On the up and up

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

A few years ago, Mercedes-Benz would be happy if it sold 300 cars in a calendar year in New Zealand.

These days it is selling 300 in three months. At the end of March Mercedes-Benz had sold 313 vehicles, a 20 per cent increase on the corresponding period last year.

The momentum continued last month - unofficial figures show sales of around 120 units, expected to be a record month for the luxury marque.

Globally, the company sold 266,9000 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, which is 1 per cent up on the period last year.

Growth in New Zealand over the past few years has not been as spectacular as that of rival BMW. But whereas overall BMW sales are dominated by the 3-Series, the best small saloon in the business, Mercedes-Benz' are spread across more models.

Sales of the entry-level A-Class are ticking over. So are those of the four-wheel-drive M-Class, now showing its age. The C-Class is strong, with 42 sales last month. The new E-Class, the Herald's 2002 Car of the Year, sold 40 units. The facelifted S-Class, the leader in the luxury flagship segment so far this year, sold 21.

The luxury division is getting crowded. Carmakers are offering more models as the market for top-end cars grows.

Mercedes-Benz has A-, C-, E-, M-, and S-Class passenger vehicles. More model designations are coming. Once upon a time it had E- and S. There wasn't even a C.

Over the next 18 months, BMW will have the 1-, 3-, 5-, 6-, and 7-Series, X3, X5 and Z4 roadster. About 20 years ago the only BMW in New Zealand was the 2002.

The luxury market here got another player the other day with the new Mercedes-Benz CLK cabriolet, the successor to the 1998 convertible, which sold 115,000 units worldwide.

Seven models will be available, starting with the V6 240 Elegance at $128,300 through to the V8 55AMG at $215,900.

The new CLK joins the coupe and was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

It is stronger all-round than the outgoing car and comes with a class-leading drag coefficient figure of 0.30, against 0.32.

Helping the low wind resistance is the absence of a radio aerial - it is now out of sight and integrated into the rear of the car.

The folding roof was designed by German cabriolet specialist Karmann, and for the first time can be lowered, raised and locked into place by remote control.

Mercedes-Benz and Karmann paid particular attention to insulating the soft-top roof against lightning strikes.

Last year, there were 2.9 million cases of lightning discharge during storms over Germany, Austria and Switzerland, compared with around 2.2 million cases in 2001.

The highest number was recorded in the northern summer, June, July and August. Lightning is apparently discharged around one million times each hour above the Earth's surface.

In the middle of a storm, occupants of the new CLK cabriolet are just as well protected against lightning as passengers in cars with a rigid roof, says Mercedes-Benz.

This was one of the findings of a series of tests performed by the Institute for High Voltage and Power Engineering at Berlin's Technical University.

The struts and cross members that make up the soft-top frame act like a Faraday Cage, allowing the electrical current of a lightning strike to flow towards the outside of the frame and ensuring that the car interior remains a "field-free zone".

This principle was discovered by the British physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) at the beginning of the 19th century and still forms the basis for lightning protection systems to this day.

Scientists in Berlin discharged several dozen lightning impulses of up to 1.4 million volts across the CLK cabriolet.

Measurement of the electrical field inside the closed car confirmed the lightning current was guided harmlessly to the ground through the soft-top frame assembly, the car body and the tyres, says Mercedes-Benz.

Meanwhile, DaimlerChrysler subsidiary Smart has revealed its new hatchback, the Forfour.

The newcomer is the first Smart model with seating for four. The Smart City coupe and cabriolet and and the Roadster are two-seaters only.

The Forfour will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It has been developed with the new Mitsubishi Colt - DaimlerChrysler has 30-plus per cent of Mitsubishi - and will be built at a new plant in Born, Holland.

The two cars share suspension and driveline set-ups but are quite different in styling.

At 3750mm, the Forfour is 150mm longer than the A-Class Mercedes-Benz. It will compete with the A-Class in some markets until the bigger A-Class goes on sale.

The Forfour will be powered by a new line of four-cylinder petrol engines which will range from 1.1 to 1.4 litres.