.
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Old 01-25-2005, 07:37 PM
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Good point, considering the technology turnover (say, anyone using their analog Mercedes cell phones?), would it be fair to say that Mercedes isn't really building cars that are going to survive the 30-40 years it takes to be considered a "classic"?

A great many of the Mercedes we consider classics today exist because the technology to work on them and to keep them running didn't require the owner or the service guy to be a rocket scientist. Restoration parts were provided by some crafty folks that could take steel or aluminum stock and turn it into a grill or bumper. Now, with black boxes replacing things like distributor caps and coils, drive by wire replacing linkages and springs and microprocessors monitoring everything from tire pressure to the driver's cholesterol . . . are we weekend grease monkeys going to be extinct?
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Old 01-25-2005, 07:42 PM
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Nobody is building a car to last until it will get classic statues. The $50k worth of electronics will crap out and the average diy will not pay to replace them.


Although in the future I bet a cottage industry springs up where people strip all of the electronic crap out of these cars and just enjoy the car. Other then climate control, power windows, and power seats everything else can be removed. The engines, suspensions, and bodys are better then ever.
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Old 01-25-2005, 07:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G-Benz
Hmmm...can't go to Walmart anymore for a battery?
I think there's been talk of cars going to 40V for some years now, it's not Mercedes.


Like I said in the other thread, I don't think computers are a problem in cars. Computers don't go wrong, they are just badly programmed.

We all have computers, they work most of the time and you don't need a NASA technician to fix them, just a grandson . Well OK they go odd occasionally but windows does a hell of a lot.. start installing 3rd party software and compatability issues are bound to arise.

Other computers such as mobile phones, digital TV receivers and even stereo systems are as reliable as a car, and this is about the level of car electronics.

Computers should add loads of extra features for those that like 'meddling' (like us) and are hidden away under the seat in a box you'd never need to open for the rest of people who don't care.

An important point is the cost. Micochips/computer parts are extraordinarily cheap (you can build a very powerful computer for $350), in theory these should be cheap in the cars too. No car in the next 5 years will need more processor power than a $100 Pentium 4. Less pipes, valves and hoses to go wrong and just these cheapo chips should be nice, but I suspect there'll be a reasonable mark-up from the manufacturer.


I only see the programming & interfacing with mechanical bits as problematic... a 'lamp defective' circuit is great, but not if you've designed it so it goes mental at a minor wattage difference or occasional, brief short or all the sorts of things mechanical bits experience and computers dont (W210 I'm looking in your direction! Stand in the corner, face the wall... )



What I DO hate is when a computer is controlling what YOU want to be controlling: I want to change gear when I shift the tiptronic button, not when the computer thinks I should and that is a simple matter of how the company feels on the day. BMW are better for letting you do what you want (eg you can disable their stability control).


Russ
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Old 01-25-2005, 08:09 PM
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Computers could be a great asset: If in fact they are made to be back-to-back compatible.

Certain features require specially processed chips for a certain model. After a short term, the main part is discontinued for an entirely new part.

There are all kinds of complicated computations going on in each microchip. The more microchips you have, the more 1's and 0's you have, and the more of a chance of distorted data-flow to occur. Failure of one unit then leads to trigger the symptoms of failure for another, and another, and another: A chain reaction.

Frusterating repairs will be commonplace. $$$$ will be lost.

The more complex you make a car, the more a chance something like this will happen. Mechanical, or electronic. The only thing is that if all electronics are geared to the same box. Forget it, the car's junk.
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Old 01-25-2005, 08:37 PM
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so no more shade tree diagnosing then. every thing will require a minimum $50 hookup to a machine a diagnose a blown light and so on.
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Old 01-25-2005, 08:52 PM
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More than a few years ago, Peter Egan wrote a piece in Road & Track about his 50th birthday party. Some friends had driven over in a newish Mazda and it wouldn't start on departure. Surrounded by a group of former and current SCCA racers and guys that have rebuilt Jaguars, Porsche and Lotus cars . . . they couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start or even where the distributor and coil were. A flatbed was called out and the car went to a local shop, but wasn't a Mazda specialist. He couldn't figure it out either, so it was hauled to the dealership where the computer told them it was a burnt out $1000 distributor package and within a couple days, the car was off an running.

The lament was that here was a group of fellas, with about 100 years of combined experience with cars, who knew how to file down contact points, set the timing on all sorts of cars who were about as useful as an ashtray on a Harley when it came to modern machinery. The moral of the story was that when computers and computerization fails, it's the equivalent of being trapped in a blizzard, you might as well take advantage of the break in time that it give you.
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Old 01-26-2005, 07:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
More than a few years ago, Peter Egan wrote a piece in Road & Track about his 50th birthday party. ...[snip]... The moral of the story was that when computers and computerization fails, it's the equivalent of being trapped in a blizzard, you might as well take advantage of the break in time that it give you.
OK but on the other hand, if you break down outside of IBM or an internet cafe, maybe they'll be able to come out and get you going!

Instead of needing a toolbox, you just need a laptop.. and an internet connection to download the software (although maybe illegally)! Hell you will probably be able to connect to it with bluetooth and your mobile phone.. the latest ones are as powerful as an original Pentium computer. Anyone using this forum is probably computer literate enough to do computer diagnosis too...


Then of course, there will still be plenty of moving parts and stuff for us to fix. Maybe there won't be any real mechanics left and we'll all get paid handsomely for changing bushings and taking engines apart!
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Old 01-26-2005, 09:52 AM
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my biggest complaint about my W211 is the visits to the dealer to fix various electronic related problems. I shudder to think what will happen with ADDITIONAL electronic gadgets Electronic gadgets don't make cars better, they are window displays! MB should first resolve the reliability issues of the electronic gadgets in my car before adding additional problems!
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Old 01-26-2005, 10:29 AM
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I think they're going down the wrong path. The more complex and gadget/gimmick-oriented they make their cars, the worse their customer satisfaction ratings are going to be, and the more quality-control complaints they are going to get.

Things that last and stand the test of time are almost invariably simple, and made with quality materials....not complex, and not contracted out to the lowest bidder.

I think the company should concentrate a little less on being SO far ahead of the "cutting edge", and concentrate a little more effort on perfecting their existing technology, and improving fit, finish, durability, and materials quality. What good are all of those flashy bells and whistles if half of them end up not working properly in 5 years?....

I wouldn't own any Mercedes built after 1995, with the one possible exception of the G-Wagen.

I'd much rather have a car that's a few years behind when it comes to the newest technology, but that is reliable, durable, and easy to maintain. I guess this tendency is reflected in the list of cars that I own, eh?

Mike
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Old 01-26-2005, 01:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pentoman
An important point is the cost. Micochips/computer parts are extraordinarily cheap (you can build a very powerful computer for $350), in theory these should be cheap in the cars too. No car in the next 5 years will need more processor power than a $100 Pentium 4. Less pipes, valves and hoses to go wrong and just these cheapo chips should be nice, but I suspect there'll be a reasonable mark-up from the manufacturer.
Whenever a major module fails, it's costs more than a leading edge laptop! Attribute some of that to manufacturer markup, but while your typical standalone PC sits in one place in room temperature, those microprocessors are being severely jostled and vibrated in an unforgiving, hot environment! You have to go to military-grade stuff before you can expect any reasonable service life from those components, and that also serves to drive up cost...
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Old 01-26-2005, 02:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G-Benz
Whenever a major module fails, it's costs more than a leading edge laptop! Attribute some of that to manufacturer markup...

And manufacturers can get away with the "markup" due to the use of non-standard, proprietary designs and interfaces.

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