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Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, fünf, fünf! Mercedes forgot how to count!

For many years Mercedes was the leader of automotive market. Mercedes was the introducers of many technologies. What you see in a Mercedes will be available in other cars sooner. I still remember the times when Mercedes was the first company to offer five speed automatic gearbox! Many competitors like Audi and BMW offered five speed automatic gearbox later and in many model they were quite late.
Time has passed and competitors started to offer more than Mercedes. Yes, that’s true! Unfortunately, Mercedes stuck on five speed automatic gearbox and still that’s the only gearbox if you have four cylinder engine. Of course, Mercedes is offering seven speed automatic in V6 and V8 engine range but in cheaper models, gearbox is cheaper also!
A few days ago Audi announced that wide range of models will have eight speed automatic gearbox! Yes, eight not five or seven! It means, Audi will be more economic, more efficient, more silent and more, more! And it also means, Mercedes is started to losing the game.
What Mercedes is doing is like selling a new computer which has a hard drive only capable of storing one picture of you. Yes, Mercedes is offering a new computer with 500 MB hard drive. Hopefully, as far as I heard, they will be offering seven speed automatic gearbox in near future. But I don’t know how near it that :) I hope Mercedes will remember to count after five :)
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Cars

Ferrari in terms of Quantum Mechanics

Every new Ferrari always claims to be faster than other models. Ferrari 458 is faster than F430 was faster than F360 Modena and story goes like this. And every time it is getting harder to claim the new car is faster than the other. Because, they are approaching to the limits of physics for rear wheel cars! You can see from the zero to one hundred acceleration performance figures. Every new models is lower the number just couple of milliseconds or something like that. Ferrari just revealed a new 599; 599 GTO and it is only faster than the normal 599 by just 0.35 seconds for 0-100km/h acceleration! 0.35 seconds cannot be understood by normal human being unless you can feel how far your hair grow every morning.
But in terms of marketing this 0.35 seconds means a lot :) It is technically faster than previous model and also it is much faster in circuit and it goes on like this. The problem here is being rear wheel driven, as the power is sent just to tyres, they are not able to cope with so much power and they start to lose traction despite the help of electronic systems. And it is becoming very hard to lower acceleration values. If you are saying Bugatti needs only 2.4 seconds to reach 100 km/h, that is four wheel drive car!
In near future, Ferrari might need to define their acceleration value in terms of quantum mechanics. Because, it will be nearly impossible to calculate and totally impossible to realize the difference but marketing team have to do something and they will evaluate the acceleration value with quantum mechanics. So that, we won’t understand how fast the new Ferrari but we do know that it is so fast that even the normal physics cannot be able to calculate.
Pictures are taken from;
Ferrari Website
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Cars

Mercedes G-Class: Mercedes Hercule Wagon

For long years, you have been searching for a car which could reflect the Hercule inside your soul and you could not find it :( All the car catalogs are filled with extremely sharp and clean pictures of vehicles. And you motivation for finding your soul mates flatten outs!
But it is over now! This is the picture of Mercedes G Class! Yes, this is a real four wheel drive and it is really good at off road! You can do whatever you want to do. After seeing this pictures, you will definitely feel yourself like Alexander The Great and travel until the end of the world! While going end of the world, consider the fuel prices :)
Picture is taken from;
Mercedes Benz Website
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Cars

No Comment: New Volvo S60 crashed during demo !

New Volvo S60 has a new safety system which fully stops the car under the speeds of 35 km/h. This system was demonstrated to press but it did not work.

Picture are taken from;
Volvo and Wired Websites
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Cars

Scientific show off by VW Passat

Four years ago on Fifth Gear Jon Bentley drove something very extra ordinary! Actually the car was not that extra ordinary but its ability was extra ordinary. It was a normal VW Golf GTi. I know, that’s not something very special. You can see Golf GTi anytime on street!
However, there was something different underneath this Golf! It was cleaver :) Thanks to its laser radar, Golf is able to learn what the obstacles are around! And Golf was not doing this just to show off. It was doing this to learn its path which will be driven by its own. This Golf had an auto pilot, like an air plane and unlike air plane you don’t have to take off by yourself. You just need to start the engine. Anyway, this prototype model was designed to go around cones!
Now it is 2010 and VW did not go on wintersleep for four years. They really worked hard with Stanford University. And the result is; a VW Passat Estate which is able to make a J turn and park itself. Yes, the cleaver boys from Standford spend their hours to calculate how to make a J turn with computer. Actually, they could have asked many people it is not that complicated. Anyway, they formulated as F = m a. Honestly, I don’t know how they manage to shortened this manoeuvre with only three letter :)

In the end, they manage to make this complicated maneuver with the help of silicone chips :) What we learn from these experiences? Silicons are not only used for making boobs bigger; VW never sleeps for long time and in future if Microsoft makes a car, we would probably hitting to each other in every second :)

Honestly, VW and Stanford University made a remarkable excellent job :) Even if we trained to do that turn, we cannot learn that quickly!
Pictures are taken from;
VW Website

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Cars

Sakis Rouvas vs. Porsche 911

Couple of days ago I heard a music from Greek radio Sfera FM and it was Sakis Rouvas’s new song “Spase Ton Xrono” (I hope I wrote it correctly). Like everyone, I searched on YouTube to watch its video clip but instead of video clip, I found a live performance! That was fine but the interesting thing, the girls’ voice was stronger than the Sakis’s voice! I guess the audience is female and as far as I know whole Greek girls love Sakis, so even if he does not sing, they will shouting :) For those of you, who doesn’t know Sakis; he is a Greek musician, nearly every girls’ dream and has fourteen albums (If I am wrong, please correct me!).

