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During the presentation of the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan, we could have sworn that the Mercedes spokesperson said the car had a "eunuch personality."
Now that was a bit harsh, we thought. But, if true, we weren't so sure that we wanted to make the car's acquaintance. That description certainly jibed with the presenter's early characterization of the new E-Class' design as being a "reflection of its inner values without aggressiveness." Indeed, lack of aggressiveness is something of a job requirement for eunuchs.
Perhaps it was the dazzling 3-D film of the new E-Class the company had just played for us that had us misinterpreting the speaker's German-accented English. Or maybe it was the jet-lag haze that was floating around in our cranium. Or the big honkin' magnum of 1970 Rothschild we had helped empty the night before. What he'd said was "unique," as in the car has a unique personality. Right. Of course.
Anyway, we thought, we had just driven the 382-horsepower, 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 to the presentation and it was certainly no eunuch. To the contrary, it had more than its fair share of equipment and potentially troublesome systems.
Adaptive Automatic Assist-Tronic
For this launch of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, we were presented with the opportunity to drive a 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550, which like every other 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 provided for this event had been loaded to the rooftops with cameras (three of them) and radar systems (one long-range and two short-range) and infrared this and swiveling that and human-form recognition software and a vibrating steering wheel and seats that bulged in concert to the car's g-load and also mechanical eyelids.
It's a bewildering array of sensors, detectors and emitters. Hearing this, you expect the thing to look like some project from the Department of Defense, bristling with antennae and unidentifiable domes and cones and cylinders. In fact, however, the E-Class looks remarkably like a car, as evidenced by the attached pictures.
We shall now dive right in and describe all these sensors, detectors and emitters for you. First, the coolest, most effective one of the bunch is Adaptive Highbeam Assist. Because headlights that self-leveled and swiveled sideways in curves were not complex enough, Mercedes has given the new E-Class mechanical eyelids. A nose-mounted camera detects the headlights and taillights of other cars on the road and lowers the eyelids sufficiently to keep from dazzling traffic. If you're closing on the car in front of you, the Highbeam Assist will progressively lower its lids, keeping the beams from blasting the rearview mirror. So, depending on conditions, the headlamps can light between about 215 feet and 985 feet of the road ahead. Amazingly, this actually works.
Full Story: Edmunds Inside Line - 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 First Drive
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