Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:30:57 -0700
Reply-To: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Why I love Mercedes Benz but would never own one of their cars
(Friday ramblings)
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I’ve never been into luxury cars and never will be, but I have always had
tremendous respect for the company that arguably invented the automobile in
1886 and has advanced the safety of it throughout the decades with
engineering innovations and liberal licensing of their technology. Did you
know they invented airbags and first installed them in Europe in 1981? We
could have had them in our Vanagons, not that they would help much without
the front crumple zone they also invented in 1951 (the defunct Eurovan had
both). But in many other ways our VWs are descendants of this lineage. A
Wikipedia excerpt:
“Numerous technological innovations have been introduced on Mercedes-Benz
automobiles throughout the many years of their production, including:
• The internal combustion engined automobile was developed independently by
Benz and Daimler & Maybach in 1886
• Daimler invented the honeycomb radiator of the type still used on all
water-cooled vehicles today
• Daimler invented the float carburetor which was used until replaced
by fuel injection
• The "drop chassis" – the car originally designated the "Mercedes" by
Daimler was also the first car with a modern configuration, having the
carriage lowered and set between the front and rear wheels, with a front
engine and powered rear wheels. All earlier cars were "horseless carriages",
which had high centres of gravity and various engine/drive-train
configurations
• The first passenger road car to have brakes on all four wheels (1924)
• The "safety cage" or "safety cell" construction with front and
rear crumple zones was first developed by Mercedes-Benz in 1951. This is
considered by many as the most important innovation in automobile
construction from a safety standpoint
• In 1959, Mercedes-Benz patented a device that prevents drive wheels from
spinning by intervening at the engine, transmission, or brakes. In 1987,
Mercedes-Benz applied its patent by introducing a traction control
system that worked under both braking and acceleration
• Airbags were first introduced in the European market, beginning with model
year 1981 S-Class.
• Mercedes-Benz was the first to introduce pre-tensioners to seat belts on
the 1981 S-Class. In the event of a crash, a pre-tensioner will tighten the
belt instantaneously, removing any 'slack' in the belt, which prevents the
occupant from jerking forward in a crash
• In September 2003, Mercedes-Benz introduced the world's first
seven-speed automatic transmission called '7G-Tronic'
• Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), brake assist, and many other types
of safety equipment were all developed, tested, and implemented into
passenger cars – first – by Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz has not made a large fuss about its innovations, and has even
licensed them for use by competitors – in the name of improving automobile
and passenger safety. As a result, crumple zones and anti-lock brakes (ABS)
are now standard on all modern vehicles.”
I'm a bit of a car history buff. I have a short automobile history reading
list if anyone is interested.
Stuart
'85 Westy and VW driver since 1976
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