Now let’s come to Porsche 911, you know 911 47 year old king!. As I always said; 911 is the ultimate, the best designed, the art of engineering, the exquisite, the sense of passion! That’s the best car on earth! If you have money, you must buy a 911 not a Cayenne or Boxster or other contemporary Porsche models. First you must buy 911 later on you can buy a contemporary Porsche. Sorry “must” grammar structure.
Anyway, you could understand how the 911 is making many people very excited. I can understand Greek girls love Sakis and how they get excited. Many 911 lover however don’t shout when we see a 911:)
Porsche knows this fact and they made a PR film about 911 and its charm!
There’s the moment you know you want one, there’s the moment you first own one and for the truly afflicted there’s the decade or two that passes in between. Porsche
Greek translation by Google Translate;
Πριν από μερικές ημέρες έχω ακούσει μουσική από το ελληνικό ραδιόφωνο Sfera FM και ήταν νέο τραγούδι του Σάκη Ρουβά με τίτλο «Spase Ton Xrono” (ελπίζω να το έγραψα σωστά). Όπως όλοι, έψαξα στο YouTube για να παρακολουθήσουν το βίντεο κλιπ του, αλλά αντί για βίντεο κλιπ, βρήκα μια ζωντανή απόδοση! Ότι ήταν μια χαρά, αλλά το ενδιαφέρον πράγμα, η φωνή των κοριτσιών ήταν ισχυρότερη από τη φωνή του Σάκη του! Υποθέτω ότι το κοινό είναι γυναίκες και όσο γνωρίζω όλη την ελληνική κορίτσια αγαπούν Σάκης, έτσι ακόμα κι αν δεν τραγουδήσει, θα φωνάζει:) Για όσους από εσάς, που δεν ξέρει τι ο Σάκης? Αυτός είναι Έλληνας μουσικός, σχεδόν κάθε όνειρο των κοριτσιών και έχει δεκατέσσερα άλμπουμ (Αν κάνω λάθος, παρακαλώ διορθώστε με!).

Τώρα, ας έρθει να Porsche 911, το ξέρεις 911 47 χρόνων παλιά βασιλιάς!. Όπως πάντα έλεγε? 911 είναι το απόλυτο, το καλύτερο που αποσκοπούν, η τέχνη του μηχανικού, η εξαίσια, η αίσθηση του πάθους! Αυτό είναι το καλύτερο αυτοκίνητο στη γη! Εάν έχετε τα χρήματα, θα πρέπει να αγοράσετε ένα όχι 911 Cayenne ή Boxster ή άλλα σύγχρονα μοντέλα της Porsche. Πρώτα πρέπει να αγοράσετε 911 αργότερα μπορείτε να αγοράσετε ένα σύγχρονο Porsche. Συγγνώμη “πρέπει” δομή της γραμματικής.

Εν πάση περιπτώσει, θα μπορούσατε να καταλάβετε πώς η 911, έχει οδηγήσει πολλούς ανθρώπους πολύ συγκινημένος. Μπορώ να καταλάβω Ελληνικά κορίτσια αγαπούν Σάκης και πώς παίρνουν συγκινημένοι. Πολλοί 911 εραστής, ωστόσο, δεν φωνάζει όταν βλέπουμε ένα 911:)

Porsche ξέρει το γεγονός αυτό και έκαναν μια ταινία PR περίπου 911 και γοητεία!
 
Υπάρχει η στιγμή που ξέρετε ότι θέλετε ένα, υπάρχει αυτή τη στιγμή, πρέπει πρώτα δικά ένα και για την πραγματικά πληγεί εκεί τη δεκαετία ή δύο που περνάει στο μεταξύ. Porsche

