Click the photo for high res images of the Mercedes Race Bike
Atmospheric carbon may be bad for us and the planet, but that doesn’t mean the element is totally evil. When incorporated into other materials carbon can add a tremendous amount of strength with minimal weight. Carbon (along with smaller amounts of other materials) is added to iron to create steel and carbon fibers are mixed in with plastic resins to create the high strength materials that many race cars are built from.
Mercedes-Benz has now added a new high-end model to their bicycle lineup utilizing a carbon-fiber frame. The new racing bike dubbed the Racing Bike 2007 weighs in at 15.4 lbs. The frame is made up of carbon fiber tubes that are glued together and then the joints are wrapped in carbon fiber. The whole frame is then cured in an autoclave like a Formula One chassis. The new carbon bike comes in five frame sizes and starts at €3,990 (about $5,360).
Featured Gallery
Seven years ago, Toyota made much of its debut of an all-newTundra pickup truck at the Chicago Auto Show. The story was that the Japanese automaker, which had achieved status for building the best selling passenger car in the U.S., the Camry, was finally ready to go after Ford, GM and Chrysler in the hugely profitable pickup truck market.
The result was one big pffffffft. While sales of the Tundra peaked in 2007 at 196,555 sales, the number of buyers of the pickup tumbled to 79,385 in 2009 when the U.S. economy and especially the housing sector collapsed. It rebounded to 101,621 last year. The San Antonio plant built for the Tundra’s lofty sales targets can handle in excess of 200,000 a year, so it’s running at half capacity.
It’s not that Toyota made a bad truck. The truck on the market today has a towing capacity of up to 10,000 pounds, a payload capacity of over 2,000 lb (910 kg). There are three engine choices: a 5.7-liter V8 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission; a 4.7-liter V8 rated at 276 horsepower and a 4.0-liter V6 rated at 236 horsepower. Consumer Reports has rated the Tundra second best pickup on the market. Edmunds.com rated it second best pickup in 2009. J.D. Power& Associates has rated it tops for quality.
ButToyota ran up against a buzz-saw in Detroit. Ford, GM and Chrysler’s Ram brand all make enormous profits from pickups. And as Toyota ramped up to build a “serious” truck, the Detroit Three seemed to double down on what they already did better than Japan. “The pickup truck market is driven by the construction and farming industries, and those buyers have enormous history with Ford and GM especially,” says brand consultant Dennis Keene. “The expertise Detroit has in building enormously tough, rugged and capable pickups is hard won, long established and has built great brand loyalty for them.”
Toyota studied the American truck market like they had never done before. Toyota engineers immersed themselves in Sunbelt America. They hung out at NASCAR events and camped out at ranches in South Texas and Oklahoma. They even went to RV camps and persuaded families to let them travel along so they could get up close and personal studying how people use their trucks. The company also developed the truck at its research-and-development center in Ann Arbor, Mich., about 40 miles from Ford and GM headquarters.
Ford’s global marketing chief Jim Farley launched the Tundra for Toyota when he was at the company in 2006.”It wasn’t until I came to Ford and the engineers here tore down the Tundra, as well as the Nissan Titan, for me that I understood what we didn’t know at Toyota about building a world class, durable, credible pickup truck,” Farley told AOL Autos in an interview.
Americans bought almost two million pickups last year, a number that is expected to go up by perhaps 10% this year. Ford led all truck sellers with 645,000. GM sold 575,000 and Ram sold 293,000.
Toyota this week unveiled a new version of the Tundra, it’s third try to make serious headway against Detroit. What’s different this time?
The answer is: The stuff on the outside. For better or worse the changes that Toyota has made to the fullsize pickup are mostly cosmetic, with the underpinnings of the vehicle staying unchanged.
There’s a new grille, along with a revised, three-part front bumper design. Fenders and wheel wells are more square than in the out-going truck, too. Perhaps most significant is the revised bed design, which Toyota calls”all-new,” with new sheet metal on the sides, a revised tailgate and a very subtle integrated spoiler.
All of the stuff underneath is a carryover from the existing lineup. A 4.0-liter, 270-horsepower 278-pound-feet of torque V6 is still the base engine, while two V8s– a 310-hp, 327-lb-ft 4.6-liter and a 381-hp, 401-lb-ft 5.7-liter – round out the offerings. The V6 hooks up to a five-speed automatic transmission, while both V8s make use of six gears.
So are these cosmetic changes enough to help the Tundra compete with the Ram, Silverado and F-Series, which currently dominate the truck market? Here’s what the new Toyota truck is going up against:
The2013 Ram 1500, which is now a separate brand from Dodge, was launched in 2012 to much applause. The winner of Truck of the Year at the 2013 Auto Show as well as being AOL Autos Truck of the Year, the Ram has been lauded by critics for its new design, capability and improved fuel economy. The Ram has long been the third best-selling truck in the country, but this new iteration — along with a very cool Super Bowl ad — should help improve brand awareness and sales.
