daimler

I'm a big fan of "German engineering"--that combined focus on power and precision that distinguishes the better automobiles designed or manufactured in Germany.

At Frankfurt's International Motor Show, BMW will be showing off two new hybrid cars intended to deliver the full promise of German engineering. This is no small thing because most hybrid cars to date have been lightly built and somewhat underpowered in order to improve fuel economy.

The two new BMWs are more like previous offerings from that company: big, solid cars with lots of power to maintain performance in spite of … Read more

But you can point north if you wear a belt of a dozen or so magnets all the time. We'll explain. Also Palm Pre is coming for $200 and we have some rumored next-generation specs. Oh and about 300 car stories, 'cause you know. Cooley is on the show.

Palm Pre to arrive June 6 for $200 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10244423-1.html

Next-gen iPhone specs, launch date revealed? http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/next-gen-iphone-specs-launch-date-revealed/

Biz Stone on Twitter: … Read more

German automotive giant Daimler has invested in electric-car company Tesla Motors and plans to use Tesla's battery packs in its Smart electric car due later this year.

At a Tuesday press conference held at the Daimler museum in Stuttgart, Germany, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Daimler management board member Thomas Weber said the contract between the two companies calls for joint collaboration on the Smart electric car and future models.

Daimler has invested a "double-digit million-dollar sum" to acquire about a 10 percent stake in California-based Tesla, Weber said.

"We are about to combine the best … Read more

It's impulse shopping meets car rental. Car2go, a car-sharing concept from Daimler, will launch in Austin, Texas, in fall 2009. The service will enable members to use their mobile phones to locate and rent one of a fleet of 200 cars near them without advance reservation.

The business model is similar to other car-sharing programs (such as Zipcar) in the U.S. with a few exceptions. The company's entire fleet of rental vehicles consists of Daimler's fuel-sipping, two-seater smart Fortwos. Registered members can rent the cars via their mobile phones and unlock the car with their membership … Read more

Looking ahead to the future, the trainees of Daimler AG at the Sindelfingen Mercedes-Benz plant have built a Roadster with fuel cell drive, the company announced today.

For about a year, more than 150 trainees and dual education system students worked on the overall concept, development, assembly, and completion of the F-Cell Roadster. This project involved junior employees from the fields of automotive mechatronics, model building, electronics, coating technology, manufacturing mechanics, product design, and interior appointments. The project focused on ways to integrate alternative drive systems into training with hands-on experience.

The Roadster incorporates stylistic elements from every era of … Read more

STUTTGART, Germany--Smart wants to get more passengers into its ForTwo minicar. "By varying the wheelbase length of the current midengine platform, we could develop additional models, with 2+1 or 2+2 seating," said Anders-Sundt Jensen, head of the Daimler subsidiary.

The German magazine auto motor und sport reports that Smart will introduce its next-generation family of models at the 2010 Geneva auto show. The magazine reports that variants with names such as the ForOne, ForThree, and ForFour are being discussed.

Smart's plans are a big change from a few years ago. Slow sales caused Daimler to … Read more

Updated at 1:35 p.m. PT with corrected information on the supply arrangement and additional details.

Tesla Motors has signed a deal to supply power train components to Daimler for an electric version of the German auto giant's Smart mini-car, called the Electric Smart EV, which is expected to be available within two years.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced the deal at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Tuesday. On Sunday, Tesla unveiled a higher-end Sport version of its Tesla Roadster electric sports car.

Tesla will supply the battery pack and on-board charger … Read more

Daimler, maker of the Smart fortwo, has just launched a new car sharing service called car2go in Ulm, Germany. The service is similar to the Zipcar or City CarShare services where users sign up for the service and are given use to a distributed fleet of vehicles for a fee. In this case, we're talking about a fleet of 50 Smart fortwos. What did you expect, Maybachs?

To start, users sign up on the car2go Web site, as of yet unpublished, or meet with a representative. Once in the system, an electronic tag is applied to the user's … Read more

PARIS--Although overshadowed by the flood of hybrids, electric vehicles are winning converts at the world's automakers.

No gasoline backup engine. No onboard generator. And, their advocates add, no emissions.

At last week's Paris auto show, automakers showed off the new wave of electric cars.

True, some were from tiny companies, and some were enhanced golf carts made to putter around gated communities. But Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Smart and coachbuilder Heuliez showed vehicles designed for general use.

Though electrics won't hit the mainstream for several years, proponents fiercely argue that they will eventually win significant market share.

Introducing … Read more