German Car Zone

And BMW have not thought about Long Term?
not true.
BMW were already working on their Efficient Dynamics programme when Mercedes-Benz were busy developing a car for the superich, From 2007 when BMW facelifted the 1er and 5er we actually caught the competition out when we started the "Efficient Dynamics" marketing which since it's launch in 2007 is already featured across the whole BMW range , won BMW countless green awards and recognition for it's development in Efficient Dynamics - Mercedes are left trying to catch up , we know for a fact that Daimler shareholders are concerned about the rise of BMW in this area because when it comes down to which premium manufacturer has done more to improve efficiency and c02 levels it's BMW. The company that gets recognised for it's environmental technology is BMW.
Here is another strange decision the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid will not be available for Right hand drive markets , The BMW 7er Hybrid will be available for all markets.

Next years new 5er will not only provide a beautiful looking car and the return of the mid sized segment leader but also an introduction of a mid sized diesel hybrid. A car Mercedes-Benz has become concerned regarding because of the possibility of incentives to European business'es .
True but BMW had talked to Tesla as well and after Rover BMW did not seem keen to get involved with another company that Talks the talk but are dubious if they walk the walk.

Guido is on holiday.
T.

Aerodynamics (drag coefficient) is more than about upright vs. raked grille.

It has much more to do with the air flow at the rear, under the car, around the wheels, and around the grille (whether the air flow enters the grille or not).

And that's what carmakers are working on. Not on the sloppy fronts.

Sloppy front doesn't do much - if all the other things are messy.

All this is about short-terms solutions. Marginal improvement of the current type of cars.

Mercedes is already ahead of that. They think wide and long-term. They might be "lacking" now, because they are not interested in short-term compromise.
But in a few years or even sooner, they'll be there with electric, fuel-cell and DiesOtto models. Moveable air intakes and start-stop won't make any impression against that.

Or they could just stay off the bloody road.

What if it's the car that gets out of the road and hits a pedestrian?

But where does it end? Are governments going to try and cover every possible scenario? The nannying by the state, not just in motoring, but everything, has gotten out of hand. The departments which come up with the rules and regulations in everyday life have to justify their existence, so they are constantly looking for new ways of "improving" things. And people are falling for it.

Frankly it's getting too much. All it's doing is creating a world of zombies who cannot take any responsibility for their own safety.

I totally agree with you on the nannying thing. The govs are stating what we should do, think, buy. Political correctness is the word today, people are told what to think. Terrorism, safety, ecology are justificatig all sorts of contraints for people.

The miracle is that people accept them as natural...

However, increasing the safety standards of cars doesn't fit in that category. It doesn't hinder our freedom, only that of the carmakers, and of that I don't give a sh!t.

If you're hit by a recent car, you may thank the gov for these regulations. For me they are going in the right way. I've driven too many cars whose mirrors are stupidly useless (including mine) to not understand what this is about.


Cars are the most effective weapon of mass destruction ever created. No bomb, no war, no virus ever killed nearly as many people as cars. Every change that diminish their lethal ability has to be welcomed.

This discussion sucks..
From a owners point of view..you rather have a nice looking car than a pedestrian safe one..
Cuase 100% of your ownership will be effected by the design..
And if you are in very bad luck maybe the pedestrian safety will matter to you..

Now MB gives us both..and they put major dollars into making the car GOOD LOOKING..

And BMW doesent.. thats why all new BMW´s have faces like brick walls..

Great..end of the story..!!!

PS
What the hell is efficent dynamics?
Does anyone really know?
Its just a bunch of small things like start stop function,power steering and a gearshift indicator??
Lol.. is this what they put their money on?
Must be mighty mighty expensive....

Start-stop system, active air-intake (closing or opening depending of the air needed by the motor, as the car is more aerodynamic when they're closed), energy recovering while braking, power-steering active only when needed. Depends on the model.

Various little improvements to make the car "greener". And mostly, to make buzz.

^oh i thought it was the second coming of Christ..