sha4000

iTrader: (1)

wow these MB threads fill up quickly thats the last thing MB needed to happen. ppl will still buy though b/c its MB

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

I wonder why the airbag didn't go off? I think it needs to be at a certain speed for the airbags to work?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oh yeah definitely. in fact, unless necessary the airbag should NOT deploy. it saves lives when it's at high speed, but it deploys at extremely fast speed, if it's just minor hit, it's going to hurt the drivers and passengers

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Rebar reinforced tunnels, and rebar and steel beam garages. The grid creates a radio cage (entrapment). Irrelevant though since the amount of depth and thickness involved will cancel signals.

TheRupp

I wonder if onstar worked?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

you didn't read my post. look at how calm those people are in the car. i dont' think it was that hard of a hit at all

TheRupp

What confuses me is how did such a small accident equate to a total of $500,000 in damage?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

ah, gotcha. that's what i asked myself too. to me those look more like fender bender. well, maybe they just write off the cars afterwards

TheRupp

Maybe. Or they could save the money they write off and hire a Japanese guy to design and install their electronics

spwolf

i would guess they did not trust technology enough to drive at higher speeds... smart
:-)

XeroK00L

The truth behind the scene makes the story even funnier. Good to know that MB engineers knew the limitation of the radar system though.

http://www.askaprice.com/torque-arti..._fake&item=718

'Smashing' Mercedes demonstration was faked

Last week's big story - The Mercedes S-class failing a crash test on television - was a fake: Mercedes knew it wouldn't work, and the pile-up was due to human error during the simulation. The AutoBild journalist was summarily fired.

The German ex-autobild journalist appearing on Stern Tv, Michael Specht, was carrying audio recording equipment. The tape reveals that the accident was, indeed, an accident - but not the way it was expected.

According to sources in German media, Mercedes was already aware that the test would fail in the hall that was chosen for the television report, and recommended against doing the report at all. Desperate for a story, Specht reportedly conspired with the Mercedes engineers to brake manually, in a situation designed to 'simulate' the system.
Foiled by own technology

At the time of the test, however, Specht was unable to see the car in front due to the heavy smoke from the smoke machines. The Mercedes engineers came up with an alternate, low-tech solution: To lay a piece of wood across the path the cars would be driving, so Specht would know where to brake. Unfortunately, the Merc engineers were foiled by their own technology - Due to the extraordinarily good suspension on the S-class, Specht didn't feel the bump in the road, and proceeded to ram straight into the vehicle that had braked in front of him - in front of the rolling cameras and unsuspecting crew from Stern TV.

According to the Swedish website Auto Motor & Sport, Specht was fired from MotorBild this morning, following the leak of the situation around the S-class television.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

That is hilarious. That active suspension is VERY impressive!

Thanks for the follow-up.

Too bad reporters are so desparate for a sensational 'scary' story they'll fake it and that most people will never see this follow-up only believing the original fake story.

XeroK00L

Indeed, this may not be the best kind of publicity MB had hoped to demonstrate the wonders of their new suspension but the fact that the car crashed because the driver didn't feel the bump at all even when he was concentrating to do so proves how successfully the suspension works and speaks louder than than any other marketing campaign can possibly do.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hahaha it's good to know the story behind the scene, but still though, so the system doesn't work in certain scenario

Gojirra99

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on November 28, 2005 at 9:20 AM CST

A little while back, we brought you a story about the new Mercedes S-
Class failing a crash test on the Germany's Star TV. If you didn't
read our story, you can find it here.

http://emercedesbenz.com/Nov05/16New...CrashTest.html

It turns out, the entire test was a hoax... well, sort of.

Before the test was conducted, Mercedes alerted Star TV that the
Brake Assist Plus feature wouldn't function correctly in their
testing hall, and recommended they not conduct the test at all.

However, Michael Specht, a MotorBild journalist covering the story,
decided to run the story anyways. Specht, along with the Mercedes
engineers, devised a plan to "simulate" the Brake Assist Plus feature
by manually applying braking pressure on the fog-induced track.

Because of the low visibility, a board was placed over the track so
that Specht would know the correct time to brake the vehicle.
Unfortunately, the plan failed - due to the S-Class' plush
suspension, Specht didn't feel when he passed over the board, and
proceeded to then collide into the vehicle ahead of him.

I'll give you one guess what happened to poor little Michael Specht.
This morning it was announced that Michael was fired from his
position at MotorBild.

I have a feeling some Mercedes engineers might be a little nervous as
well. See kids, it never pays to lie.

source : theautochannel