The Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA) is offering members who own or drive AMG vehicles an exclusive opportunity to participate in the first MBCA SLS AMG Performance Week in Germany. This event will not be available elsewhere. It only costs $45 to join MBCA, if you’re not already a member.

The event will feature partipants’ driving the SLS and other AMG vehicles on a variety of roads in Germany as well as on the Autobahn. There will be an in depth visit to the Sindelfingen plant, the SLS production area, and the Center of Excellence; you’ll also visit the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Classic Center.

The trip is scheduled for June 5 to June 10 and will not be offered again in 2011. Our friend Jim O’Sullivan is the contact person; tell Jim that Greg Magnus said hello! Additional information, clarification, and registration details are available here for those interested.

On the waterfront…you may not see Marlon Brando or Karl Malden but you will see some good looking cars and meet some nice people!

Please join us for an evening at the Boathouse at Rockets Landing’s Harbor Master’s Suite to celebrate the Mercedes-Benz automobile. The stunning views of our cars in the parking lot and, of course, the city and the James River. It will be another memorable evening enjoyed by members and their guests. Bring your Valentine! In fact, arrive early and enjoy the local Richmond sites such as St John’s Church, the Edgar Allen Poe Museum, Churchill, Canal Walk, and the VA Museum of Fine Arts just to name a few.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: February 12, 2011 (Sat.)
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Where: Boathouse at Rockets Landing’s Harbor Master’s Suite
Cost: $35 per member ($40 non-members)

Location details: The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing
4708 East Old Main Street
Richmond VA 23231
Phone: 804-622-2628

The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing promises a truly one-of-a-kind, waterside dining experience never before available in Richmond. We’ll be enjoying the Harbor Master Room on the second floor overlooking the James River.

Registration Fee:

• $35 per member
• $40 for non-members

The registration fee includes dinner, which will include chicken and salmon served with salad & dessert, chef’s choice potato and vegetable as well as non-alcoholic beverages; cash bar for those interested. Advanced registration is required so read on …

The CVA section has reserved a private room, which overlooks the James River. Bring your camera!

DIRECTIONS
Visit the restaurant’s website for more info: The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing

General directions: I-95 exit 74B, Franklin Street. Continue on S. 15th Street until it ends. Turn left on Dock Street. Proceed on Dock Street 1.4 miles and turn right on Main Street. Take 1st Right onto Old E. Main Street. Boathouse Restaurant is the 1st building on the Right. Parking lot is straight ahead, past Restaurant Building.

REGISTRATION

Please complete the following form. Subsequently, you will receive an electronic email invoice for processing your registration payment.

We hope you can join us; we’ll definitely have fun and you’ll likely meet a few new friends as well. If you have any questions, please call Richard at 540-846-2856:

The ESF 2009 is the first Experimental Safety Vehicle to be built by Mercedes-Benz since 1974. Like its historic predecessors, it illustrates trailblazing innovations in the field of safety and makes the progress achieved clearly visible. These amazing but by no means crazy ideas include inflatable metallic sections which give more stability to structural components within fractions of a second, as well as the so-called “Braking Bag”. This airbag housed within the vehicle floor is deployed when a crash is deemed to be unavoidable, and uses a friction coating to support the vehicle against the road surface. The ESF 2009 will be premiered on 15 June 2009, at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference in Stuttgart.

“Safety is a central element of the Mercedes-Benz brand. In this respect we have been setting the pace in the market for almost 70 years. For the benefit of our customers and for road users in general. The ESF 2009 shows that we still have plenty of ideas and the absolute will, to lead the automobile industry in this field even in future”, says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The ESF 2009 was developed and built completely in the test vehicle workshops in Sindelfingen. This safety research vehicle based on the Mercedes S 400 HYBRID features more than a dozen safety innovations, most of which are fully functioning in demonstration mode. “With the ESF 2009, we have chosen this particular time to clearly demonstrate the innovative strength of Daimler. Anybody examining the ESF 2009 in detail will recognise that more safety and improved energy efficiency are not necessarily a contradiction in terms. We want to make progress in both fields with new, trailblazing ideas “, says Dr. Thomas Weber, the member of the Daimler Executive Board responsible for corporate research and development at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The following five innovations on the basis of the S 400 Hybrid are among the highlights of the ESF 2009:

• PRE-SAFE Structure:The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the stability of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.
• Braking Bag:This auxiliary brake accommodated in the vehicle floor is a new type of PRE-SAFE® component. If the sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag is deployed shortly before the crash and stabilises the car on the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.
• Interactive Vehicle Communication: The ESF 2009 is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using “ad hoc” networks and WLAN radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.
• PRE-SAFE Pulse: This further development of PRE-SAFE® is able to reduce the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the centre of the vehicle by up to 50 millimetres as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.
• Spotlight lighting function: This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUSe.g. detects deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.

You can find the details here: MBCA_loyaltyprogram_2009.pdf

Did you know the forum includes a wealth of information about your Mercedes-Benz? In addition, you can have your questions answered by fellow members or just learn more about your fine automobile. Looking for Mercedes-Benz parts? The forum also provides you with the ability to sell and buy parts as well as automobiles. So, what else can you discover on the Forum?

There are several “Model Specific” sections  covering both old and new MBs.  Questions can be asked on the technical forums, which are moderated by Mercedes-Benz experts and fellow club members. For example, the Marshall Booth Diesel Forum covers the classic 200D’s as well as the new CDI models.

Each MBCA Region has a separate forum for event information so get out and join fellow club members in their Mercedes-Benz! All of the MBCA section websites are listed as well.

Not to mention – IT’S FREE!

I invite you to join us on the MBCA Forum.  It is simple to register but if you have any problems we are there to help!- send me an email.

Take care and be safe,
Chuck Landenberger
MBCA Forum Administrator
MBCA National Director at Large