Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe Launched in India; Price @ 54 Lakhs

Mercedes-Benz India brought in a whole new meaning to attraction & luxury in the premium automobiles segment by unveiling the new Mercedes E-Class Coupe.The distinctive lines and sleek edges lend it an aura of irresistible charm. Within this two-door beauty lies the unmatched performance, safety and comfort features of the legendary E-Class.

Design which expresses passion and effortless superiority:

With its classic coupe side aspect, reflected by no B-pillars and fully retractable side windows - the new two-door car is a particularly sporty interpretation of the E-Class' dynamic design. The hallmark of Mercedes Coupe design is its sports radiator grille with the large central star. The arrow shape of the entire front section coupled with its lean build give the car a sportier and more dynamic presence.

High standards of ride comfort:

The E-Class Coupe takes on a pioneering role in the drive and performance category. The new petrol engine combines efficiency and effortless power delivery with its 3.5 litre engine V6 engine offering 272hp at 6000rpm. With a drag coefficient of just 0.24, this is the world's most aerodynamically efficient series-production car.

Most comprehensive array of safety features in this vehicle category:

The new E-Coupe offers all the technical innovations of the new E-Class series that one might expect to find in a sports-oriented luxury coupe. The product features new trendsetting technologies - like ATTENTION ASSIST (drowsiness detection system), selective damper control, preventive occupant protection Adaptive Main Beam Assist, PRE-SAFE technology and Intelligent Lighting System all of which together make the E-Coupe a "thinking" partner. These features can not only see, feel, and respond to dangers by means of its "reflexes," but also act independently to prevent accidents or minimize their effects.

With such advanced technical developments and E-Class Coupe specific features (like keyless go, panaromic sunroof to name a few), this car further consolidates the leading position of Mercedes-Benz in the luxury class with unique trailblazing innovations for safe and sporty driving, available with no other manufacturer.

Priced at Rs. 54.83 Lakhs (Ex-Showroom Mumbai), the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe will be retailed through Mercedes-Benz Dealerships across the country.

Cars VS Cosmic Rays

Sounding like a Hollywood movie title right???

Its no wonder how certain things in nature have the effect on each other...but, being a normal human being, its our turn just to wait and watch..wat is it all about...

Yes, can you believe this, At high altitudes, Cosmic rays could bring an airplane to the brink of disaster. And on the ground, they can crash computers and reset routers.

NASA engineering team has been called in to assist in a federal investigation. The reason being to find out whether Are Cosmic rays be what's causing the mysterious accelerator problems in Toyota cars? Maybe.


The team - drawn from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, or NESC - serves as the space agency's rapid-response unit for engineering expertise. It was set up in the wake of the 2003 Columbia tragedy, in response to investigators' concerns that NASA didn't have an independent safety watchdog.

Since its formation seven years ago, NESC has taken on more than 100 engineering and safety assessments, said Keith Henry, a spokesman at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. "They range all the way from the shuttle and the International Space Station to interplanetary missions, Hubble, earth satellites and aviation questions," he told me.

However, the Toyota investigation apparently represents a new frontier: "This is the first time the NESC has done anything related to automobiles,"

Nowadays, that's not as big a leap as you might think. Automobiles are relying more heavily on electronics for control systems. Just as the aviation industry adopted fly-by-wire systems, the automotive industry is moving toward drive-by-wire. "There isn't that much difference anymore between spacecraft, aircraft and modern automobiles,"

Some suspect Toyota's troubles are the result of electronic glitches, and those are issues that will get close attention from the NASA engineers. Glitches could be caused by electromagnetic incompatibilities, or corrosion, or metal stress effects such as "tin whiskers," or elusive single-event effects such as cosmic-ray hits.

The cosmic-ray connection

Cosmic rays? Hitting cars? The connection made headlines last month when the Detroit Free Press reported that subatomic particles from outer space were being considered as a potential cause of the accelerator glitches. The report cited an anonymous memo sent to the National Highway Transportation Safety Board, complaining that "the automotive industry has yet to truly anticipate" the effects of cosmic radiation.

Earth's atmosphere stops most of the dangerous cosmic rays that zoom in from outer space, but some particles get through nevertheless. If those particles hit electronic chips, they can spark unpredictable little jolts of energy in the circuitry, potentially flipping bits out of their proper state. In space, cosmic rays can scramble the brains of a Mars orbiter. At high altitudes, they could bring an airplane to the brink of disaster. And on the ground, they can crash computers and reset routers.

Engineers try to make sure that the circuits they design are robust enough to weather cosmic rays, and Toyota insists its electronics are not at fault. But experts say that as the circuitry in our cars gets more sophisticated, cosmic rays become more of a concern.

"Modern electronics are more and more susceptible to the phenomenon," The smaller and more integrated the circuits are, the more likely you are to find it, unless you design around it."

Two years ago, Intel senior scientist Eric Hannah said it was just a matter of time before the cosmic-ray problem started affecting cars. "It's strange, but this is the reality we're moving into as we get smaller and smaller circuits,"

Has that time now arrived? It's too early to say for sure, but NASA's engineers may well help provide an answer. "Right now what they're doing, besides getting the team together, is designing the testing program and getting parts from Toyota,". The testing program will almost surely include blasting electronic components in a particle accelerator. That's a standard method for measuring vulnerability to cosmic rays.

NASA behind the wheel

This may well be NESC's first foray into automotive engineering, but NASA has delved into the field before. The space agency's wind tunnels have been used to improve the aerodynamics of race cars and semitrailer-trucks.

NASA engineers also have played supporting roles in developing technologies to clear the air in automobiles, produce better batteries for electric vehicles and build cars more efficiently with robots.