Autoblog

Click on the image to view high-res shots of the Mercedes F700 concept

Massive amounts of money are being spent in the alternative energy sector of the automotive industry. Last year, Daimler spent $6 billion in research and development and another $2.7 billion on environmental protection. Expect those already rather large sums to increase in the coming years. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says that the company will "increase these budgets even more and by 2010 we'll invest $21 billion in research and development." Daimler has invested heavily in hydrogen technology and holds twenty-five patents protecting new battery technology for automobile use. Further development will continue to cost a large chunk of change.

Of particular interest is the fact that Daimler intends "to offer at least one model in each of the Mercedes-Benz core model series that is a leader in fuel consumption," according to Zetsche. Despite looming legislation that will require more fuel efficient vehicles, Mercedes-Benz plans on continuing to offer vehicles that will meet the size, performance and luxury demands prospective buyers have come to expect from the premium German marque. Otherwise, it won't be $21 billion well spent.


[Source: The Car Connection]

click above image for high-res gallery of the Mercedes-Benz F700 Concept

After a bit of a song and dance routine, sans the song, Mercedes-Benz finally drove out its new F700 Concept at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Looking something like an S-Class cross-bred with a Mazda RX-8, it still managed to wow the assembled horde. The debut itself was a wild enviro-mechanical fusion of dancers emulating trees and geckos that formed a vehicle out of their prop tree branches and then fit themselves inside. It was a clever way to show green and machine can coexist beautifully. Sitting next to Lewis Hamilton and all of the Mercedes brass made it an even more interesting experience.

The car itself is being described as a "magic carpet ride" by Mercedes folk. It's depicted as a future luxurious touring sedan with good performance and exceptionally low fuel consumption. Big and luxurious, the F700 is also the first car in the world that can recognize and predict road conditions to manage bumps using a new PRE-SCAN active suspension M-B is developing. It also features the new DIESOTTO powertrain. It's a 1.8-liter four that rivals the efficiency of a diesel but runs on gas. It also addresses the all-important CO2 emissions head-on, with a rating of just 127 grams per kilometer or about 44.3 mpg.

There's a huge gallery of live shots and official pics in the gallery below, plus the abridged press release after the jump.