Mercedes vil fjerne oljebiler innen 7 år.

[b-real]

MERCEDES are aiming to end the need for filling your fuel tank with petrol or

diesel within just SEVEN YEARS.

 

The German firm are determined to make their model range run on alternative fuels - to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil

supply will eventually run out.

 

The fuel-ture is bright ... Mercedes

 

There are 50million jobs worldwide associated with the car and more than 80 per cent of goods are transported by road.

 

Mercedes are convinced that these two crucial areas of industry can be saved by making vehicles independent of crude oil - to improve costs, become more

eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out.

 

The company have already spent £2million on their new long-term Sustainable Mobility plan and are set to invest a further £7billion before 2014.

 

This includes making current engines even cleaner and more fuel-efficient while increasing the amount of hybrids, emission-free electric cars and clean-fuel gas engines and the further development of battery and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

 

 

Mercedes will drip-feed different forms of more eco-friendly vehicles into our showrooms as and when the technology has been developed over the next decade

- but the process begins towards the end of this year.

 

The new A and B-Class models which go on sale in October feature Start/Stop technology - the car’s engine shuts down when it’s stopped at a red light but automatically restarts when you lift your foot from the brake pedal.

 

Around town it can improve fuel efficiency by up to nine per cent.

 

Also out later this year are the Blue Efficiency A-Class 160 and C-Class models, which could reduce fuel consumption by a further 12 per cent.

 

Mercedes have also just announced that the Smart diesel will come to the UK for the first time in February 2009.

 

The new Smart Cdi will be the cleanest production car in the UK - emitting

just 88g per kilometre of CO2.

 

 

Modern ... new generation of Merc

 

 

The company’s next big step will be to launch a Smart electric car which is

fuel and emission-free. There are currently 100 Smart electric cars being given trials in London and

they could be on the market as soon as 2010. At the same time Mercedes hope to have their remarkable Diesotto engine

available for their range. Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, it will produce remarkable performance, yet will slash fuel consumption and emissions.

 

I was the first UK journalist to drive the Diesotto engine and ride in the sensational F700 concept - see below - in Seville last week.

 

Also on the horizon are zero-emission fuel cell cars - such as the F600 Hygenius which I also drove.

They use electricity and hydrogen for power and are set to go into a prototype B-Class in the coming months, slashing current fuel costs and eliminating

emissions completely.

 

Professor Dr Herbert Kohler, responsible for Mercedes’ advanced engineering, told me he believes that by 2015 motorists will have switched almost

completely to alternative fuel cars, certainly in cities, to eliminate the need for petrol and diesel in urban areas.

 

That’s great news.

 

Not so far in the future we will be charging our cars at night, not getting

charged a fortune.

[Swe]

Flott! Så lenge jeg kan kjøpe meg en mer interessant Mercedes enn A- eller B-serien, som ikke går på bensin eller diesel, så løper jeg og handler. Jeg tror det likevel ikke før jeg ser det, når man tar i betraktning det ufattelig labre tempoet bilbransjen utvikler disse alternative bilene i. "Njaaa...det kommer kanskje en hybrid i 2010", "Elbil? Joda, vi skal vise en på Geneve-salongen om to år, og den kommer i produksjon ca. 2012...". Jeg har sagt det før og jeg sier det igjen: Hva med å gi oss forbrukere det vi vil ha? Og aller helst nå?

[Rebel-Rider]

Har hørt dette før, og må bare konstatere at folk enda ikke greier sette realistiske mål for fremtiden. Det sitter forferdelig mange "hobby-nostradamuser" rundt om kring å snakke om at en utopisk fremtid skal komme på dørstokkene til folk om +/- 10år. Vi blir å kjøre rundt i biler som går på fossilt brennstoff i mange mange år til, forskerene/lekfolk burde ha tryna så mange ganger på "værutsiktene" at de karnsje greide å sette seg mer realistiske tidsperspektiv, det er tross alt en uber-gigantisk omstilling vi snakker om her.

 

Men at vi greier å få god tilgang på alternative drivstoffer til bilene vi kjører i dag, tror jeg nok vi burde greie i.l av 7år. Hadde jeg kunnet fyllt biodiesel i dag så ville jeg gjort det, men nærmeste biodieselpumpa er ca 7 timers kjøring unna.