JohnLeeToday

I heard about Mercedes Mbrace system from someone I know then came across it on Wired. In the Wired article I read a very important point made by the director of advanced product planning at Mercedes. She quotes; “The problem that has beleaguered this technology in the past is the life cycle of the car far outlives the life cycle of consumer electronics, to overcome that, we realized we needed to change the paradigm. We want to put technology in our cars that can be updated all the time. It allows us to add new applications, new uses and new value to our customers’ cars on a regular basis.”
We’ve all seen the early Motorola StarTac phones in old luxury cars…They became obsolete pretty quick…
This change in paradigm will hopefully bring lasting and more innovative technology to the automotive telematics market.
Here is a few screen shots of the Mbrace app for iPhone.

Features
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Securely lock* and unlock your Mercedes-Benz vehicle doors
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Find your vehicle on a map**
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Contact Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance for help
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Search for nearby Mercedes-Benz dealerships
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View your key mbrace account and vehicle information
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Contact your Mercedes-Benz dealer to conveniently schedule a service appointment or speak to a sales representative
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Call Mercedes-Benz mbrace Response Center for questions regarding your mbrace account
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Call Mercedes-Benz Financial Client Care Center for account assistance
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Secure system validates user’s credentials prior to allowing access to the application
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Simple and intuitive user interfaces allow for quick and easy navigation

In these times of a global recession and the collapse of the American auto industry perhaps we can look back and be reminiscent of the beginning. Although the automobile was invented by Karl Benz of Germany, it was Ford who began the modern practice of mass producing automobiles.
The likes of Ford, Dodge, and Chrysler of Detroit are now setting their roots in California. There is no other place in the world where this new green movement and the new revolution of the auto industry is more appropriately placed then California. It is the lone state in the US which has its own standards when it comes to emissions( the California Air Resources Board). CARB sets their own standards more stringent than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which governs the rest of the US.
A hybrid or an electric vehicles are appealing to the environmentally conscious person not to a true performance enthusiast. The major manufacturers have been developing new and more environmentally friendly substitutions but they mostly simply do not appeal to me personally. I really like what Lexus has been doing lately with their hybrid models. They’ve marketed the hybrid model to be the top of the line and the best performing for example in the Lexus GS model line up the hybrid model (GS 450h) actually has more power than the available 8 cylinder (GS 460) version. This to me is a really step forward decision on Toyota’s part to market hybrid vehicles to be of something desirable to the performance oriented person.
Anyways, enough side tracking, what I intend to say by the title of this post is that California is the home to two major new car manufacturers, Tesla and Fisker.
Tesla has been a around for a couple years now they have the first ever fully electronic roadster, appropriately named the Tesla Roadster. They took the frame of a Lotus Elise equipped it with electric motors and battery packs and have created a sports car that does 0 – 60 under 4 seconds and a range of 244 miles (392 km). Supercar performance in an electric vehicle. They are coming out with a 4 door sedan/hatchback called Model S to be delivering in 2011. They are claiming 300 mile range and 0 – 60 in 5.6 seconds AND will seat up to 7…
Fisker’s Karma is a fresh and beautifully sculpted design. I think this car is a game changer in its design and luxury appeal. The specifications as of now say 0 – 60 time of under 6 seconds and range of 300 miles (482 km).
Enough talk, here are some vids…
TESLA

FISKER

Jay Leno is bringing some spotlight to Electric Vehicles! Good on him! It is great that these media figures take the initiative to demolish myth about new technology and make it main stream. I know some girls that would certainly want a hybrid or an EV after seeing their favourite celebrity driving and enjoying one…
Enjoy the vid…

Great news for GM today as they announced the fuel economy of the upcoming EV(Electric Vehicle) VOLT. (Maybe not so great news for gasoline retailers…)

The car is expected to be available in the next year.

One special thing to note about the Volt is that it can run on purely electric mode for up to 40 miles (64 km)…It is told that the 80% of daily commute is below 40 miles per day. Take this fact and combine it with GM’s efforts to keep this car under $40,000 it could change the auto industry and our steps towards a green planet.