Gottlieb Daimler 1885 patent design for 'riding car'

The automobile was born on August 26, 1885.  That is the day Gottlieb Daimler filed a patent for his ‘riding car’, the world’s first vehicle with an internal combustion engine.  The world would never be the same, and 125 years later, engineers and designers are still tinkering with the size, power and performance of the cars we drive and ride.  Daimler put a motor on a two-wheel vehicle, so purists might say this is the first motorized bicycle or the first motorcycle, not the first car.  Let’s not quibble.  This was the start of motorized personal mobility.

It took another year for his patent to be awarded, by which time engineer Carl Benz had applied for a patent on a three-wheel motorized vehicle, the Patent Motor Car. That same year, 1886,  Daimler created the four-wheeled Motor Carriage.

• Fabulous fact:  the word automobile comes from the Greek auto, meaning self, and the Latin mobilis, or mobile.

Munich Oktoberfest celebrates 200 years in 2010

Germany is justifiably famous for its great beer and wine festivals, which start in late summer or early fall and focus on regional wines, beers, and culinary specialties.  The most famous is the Munich Oktoberfest, the world’s oldest and largest beer festival , which celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2010.  Festival dates this year are September 18 to October 4.

The Munich Oktoberfest turns the city into party central.  Dozens of huge tents serve food, beer and entertainment to thousands of people each night, and a sprawling midway lures visitors to Ferris wheels and other rides.  Each of Bavaria’s beer breweries has its own tent and serves only its own beer, and of the beer tents serve tons of wurst, roast pig and chicken nightly, and every tent features an oompah band.

World's largest Oktoberfest beer festivals are in Munich and Stuttgart

Every few minutes, the band plays a rendition of the “Prosit” drinking song, and everybody stops chatting or eating or drinking to stand up and sing while waving their beer mugs in unison.  It’s tough to resist.

I’ll admit — I’ve been there, and I’ve done that.  And, I never ceased to be amazed at the strength of the waiters and waitresses who thread their way through the crowds while  juggling up to eight one-liter mugs without spilling a drop.  You’ll have the most fun if you pick one tent and stay there for the evening, rather than tent-hopping.

Mad Men Star Jon Hamm is New Voice of Mercedes-Benz

 The new voice of Mercedes-Benz is Jon Hamm, the Golden Globe winning star of the hit series Mad Men.  Hamm made his debut — or at least his voice — on the Academy Award Oscars  show, in a commercial featuring the new Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid luxury sedan.

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz 2010 S400 Hybrid luxury sedan is the world’s first production vehicle powered by sophisticated new lithium-ion battery technology that is more compact and more energy efficient than conventional batteries.  Mercedes has a second hybrid model, the hybrid version of the ML SUV, plus three clean diesel BlueTEC models.   And a fleet of vehicles powered by fuel cells is in the works.

Here’s the TV commercial, in case you missed it on Oscar night:

SmartforTwo plug-in electric minicar

Getting smart: The first plug-in electric Smartfortwo minicar has been delivered to customers in Berlin, close to the Stuttgart home of its parent company, Mercedes-Benz.  The first two owners — an artist and a dental technology company executive  — currently own the regular gas-powered Smartfortwo.

The compact two-seater is the first emission-free vehicle in the world with state-of-the-art lithium-ion technology plus an intelligent charging management system on board.   The batteries are from electric sportscar manufacturer Tesla Motors, which Mercedes parent Daimler bought a piece of in 2009 to produce and market electric cars together.  

SmartForTwo images: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes is calling the plug-in Smartfortwo an ED, for electric drive, rather than EV, for electric vehicle. 

The on-board electronics on the electric Smartfortwo has a unique new information feature that allows real-time exchange of information with the owner by iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone.  

Here’s how it works: 

The Mercedes-Benz F-Cell hydrogen fuel cell car gets its U. S. debut at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show in December.  It’s a compact four-door hatchback, built on the B-Class platform which is popular in Europe and Asia, but Mercedes has not yet brought it to North America.  

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