Mercedes-benz Won Two Awards From Off Road Magazine

By: Dwyane Thomas

Readers of the "Off Road" magazine for the third time have voted the Mercedes-Benz Unimog cross-country as vehicle of the year in the "Special Vehicles" category. The Unimog obtained the title of "2007 cross-country vehicle of the year-Special vehicles category" after the October issue of the popular Munich-based all-wheel-drive magazine invited readers to vote for a selection of cross-country vehicles in a total of eight categories.

The trophy which is in the form of an Off Road obelisks were presented during a special gala evening held at Munich's "Das Schloss" theatre tent. Over 56,000 readers have joined to select the winners from among the 80 vehicles nominated by the organizers. Mercedes-Benz models won in two categories: the Unimog was the top scoring model among the Special Vehicles obtaining 59% of the readers' votes. The Mercedes G-Class won the "Classics" category.

The eight categories to which readers were invited to vote were the following:

9.Cross-country vehicles
10.Luxury cross-country vehicles
11.Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs)
12.Luxury SUVs
13.Classics
14.Pick-ups
15.Special vehicles
16.Crossover Vehicles

The "Special Vehicles" category include cross-country vehicles which are used for transporting loads and cargo in remote areas or as a basis for special missions used by fire-fighters, military, and for expeditions. The Unimog was the winner for this category. Its winning features include portal axles which give it an outstanding off-road capability, its extreme torsional flexibility combines with an extra amount of ruggedness and strength that completed the whole winning package.

Martin C. Klein, head of Sales/Marketing of Special Vehicles Division of DaimlerChrysler AG accepted the award from Off Road's Florian Pillau. Actually, this was not the first time that the Unimog was honored, in the year 1994 it was also voted cross-country vehicle of the year.

The range of Unimog was produced at the Worth plant since 2002, the high-mobility Unimog U 3000 to U 5000 model series are perfect for difficult all-terrain operations that are far from roads and tracks. Its main applications are in the areas of fire-fighting especially in cases of forest fires, disaster relief, expedition transport as well as service and maintenance work in the areas where access is difficult. The latest addition to the Unimog family is the compact U 20 which made its debut at the 2006 IAA commercial vehicle show.

The Classic category which was won by the Mercedes-Benz G-class comprised of cross-country vehicles which have resisted the changing fashions and have maintained their original identity for many years. It should be noted that the G-class has been in production since 1979 and currently offered in three engine variants: with turbodiesel, with common rail injection, and with two eight cylinder petrol units.

Mercedes-Benz through the years
The history of Mercedes-Benz is a record of the automaker's remarkable achievements in car manufacturing like for instance the Mercedes-Benz 240D which was introduced in 1973 in Europe and a year after in North America as a new diesel powered variant of the W115 chassis, replacing the 220D as Mercedes' most powerful diesel car.

The price of the 240D was 19,913.40 Marks which is four times the price of a typical car during that time. It possesses the following features: heated seats, cruise control, leather seats, and a powered sunroof. It was also at that time that the 240D was branded as the fastest diesel engine available that is despite the fact that its 4-cylinder, 2.4 engine only delivers 65 hp compared to cars today the 240D can be considered extremely poor.

It was in the year 1976 that the production of the 115 chassis ended and the 240D became part of the W123 chassis family along with the powerful version, the 88-hp Mercedes-Benz 300D. The 240D engine was also improve to 53kW or 72 hp. The 240D was last imported to North America in 1983 but production of the car continued until 1985. On the other hand the production of continuous to provide those remaining 240D that roams the street today. Each has passed the same quality test that Mercedes-Benz is employing.

Top Searches on
Car Focus
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 
 • 

» More on Car Focus