Mercedes to add turbo engines to entire lineup by 2010
Pending carbon dioxide emissions regulations in Europe mean that Mercedes Benz will make a major push toward down-sizing engines in the next three years. Thomas Weber, Daimler board member responsible for research and development has announced that every model in the Mercedes lineup will offer a turbocharged engine the end of 2010. All of the turbocharged engines will feature smaller displacements for reduced fuel consumption, with the turbos providing increased power on-demand. The down-sized and boosted engines are only one aspect of the drive to get fleet average CO2 emissions down to 138 g/km by 2012. In 2009 Mercedes Benz will also launch a version of the luxury S-Class sedan with a mild hybrid system and an M-Class SUV with the Two-Mode hybrid system. In 2010, an electrically driven Smart ForTwo with a lithium ion battery will also go into limited production. By mid-decade, the automakers wants all of its vehicles to be capable of operating on either biofuels, hydrogen or electricity.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