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Cars

Guten Morgen Mercedes

It was 1997, when I first saw the Mercedes CLK GTR! Many of us may forgot that magnificent car. It was a CLK but that was limited to three letters only! CLK GTR was a real super car in every single detail. It was a car that was showing how Mercedes can built a super car like Ferrari. It was excellent from every angle. And honestly; it was beyond it time, like 300 SLR.
I am pretty sure that in fifty years time, it will be the sold on auctions for couple of million dollars. Unlike stupid SLR and ridiculous SLS AMG. CLK GTR had a sole, nowadays you cannot find this on any Mercedes vehicle. Now they have to share everything single part with daily cars; engine, interior and etc. Now they are offering unique names like SLS or SLR but the rest is senseless. Actually they are so senseless that in future Mercedes will be regret have them and they will be forgotten in the past. Probably some car magazine will show the SLR and SLS AMG as what Mercedes was doing in 2000s.
However CLK GTR will be the master piece in future. It was sharing part but they made a great harmony, so that it was not annoying like current models. It was totally piece of art. Especially its unique design makes it more exquisite and different than current models. Even today, CLK GTR is phenomenon! I have never seen one in my life and I am pretty sure that, if I see one day I won’t forget that moment. However I saw SLR many times but it did not make any sense and I am pretty sure that SLS AMG will create the same reaction. Those cars do not have the attraction like CLK GTR, you don’t dream to buy a SLR or SLS AMG when you could buy Ferrari 599 or Porsche 911 Turbo. Because, they are cheaper and better looking and also offering more!
I hope that we will see new super car Mercedes after the catastrophic SLS AMG incident! Eventually, Mercedes remembered that they have made a super car and they have released a video of it on Youtube.
Pictures are taken from;
Mercedes Website
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Cars

Secret of Diesel

Diesel engine became popular and eye catching like the contemporary designers in a department store. Nearly every car and many brands are offering diesel engine even in their cabrio models, actually Porsche has a diesel SUV! Life without diesel is nearly impossible and hopefully they don’t make black smoke and annoying noise anymore :)

However diesel engines have a secret! Diesel engine has a different principle than the petrol engine. Diesel doesn’t need to have a sparkplug to make combustion. In petrol engines, sparkplug is exploding the petrol and rotates the cranks shaft. But in diesel, just a high compression is enough to make that explosion. Why I am telling all these thing? Because, diesel has a really unknown disadvantage!

Diesel engine can run without diesel fuel! Yes, that’s true. Even the engine oil is enough to run diesel engine. Actually, many people knew this. However the critical point is; any mistake made while filling the engine oil ends up cracking down the engine. If the engine oil is more than necessary, engine will start to run by itself and you cannot control the engine. Unless you put into gear and screw gearbox or until the engine oil finishes! Therefore, diesel engine should have a emergency button to release engine oil in these conditions. Don’t think that, this does not happen that often but it happens and when it happens you really don’t want to see that! Also, worn out diesel engines have that risk. As the engine oil is involved in combustion, after sometime engine can run by engine oil, you can watch it on video below.
Recently Volvo announced that, some of their diesel engine is accelerating without throttle response. This means, engine oil is on the game! I think Volvo knew this also. Believe this is worse than Toyota’s throttle problem. Once the engine starts to run with oil, that’s game over!

Pictures are taken from;
Volvo Website
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Cars

Sunday Surprise, Ferrari Enzo

If you are not living in UK now, I am pretty sure that weather is very nice and you are not reading this blog :) However, if you are in a place where the weather is totally catastrophic, I have a surprise for you.

Last year, I spotted a Ferrari Enzo in Knightsbridge, London. Due to low quality of Nokia E71 mobile phone, pictures are not that good but at least I wanted to share my photos with you.

For those of you who have no idea about Ferrari Enzo, that’s the Ferrari last super ultra sport car. Built in 2002 until 2004. It is producing 660 horsepower with 675 nm torque (that’s something very strong) and has a red line in 8000 rpm. This car is a road version of F1 car! And capable of doing 320 km/h without any hesitation!
  
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Cars

Rapid(e) end of sexy Aston Martin ?

If you find this blog from Google (most probably), there is nothing going with Aston Martin! However, everything is not going very well either. Why? Recently I was reading about Ferrari’s new model 458 and 599 GTO. And I noticed, like many other people Ferrari is offering something totally different with every new model. Actually even the new variation of current models have something in different. Or more improved is the better word for that.
However, I cannot say the same with Aston Martin. Since Vanquish, I did not realize a serious technological in Aston Martin models. Sure; they are offering better quality, better design and more technology but not that much. DB9 and DBS; they are too much similar! Their interior, their gadgets, buttons and many other things. I was expecting to see double clutch auto or 8 speed auto gearbox. The main differentiating point of DB9 and DBS is their price! Yes, DBS is a replacement of Vanquish but it looks too much similar to DB9.
And I am checking Aston Martin website often to see something new about their cars and I was disappointed for a long time, until the Rapide! The four door Aston Martin is the best Aston Martin. Sorry Clarkson! It has two extra doors and may not reflect the Aston Martin heritage like DB9 but it is a harmony of contemporary technology with sophisticated heritage. And that’s what Aston Martin should do! Combination of past and future. The Rapide is the flash forward of Aston Martin and telling what the future models can offer! But please, try to engage the double clutch gearbox, even the VW Polo is offering that!
But whatever happens to Aston Martin, it will always be the most sexy car on earth! Not charming, totally sexy!
 
In order; Ferrari 458, Aston Martin DBS, Aston Martin Rapide
 
Pictures were taken from;
Aston Martin and Ferrari Websites