Code Retard » Automotive

Mercedes Benz Demos World’s Safest Car: ESF

adm_snackbar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:59:45 +0000

Mercedes just release the details on the ESF 2009 concept car which employs an airbag brake system called “braking bag.” Yes you read that right. ESV, the name given to this concept car, stands for “Experimental Safety Vehicle.” The car also has inflatable metal, yes you read that right, which remains folded until a collision, when a small gas generator causes it to blow up and protect the vehicles passengers.

Perspectives: inflatable metal structures and braking airbags in the vehicle floor

2009 is a year in which Mercedes-Benz celebrates several anniversaries in the safety field: in August 1939 the safety pioneer Béla Barényi started his work in Sindelfingen. He invented for example the principle of the crumple zone, a trailblazing innovation which entered series production at Mercedes-Benz in 1959. With the help of its in-house accident research function, which was founded in 1969, Mercedes engineers in the following years have developed several groundbreaking innovations in passenger car safety. Now it is time for a look behind the scenes, and in this anniversary year, Mercedes-Benz is using the ESF 2009 research vehicle to reveal what its safety specialists are currently working on – with a time horizon that often extends well into the future.

The ESF 2009 is the first Experimental Safety Vehicle to be built by Mercedes-Benz since 1974. Like its historic predecessors, it illustrates trailblazing innovations in the field of safety and makes the progress achieved clearly visible. These amazing but by no means crazy ideas include inflatable metallic sections which give more stability to structural components within fractions of a second, as well as the so-called "Braking Bag". This airbag housed within the vehicle floor is deployed when a crash is deemed to be unavoidable, and uses a friction coating to support the vehicle against the road surface. The ESF 2009 will be premiered on 15 June 2009, at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference in Stuttgart.

"Safety is a central element of the Mercedes-Benz brand. In this respect we have been setting the pace in the market for almost 70 years. For the benefit of our customers and for road users in general. The ESF 2009 shows that we still have plenty of ideas and the absolute will, to lead the automobile industry in this field even in future", says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The ESF 2009 was developed and built completely in the test vehicle workshops in Sindelfingen. This safety research vehicle based on the Mercedes S 400 HYBRID features more than a dozen safety innovations, most of which are fully functioning in demonstration mode. "With the ESF 2009, we have chosen this particular time to clearly demonstrate the innovative strength of Daimler. Anybody examining the ESF 2009 in detail will recognise that more safety and improved energy efficiency are not necessarily a contradiction in terms. We want to make progress in both fields with new, trailblazing ideas ", says Dr. Thomas Weber, the member of the Daimler Executive Board responsible for corporate research and development at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The following five innovations on the basis of the S 400 Hybrid are among the highlights of the ESF2009:

* PRE-SAFE Structure:The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the stability of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.

* Braking Bag:This auxiliary brake accommodated in the vehicle floor is a new type of PRE-SAFE® component. If the sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag is deployed shortly before the crash and stabilises the car on the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.

* Interactive Vehicle Communication: The ESF 2009 is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using "ad hoc" networks and WLAN radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.

* PRE-SAFE Pulse: This further development of PRE-SAFE® is able to reduce the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the centre of the vehicle by up to 50 millimetres as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.

* Spotlight lighting function: This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUSe.g. detects deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.

Mercedes-Benz is also presenting an innovative PRE-SAFE Demonstrator at the 21st ESVConference. For the first time this simulator uses a linear motor for this purpose, in order to accelerate the vehicle cabin to up to 16 km/h within a distance of four metres before the impact occurs. The linear drive system, which is similar to that used by the Transrapid train, is freely programmable and also works in the opposite direction. This enables various acceleration profiles and also a rear-end collision to be demonstrated. The special feature of this system is that the ‘vehicle occupants’ experience the effect of the PRE-SAFE® functions live, e.g. belt pretensioning, NECK-PRO and the inflatable side bolsters of the seats.

Mercedes-Benz is continuing a longstanding tradition with the ESF 2009: for the ESV Safety Conferences held in 1971 to 1975, the safety experts in Stuttgartbuilt more than 30 experimental vehicles and subjected them to crash tests to satisfy the visionary safety requirements of that time. Four of these ESFs (Experimental Safety Vehicles) were presented to the public, and many of the revolutionary ideas such as ABS or the airbag first entered series production at Mercedes-Benz.

Street Fighter Nut Destroys Car

adm_snackbar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:50:17 +0000

We love video games and we loves cars, and we love it even more when the two things come together. So of course we couldn’t pass up on this opportunity to show you a crazed Street Fighter nut dressed as Ryu demolishing some poor car in a junk yard. We don’t know what’s funnier: the fact that he’s trying to recreate the bonus stage where you beat a car to dust in the game or the fact that somehow doesn’t feel as satisfying as playing that stage in the game. We don’t know what we were expecting. Here’s the reference video below:

Get Car and Driver One Year Subscription for FREE

adm_snackbar — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:05:09 +0000

Get Car and Driver Here

A One Year Subscription to Car and Driver magazine!
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Car and Driver magazine has everything you ever wanted to know about cars, including car buying advice, car reviews and tips for maintaining your vehicle. (No Credit Card Required!) A “friend’s” name and email address is required.

Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines. Originally headquartered in New York City, the magazine has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan since the late 1970s. Car and Driver was founded as Sports Cars Illustrated in 1955. In its early years, the magazine focused primarily on small, imported sports cars. In 1961, editor Karl Ludvigsen renamed the magazine Car and Driver to show a more general automotive focus. 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of Car and Driver.

Image/Car and Driver

Live Action Nintendo Mario Kart Racing

adm_snackbar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:26:11 +0000

Someone was actually dumb/brave enough (you decide) to get into a Mario costume and go cruising the streets on his go kart for a Mario Kart style adventure. It’s actually pretty funny and you’ll see Remi getting power-ups during the "race" and even manage to throw a banana under a motorcyclist’s wheel complete with the familiar Mario Kart soundtrack playing in the background.

Create Your Own AMG Snowflake

adm_snackbar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:24:05 +0000

To pimp its elite AMG brand, Mercedes Benz is letting you make your very own AMG snowflake on their website with wipers, rims, a shift knob, and some other AMG goodies. Head on over to the AMG snowflake cardmaker, which shows off your creation falling as a white SL drives by below. Create your own holiday message and then blast it to your friends.

BMW and Microsoft Surface

Son Riku — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:15:12 +0000

How to Program HomeLink with Rolling Code Garage Doors

adm_snackbar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:34:51 +0000

HomeLink is a universal garage door opening system comes in a variety of vehicles, usually as a luxury add-on. HomeLink can be found on a number of car manufacturers and works with a number of garage door manufacturers. New technology in garage door openers has resulted in a rolling code security system, obsoleting the old dip switch remote controls that could be “guessed” open by anyone willing to try all the combinations. Rolling code garage door remote controls don’t have any dip switches to set, instead they must “learn” how to open a garage door from the actual garage door motor unit. While programming the stock Chamberlain or Genie garage door remotes with the corresponding manufacturer is usually an easy process, getting your vehicle’s HomeLink to play nice with a rolling code system is a different story.

If this is your first time setting up your HomeLink, or you bought a used car with HomeLink that you want to program, you may want to consider resetting the HomeLink device by pressing and holding the two outermost buttons simultaneously until the indicator light flashes for 20 seconds. There’s no need to do this more than once, for instance when you try to program another button.
Make sure your vehicle is within a reasonable distance from the garage door with rolling code you are programming the HomeLink for. You will eventually need to trigger the garage door opener’s “learn” button and the range for any learning remote is generally within 10 feet.
Take a stock garage door remote control and hold it within 3 inches of your HomeLink unit. Then press and hold the button to open the garage door and simultaneously press and hold the desired HomeLink button you wish to program. Continue to hold both buttons as the indicator light flashes slowly, then rapidly, then not at all. Then release both buttons. Be forewarned that your garage door will open or close when you do this, so make sure there is nothing or no one under it.
The previous step was necessary to bring the HomeLink into the proper mode to program with a rolling code. Regular dip switch remotes would have programmed the HomeLink with just the last step and you’d be done. But since the HomeLink is compatible with all kinds of garage doors, it needed to fail the last step to prep for this step. Now locate the “learn” button on your garage door opener motor unit and press it (maybe grab a friend for this step). You’ll have usually 30-60 seconds to program a remote after you press this button. Run to your vehicle and again press and hold the HomeLink button you are training. It should take only a few seconds for the HomeLink to finally learn the rolling code. Usually your garage door light will blink and you will hear a relay clicking sound (like what you hear when you use your turn signals) when this occurs. When this happens your HomeLink button is now programmed to open your rolling code garage door.

I have tested this process to work with Chamberlain and Genie garage door units on a Toyota and Honda.

Image/Flickr/kgantz

Audi R8 “Blackbird”

Son Riku — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:53:08 +0000

Alex Roy reviews Top Secret Audi R8 loaded with a ton of “stealth” features include four GPS units, two radar detectors, police scanner, CB radio, kill switch for all rear lights, high-speed broadband Internet with Wi-Fi running on a tablet PC, power ports, takedown lights, a remote-controlled exhaust bypass valve, and a liquid-cooled infrasonic wave pulse generator.

We did some digging and found out the owner of the R8 is named Andre Betz

Pictured here with holding a trophy:

Bandwidth is not Infinite? Internet to break in next few years?

BMW GINA

Son Riku — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:40:59 +0000

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model: Premiere

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model: Trailer

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model: Design

Toyota Engine Mod with Nintendo Power

adm_snackbar — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:14:37 +0000

A big Nintendo fan and Toyota (Corolla?) buff modded his engine cover to look like the old-school NES controller pad. Looks like it was a simple repaint since you can still barely see the words “vvt-i 16 valve” on the engine. Too bad that gem’s hidden under the hood. Suggestion for next mod: transparent hood. Props if you can identify the vehicle.