The2014 Chevrolet Silverado was released late last year and now comes with some significant changes, both inside and out.
The new Silverado now comes with an entirely new exterior and substantially upgraded drivetrains. Inside, the truck has a completely new interior with a focus on soft-touch materials. There’s a gauge cluster that features a 4.2-inch color information display, and the new trucks can be had with up to five USB ports, four 12-volt outlets and one SD card slot. The option sheet also features the IntelliLink connectivity system, displayed through a high-definition eight-inch color touchscreen interface.
The Ford F-Series has outsold every vehicle — not just every truck — each year in recent memory.
The 2013 model of theFord F-150 has received a slight refresh and continues to sell incredibly well, but it’s the next generation we’re all waiting for. It was previewed at the Detroit Auto Show with the Ford Atlas Concept and showcases some bold new looks and much improved fuel economy.
The Tundra and the rest of the segment will have its work cut out for it.
[Source: Mercedes-Benz]
New top-of-the-range model for Mercedes-Benz Bike Collection 2007: Ultra-lightweight carbon fibre racing bike from Mercedes-Benz
Stuttgart, Jun 01, 2007
At Mercedes-Benz it is not just the cars that benefit from the company’s involvement in the field of motor racing – motorsport know-how is also used to optimise various top-class technological Collection products. The latest example is the new “Racing Bike 2007”: thanks to an innovative frame made from carbon fibre – a high-tech material used in Formula 1 – this competition-standard cycle weighs just seven kilograms. With its consistently lightweight construction and exclusive equipment, this is a cycle that will appeal to professional cyclists and serious amateurs.
Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH developed the new high-end bike in partnership with top German cycle manufacturer ADP Engineering GmbH, a company renowned for its exclusive, handcrafted Rotwild brand of cycles. In collaborating on the Mercedes-Benz Bike Collection 2007 the partners’ aim was to build cycles which would satisfy the every need of discerning Mercedes-Benz customers.
Racing Bike 2007: the high-end bike made from carbon fibre
The heart of the impressive racer is its innovative carbon fibre frame, manufactured using tube-to-tube processing. In this cutting-edge manufacturing process the frame is assembled from individual carbon fibre tubes, which are initially bonded together. The joints are then wrapped with carbon fibre and, in a process similar to that used in Formula 1, are cured in autoclaves (sealed pressurised containers) where they are subjected to high pressure and high temperatures. The frame created using this high-tech process is characterised by extreme stiffness and a low weight. The full carbon fork, made from the same high-tech material, comes courtesy of professional outfitter Topkey. The “Racing Bike 2007” weighs just seven kilograms (excluding the pedals).
Premium components from top Italian manufacturer Campagnolo
The exclusive equipment for the Mercedes-Benz bikes leaves nothing to be desired – even by the most demanding of professional cyclists. The shift system, brakes, wheels and chain wheels are part of the CentaurTM series from top Italian manufacturer Campagnolo.
The CentaurTM ErgopowerTM shift/brake levers combine perfect ergonomics with contemporary design. These competition-standard components allow particularly fast gear changes and braking because the rider’s hands stay on the handlebars – a design which not only offers time advantages when racing but is a major safety bonus too.
The CentaurTM rear derailleur was specially developed for top-level sport and allows fast, extremely precise gear changes across all ten speeds. The outer section of the shift parallelogram is made from carbon fibre – ensuring the cycle’s consistently lightweight construction, right down to the smallest detail. The ChorusTM crankset follows the successful formula used in racing. The ultra-lightweight chain rings feature an integral bearing and are directly laminated onto the high-quality carbon cranks using a special process. This solution also helps ensure an extremely stiff structure with an impressively low weight.
The SciroccoTM black wheels come courtesy of top Italian manufacturer Campagnolo. They have a 24-millimetre profile and feature radial spoking at the front and G3 spoking at the rear. Aerodynamic aero spokes (20 at the front, 27 at the rear) reduce air turbulence to a minimum – enhancing dynamic handling in the process. The oversize hubs feature a sealed deep groove ball bearing – another precision element which will appeal to discerning racing professionals.
The Mercedes-Benz Carbon Bike is available in five versions with a frame height of 49, 53, 56, 58 or 61 centimetres. The price of the thoroughbred sports cycle is Euro 3,990 (German price, incl. VAT).
The Racing Bike spearheads the new Mercedes-Benz Bike Collection 2007, which also includes new-design men’s and women’s versions of the “Fitness Bikes” and “Trekking Bikes”. The technology and functionality of these two series are precisely tailored to the needs of keen amateur cyclists. These cycles too were created in partnership with top German cycle manufacturer ADP Engineering GmbH. The Collection also includes an extensive range of cycle accessories plus Mercedes-Benz-branded cycle wear.
The Bike Collection 2007 will be available from Mercedes-Benz sales partners from June.