Friday, 27th January, 2012
New 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster
The 2012 season of new car announcements continues with the Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster, to be released in 2013. The two-seat SL, a longtime flagship for the German car maker, has been developed from the company’s sports-car racing program of the early 1950s.
Boasting a raft of innovative features and intelligent design concepts, the new Roadster remains true to its tradition as a technological trendsetter.
With the SL350 weighing 140 kilos less due to its aluminium bodyshell, the redeveloped SL-Class Roadster is more dynamic and fuel efficient than its predecessor. As well as achieving an absolute top value in torsional strength, the sophisticated corrosion prevention measures ensure that its pristine aspect is preserved for much longer.
Pioneering the world’s first adaptive windscreen wipe/wash system, Magic Vision Control, the new SL-Class Roadster revolutionises the concept of windscreen washing while driving. Delivering water directly to the wiper blade via a duct system, it cleans the windscreen without the familiar splash of water that can disrupt visibility – especially at night or when the sun is low in the sky.
Offering three partly autonomous wash programmes which are integrated with the seasons and specific driving conditions, the wiper blades can also be optionally fully-heated to prevent snow and ice from freezing on the blade – groundbreaking technology unique to Mercedes-Benz.
Coupled with the unique FrontBass system, also celebrating its world premiere, the new SL-Class Roadster resonates clear, crisp sound by utilising the free spaces at the front of the footwell for its bass loudspeakers. The optionally-available Harman Kardon® Logic 7® surround sound system or Bang & Olufsen integrated digital system add further definition to the acoustics – making for an all-round emotive experience even with the top down.
Source
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Tags: « Mercedes AMG »
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Monday, 23rd January, 2012
Announced recently by Audi is their new R8 V8 Limited Edition, a model which continues to uphold the German company’s rich racing history. The new model incorporates the same sort of styling and features which the more powerful GT Coupé has.
Available since July 2011 in a Coupé form the R8 V8 Limited Edition sports a set of titanium finish 19-inch ‘5-arm double-spoke Y design’ alloy wheels inspired by the R8 GT Coupé, highlighted by red brake callipers which is the main differentiating feature of the Limited Edition’s exterior .
Inside, the R8 V8 Limited Edition is fitted with satellite navigation, an Audi Music Interface (AMI), an interior light package and a premium Bang and Olufsen sound system, as well as mobile phone preparation via a Bluetooth interface with integrated seat-belt microphones, all of which don’t come as standard for the regular R8 V8 Coupé.
A YouTube video is available for viewing on the new model.
Specifications
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Friday, 20th January, 2012
The economic uncertainties which have plagued the globe since 2008 continue to affect the trading profitability and sales of luxury audio-video equipment from Bang & Olufsen.
Shares fell as much as 5.6%, the most since 15 November 2011 after reporting a second-quarter net income of 28.8 million kroner ($4.94 million). This compares with an average estimate of 33.5 million kroner in a Bloomberg survey of four analysts.
Chief executive Tue Mantoni said the performance was a “satisfactory result in a difficult market” with the company continuing to perform well in its business-to-business segment but being affected badly in the consumer market. It is this business-to-business segment (Bang & Olufsen manufactures high-end in-car entertainment systems to Aston Martin, Audi, BMW) which grew 10% in the quarter while consumer revenues slipped.
Within its consumer A/V section, which includes TV and hifi products, sales declined 8.6% in the second quarter as European sales slumped. Bang & Olufsen has been failing to keep up with strong competition from Asian brands which have been delivering high-end products with improved technical performances. Bang & Olufsen’s positioning as a design technology company has also been losing stance with consumers opting more for technology rather than design features when it comes to TV sets.
But this is still early days as far as the new sales structure of the company is concerned with the B&O Play offshoot only being announced a week ago at 2012’s CES exhibition in Las Vegas and therefore not yet making an impact on company profitability.
Two major products announced at CES 2012: BeoLab 12 and BeoVision 12-65, have not yet been released on to the consumer market.
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Tags: « B&O Play - Marketing - Recession »
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Tuesday, 17th January, 2012
Bang & Olufsen announced at CES 2012 on 7 January that the company has signed a chip technology cooperation agreement with Intel, the world’s largest semi-conductor chip manufacturer (source).
“This strategic cooperation with Intel provides Bang & Olufsen with access to the latest silicon process technologies. This will enable Bang & Olufsen to stay at the technological forefront in the future and increase the efficiency of Bang & Olufsen’s product development” stated Bang & Olufsen Chief Executive Kalle Hvidt Nielsen.
Intel, a rare example of a component supplier with a powerful brand, is happy to be part of the partnership. The company provides marketing help to companies which label products with “Intel Inside” stickers, but as Apple’s polished but sticker-free Macs have shown, there’s something to be said for the cachet of association with good industrial design.
“Bang & Olufsen represents a unique opportunity and brings a deep understanding of the high-end consumer DTV (digital television) market to this exciting cooperation. Intel looks forward to this collaboration to develop Smart TV enabling products that take advantage of Bang & Olufsen’s design and engineering expertise” said Wilfred Martis, general manager of retail consumer electronics in Intel’s Digital Home Group.
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