MOTOR

Benz contributes to prevent accidents

Drowsiness bigger cause for accidents than drunk driving:

Mercedes-Benz has made an outstanding contribution towards preventing accidents as, according to studies, around a quarter of all serious road accidents are caused by drowsy drivers - making drowsiness an even bigger cause of accidents than drunk-driving.

Steering behaviour is a key indicator of drowsiness. Four years of development and testing work on the ATTENTION ASSIST system revealed steering behaviour to be an extremely meaningful indicator of drowsiness. In tests involving over 670 drivers, the Mercedes scientists determined that drowsy drivers have trouble steering a precise course in their lane, making minor steering errors that are often corrected quickly and abruptly. This effect occurs at an early stage when drowsiness kicks in - often before the dangerous situation in which the driver falls asleep momentarily. If the system detects drowsiness, it emits an audible warning signal and flashes up message on the display in the instrument cluster: “ATTENTION ASSIST. Break!”

ATTENTION ASSIST is fitted as standard in the new E-Class and the new S-Class; it is active at speeds of between 80 and 180 km/h. It enables the new Mercedes Saloon to “feel”: the system’s highly sensitive sensors monitor the driver’s behaviour and, based primarily on the steering wheel movements, detect when the driver is becoming drowsy. The ATTENTION ASSIST system records over 70 parameters which are then assessed for the purpose of drowsiness detection. This continuous monitoring is crucial for detecting the floating transition from being awake to drowsiness and for giving the driver plenty of warning.

Based on this wealth of data, ATTENTION ASSIST calculates an individual driver profile during the first few minutes of every trip. This profile is then compared with the current sensor data and the prevailing driving situation by the car’s electronic control unit. In addition to the vehicle speed, lateral acceleration and longitudinal acceleration, the Mercedes system also detects use of the turn indicators and pedals as well as certain control inputs and external influences such as side winds or road unevenness, for example.

Drivers and passengers of Mercedes-Benz new E-Class and S-Class vehicles in Sri Lanka can now look forward to even more safer travelling, especially when going long distances in the night.

Mercedes-Benz is represented in Sri Lanka by Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO).

Maruti profit falls

Shares in India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki plunged more than 10 percent on Monday after it reported a surprise 20-percent fall in quarterly net profit over the weekend.

The shares of the New Delhi-based company, which is majority-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, were down by nearly 11 percent, or 147.75 rupees, at 1210.50 rupees on the Mumbai stock exchange in late morning trade.

Maruti reported that its net profit during the fiscal first quarter had slid to 4.65 billion rupees (99 million dollars) from 5.84 billion rupees a year earlier, despite a 27 percent leap in sales.

The fall was a shock for financial analysts who had forecast Maruti would report a profit of around seven billion rupees for the three months to June 30.

Analysts blamed bigger royalty payments to Maruti’s parent Suzuki Motor Corp following a new agreement and forecast that the payouts would put pressure on the company’s earnings in future quarters.

Maruti, which makes nearly one in two cars in India, paid 1.9 billion rupees in royalties to Suzuki, the company said, without giving year-ago figures. The fast-growing Indian car market has become increasingly important to Suzuki Motor, which holds 54 percent of the company.

“The sudden change in royalty charge overshadows an otherwise strong operating performance,” said Chirag Shah, research analyst at Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd, which lowered its ratings on the shares to “reduce.” Maruti, which is facing fiercer sales competition from domestic and global carmakers, also blamed such factors as higher steel and other commodity prices along with a weaker euro for the profit drop.

AFP

Fiat takes major step towards global mega group

Fiat took a big step last week towards the dream of its ambitious chief Sergio Marchionne to become a truly global player with board approval for a spin-off of its non-car activities.

The maverick chief executive is seen to be positioning the group to join the fray as major world automakers seek new alliances, a year and a half after orchestrating a tie-up with near-bankrupt US automaker Chrysler.

“It will be easier for Fiat to merge with other companies and the first that comes to mind obviously is Chrysler,” said Umberto Bertele, chairman of Milan Politechnic’s business school, of the restructuring.

Marchionne, credited with rescuing Fiat from its own crisis well before the global financial meltdown, moved quickly to take advantage of Chrysler’s death spiral, negotiating a no-cash deal under which the Italian carmaker acquired an initial 20 percent stake in the US firm.

The Italian-Canadian also became Chrysler’s chief executive in the deal, under which Fiat contributed its small-car and green technology and the US carmaker opened the door to its sprawling distribution network.

Marchionne has said the two companies combined would produce six million vehicles by 2014, up from four million today.

Analysts expect the new structure to help Fiat not only integrate with Chrysler but also to form other alliances as new players come onto the scene from emerging economies such as Russia and India.

The restructuring calls for truck maker Iveco, agricultural and construction machine manufacturer Case New Holland and a part of engine maker Fiat Powertrain Technologies to be part of a new group to be called Fiat Industrial.

The operation will leave a car-only Fiat with its own brand plus Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and its components and motor activities. Fiat said the move would “provide strategic and financial clarity to both businesses and enable them to strategically develop independently of each other.”

The change will also “allow for the proper valuation in the capital markets of these two businesses,” Fiat said in a statement following the board meeting, which was held in Chrysler’s home base of Detroit, Michigan.

Also Wednesday, the group announced a return to the black in the second quarter, posting a net profit of 113 million euros (145 million dollars) compared with a loss of 179 million euros in the same period last year.

In 2009, the group lost 848 million euros as the global auto industry was devastated by the world financial crisis. In the first quarter of 2010 it posted a net loss of 21 million euros.

Chrysler meanwhile posted a loss of 3.8 billion dollars for the period between June 10 last year — when it left bankruptcy protection — and December 31, but narrowed its 2010 first-quarter net loss to 197 million dollars from 2.5 billion dollars a year earlier.

Fiat, which assumed operational control of Chrysler in June 2009, will see its stake rise to 35 percent in two years, with an option to improve that to a controlling share once the US firm pays back its debt to the US government.

Buoyed by the second-quarter results and citing improved demand, Fiat said it would “very likely” revise its targets upwards once third-quarter results are in.

Current targets include annual turnover in excess of 50 billion euros and an operating profit of no more than 1.2 billion euros and a net result at or near the break-even point.

Fiat’s reorganisation, first announced in April, will take effect on January 1, 2011, said the group, Italy’s biggest private employer with a national workforce of some 80,000. Shareholders are set to approve the operation at a September 16 general assembly.

AFP