February 24, 2009. Copyright 2009, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Mercedes E class launches in Geneva as car sales totter
By Neil Winton

LONDON, February 24, Graphic News:  Forget the environment, downsizing, electric cars, hybrids or fuel cells, the theme at the annual Geneva Car Show this year is survival of the fittest.

The industry faces the worst downturn in living memory, as consumers put off buying cars, worried sick about job security. As they prune their budgets and brace for stormy economic weather, the last thing people are about to do is buy a new car. The current motor is surely going to last another year, or two.

The big car manufacturers are bleeding red ink, and pleading with their governments to tide them over financially. Germany, France and Italy have introduced scrapping subsidy plans. Owners of smokey, rusting 10-year old clunkers can send them to the knacker's yard in return for up to €2,500 to buy an economical, cheap and clean new one. That should spur sales, at least at the bottom end of the market.

Not a great time to launch a brand new up-market saloon like the new Mercedes E class then, even though it is likely to be a shoe-in for Star of the Show.

The E class is a magnificent example of the automotive industry's great engineering talent. This car has all the latest aids to safety. There's Attention Assist, which monitors the way the car is being driven, and electronically "prods" dozing drivers awake. The headlights are automatically dimmed to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. If the computer senses an imminent crash, it will automatically brake the car, and hard. If a car overtakes in your blindspot, the computer will tell you. It will warn you if you drift across a lane, and point out pedestrians getting dangerously close. Seatbelts tighten if a crash is imminent, with the "Pre-Safe" device first introduced on the flagship S class. Rear brake lights flash in an emergency, giving following drivers more time to avoid a collision. If the worst happens, there are nine airbags to save you from harm.

Economy is impressive too. Well, at least, the 1.8 litre-powered E 200 CGI is, perhaps not the E 63 AMG V8 with 525 hp. The 1.8 litre 4-cylinder petrol engine is the shape of things to come, using twin-turbos and direct injection to wring an amazing 184hp and 41.5 miles per gallon (6.8 litres per 100 kilometres) out of a small motor. Fuel economy is improved by lightening the car and improving the engineering of the its components. New tyres have up to 17 percent less rolling resistance. Manual gearbox versions have stop-start devices, which shut off the engine when you are at a standstill in traffic, and fire it up again when required. There are 10 petrol and diesel engine choices with four, six and eight cylinders.

Surprisingly, the E class doesn't have a petrol-electric hybrid option. Only Japan's Lexus provides a hybrid in this section of the market.

Sales start in Europe this month, fingers crossed.
/ENDS