Check out this video we found over at SBARTSTV’s (Santa Barbara Arts Television) YouTube Channel of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Night View Assist night vision video!  This is awesome!  Have you seen this before?  What do you all think?

“In late-2005, Mercedes-Benz introduced their Night View Assist system on the redesigned S-class. It was the first system to use the instrument cluster’s LCD as a display. In 2009, Mercedes added a pedestrian detection function calling the revised system Night View Assist Plus and offered it on the redesigned E-class and refreshed S-class, however, the E-class uses the navigation screen’s display.” (Wikipedia)

Source:  World Finance News

Today, eMercedesBenz has reported that Mercedes-Benz USA had June sales of 18,997 vehicles, an increase of 25.4%.  On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 106,967 new vehicles, an increase of 25.7% over last year.

“Impressive gains were made in both the Mercedes-Benz passenger car and light-truck categories. The strongest performer for the month was the popular C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand for younger as well as first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – with sales of 5,563. The 9th generation E-Class also continued to exhibit strong momentum with sales of 4,865 (up 74.9%) and the versatile M-Class SUV ranked third with sales of 2,124.

The company’s flagship sedan, the S-Class, boosted sales to 1,549 – a 106.5% increase. Also showing strong gains were the sporty SLK (up 153.8 %) and the commanding G-Class (up 124.3%). The company also sold 50 of its newly launched supercar, the SLS AMG, bringing its year-to-date sales to 218.”

For the full article click here.

The recently released J.D. Power and Associates quality survey shows Mercedes-Benz achieving its best results since 1990 in the American market. The Initial Quality Study (IQS) assessed the as-delivered quality of vehicles from model year 2010 after 90 days.

“The quality of our vehicles is at an all-time high. An independent survey for the US market has now confirmed what our internal analyses and European studies have been showing for some time now,” noted Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development at Daimler AG.

Even since 2009 Mercedes-Benz has improved in quality by going up three places to third place.  The C-Class took first place in the premium entry-level segment, while the new E-Class got off to a great start in both its saloon and coupe versions, notching up a second place, as did the redesigned S-Class.

This week Mercedes-Benz USA reported a 26.7% increase in their May 2010 sales, continuing the second quarter with a 25.8% increase on a year-to-date basis. Included in this total are 18,548 passenger cars, light truck vehicles and 628 Sprinter vans.

Impressive gains were made in both the Mercedes-Benz passenger car and light-truck categories. The strongest performer of the month was the 9th generation E-Class – which expanded to include the wagon and cabriolet models – with sales of 5,476 (up 140.7%).

The company’s flagship sedan, the S-Class, marked increased gains with sales of 1,085 (up 21.2%) and the newly introduced supercar and brand halo – the SLS AMG – reported strong initial sales of 168. The top performer on the luxury light truck side was the versatile M-Class SUV with sales of 2,264.

So far year-to-date sales for MBUSA include 87,970 new vehicles, an increase of 25.8% over last year.

For full article click here.

Check out this short article we found over at PCWorld.  This cool new computer system is being built into some Mercedes-Benz models to make driving safer, smarter, and more eco-friendly.

“The innovative SplitView system in Mercedes-Benz S-Class and CL-Class automobiles provides personalized visual content to the car’s driver and front-seat passenger. While the driver adjusts the radio, navigation system, or other controls on the left side of the SplitView screen, passengers can watch a DVD video on the right side of the screen; a special filter permits each screen to be viewed only from certain angles so the driver is not distracted by the passengers’ movie or show. SplitView’s 8-inch active-matrix color display is integrated into the vehicle’s navigation, audio, and entertainment system.”

Today Daimler, who owns Mercedes-Benz, announced that its entire S-Class range may go fully hybrid, including the V8, V12, or AMG variants.  However, this announcement doesn’t come without some criticism from Mercedes-Benz dealers in the United States.  The Car Advice article claims that some dealers do not believe S-class buyers take fuel economy into consideration as a key factor in their  purchasing decisions.  “Mercedes-Benz is also looking at reducing its emissions across the range thanks to stricter European CO2 emissions standards on top of harsher corporate average fuel economy standards in the United States.”  Apparently if this new full hybrid lineup is approved it may be launched in 2013 when the new S-Class series is released.  So what do you all think? Would you welcome a full line of S-Class range hybrids?

The Mercedes Benz Blog is always hooking us up with some incredible spy shots of the newest Mercedes Benz cars.  We couldn’t help but marvel at their latest photo roundup of the 2010 Mercedes Benz S 600 Coupe.  Check this shot out here, and a brief description of the new 2010 Mercedes Benz S 600 Coupe below, or head over to the Mercedes Benz Blog for more pictures and information.

“The version captured by the lens of the photo camera is the high-end S 600 Coupe, powered by the thirsty V12 unit, delivering a staggering 517 BHP. If rumors are to be believed, then by the next generation of the S-Class lineup, this engine will be phased out in favor of new V6 and V8 powerplants, which feature twin-turbocharging, direct injection and other clever technological solutions to improve efficiency and also boost performance figures”

Mercedes Benz presents the S400, the cheapest of the S Class vehicles, and a hybrid that runs on petrol and electric power.  The car comes complete with adaptive cruise control, night vision, an excellent Harman Kardon audio system, as well as luxury seats.  Check out this awesome article we found on itechtalk, to get more details about this awesome new Mercedes Benz S Class hybrid car.

Today, we found this article on Benz Insider about the next generation S Class.  According to the post, the current S Class has been around for close FOUR years! The new version of the Mercedes Benz S Class is set to hit Mercedes Benz dealerships in 2012 or 2013.  We won’t quite know what the next generation Mercedes Benz S Class will look like until up to a year before its launch, but speculation is circulating that the new model with rely on turbocharging and direct injection for power and efficiency.  Read more about the next generation S Class here, and post your thoughts below!

We’re all about green technology on the blog today! Check out this awesome article below about the new S-class plug-in hybrid that Mercedes-Benz is researching and developing.

The next generation of Mercedes-Benz S-class models will include plug-in hybrid, and the automaker intends to extend the fuel-saving technology across the rest of its range, the company’s head of research and development said today.

“It makes a lot of sense to bundle the high-price tech option to the sort of customers willing to pay for this sort of thing,” Thomas Weber said.

The announcement comes four months after Mercedes-Benz unveiled a Vision S500 plug-in hybrid concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show and three months after Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche told reporters that hybrids and battery-electric cars will be long-term interim technologies until hydrogen fuel cell cars and hydrogen fueling technology are ready for market.

The company hasn’t publicly disclosed performance information pertaining to the plug-in hybrid, but sources have told us that it will feature a 60-horsepower  electric motor mated to a gasoline-fed V6 engine. The twin power sources can reportedly propel the large Benz to 60 miles per hour in less than 5.5 seconds.

The motor will reportedly receive its electricity from a state-of-the-art  lithium-ion battery that has a storage capacity of more than 10 kilowatt hours — enough to enable the car to go about 19 miles on electrons only before an onboard gas-powered engine-generator kicks in to feed juice to the battery.

Weber ruled out a purely electric S-class model, citing concerns over the vehicle’s range between charges.

As previously reported, other versions of the next S-class will be fitted with next-gen six- and eight-cylinder gasoline engines featuring fuel-efficient  direct injection, stop-start technology, and turbochargers or electric motors.

Source: (Edmunds)