Redline
Oz airbag recalls blow out THE recall of an additional 90,000 Hondas brings the number of cars fitted with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to almost one million, in Australia alone. The Honda recall includes the Jazz, CR-V, 2010-12 Insight and City sedan. Expected to extend to more
than 50 million cars globally, the recall – which followed multiple deaths overseas due to airbags splitting or emitting shrapnel on deployment – has reached 940,000 here. That almost equals the total of Australian car recalls for all reasons in 2014, itself a 10-year high.
SEPTEMBER 2015
Mercedes reveals E-Class tech blitz Smartphone integration, car-to-car comms on the menu as E-Class takes over as Benz technology leader MOVE over S-Class, the next Mercedes-Benz E-Class is set to become the brand’s tech flagship, with a number of world-first features. Although the W213 E-Class is still at least six months from production and won’t hit Australian showrooms until late 2016, Mercedes-Benz has revealed some of its innermost secrets. The E-Class will introduce at least four world firsts, in safety, convenience and driver assistance. Engineers promise it will include semi-autonomous driving aids a level above those that wowed the world when the current S-Class was revealed only two years ago. Further, the E-Class will gain a couple of technologies that lift Mercedes to parity in related areas with what is offered by BMW and Audi.
16 wheelsmag.com.au
Mercedes-Benz hasn’t revealed the exterior or interior of the new E-Class yet, but Wheels has caught the new model testing. It will share its MRA (Modular Rear-drive Architecture) with the current S-Class, but will leapfrog the bigger Benz with a more extensive suite of tech that will eventually trickle up to the flagship. The new E-Class will ditch the current range of V6 powerplants, reverting instead to inherently smoother in-line six-cylinder engines. These modular engines will be closely related to the four-cylinder units offered in the entry-level E-Class, in an approach fast becoming the industry norm. There will also be more hybridisation, as confirmed at January’s Detroit motor show. The
IT CAN DRIVE ITSELF EQUIPPED with more advanced sensors and data-processing than the S-Class, the new E-Class moves a step closer to full autonomy. Highlights are the new car’s ability to follow traffic ahead, in its lane, at speeds from 0 to 200km/h, and the ability to steer at up to 130km/h even when lane markings are absent. Stuttgart is working on protocols for the car to hand control back to the driver. With today’s laws requiring hands on the wheel, this isn’t an issue. But in the future, when the car has been in control for an extended period, the driver can become deeply involved in other tasks. Making sure they’re ready to resume driving, say at the end of the motorway, is a necessity.
