San Antonio Mercedes Dealer

The Mercedes E Guard. Just like its bigger brother, the Mercedes S 600 Guard, the E Guard is part of a line that continues Mercedes’ 80 years tradition of providing special protection vehicles while at the same time maintaining the level of excellence and comfort that its’ customers have learned to expect.

It appears that early on, Mercedes recognized the need for a special protection vehicle but not as heavily armored as the S 600.

Understandably, diplomats and royalty who are subject to acts of terrorism need a vehicle that can withstand armor piercing, automatic weapons fire. Hence the S 600 Guard with B7 armor.

For the wealthy businessman, the S 600 even if he could afford it, would seem a bit of an overkill.

The major threat to the rich would be pistol wielding muggers or carjackers.

The Mercedes E-Guard has a VR4 (formerly B4) Protection Level rating appears to fit this need.

This means that for example, the polycarbonate windows can withstand fire from 9mm, .357, and .44 Magnum and 12 Gauge Slug ammunition rounds and the metal plates that form a protective cage can put up with DM 51 hand grenades.

Again like its bigger brother, the E Guard looks practically identical to its unprotected version. Like the S Guard model (Incidentally, a G-Class Guard is also available) the E Guard is also built on its own assembly line, which lets Mercedes armor up the car as part of the original production process.

There are currently 2 E Guard trims available: the E 320 CDI and the E 550.

The E 320 CDI has a V6, 24 valve, 224hp engine and has a top speed of 140 mph.

Not bad considering that the E 320 Guard is 800lbs heavier than the standard E320 which has a curb weight of 3,858 and a top speed of 153mph.

More to follow…
Or just stop by your San Antonio Mercedes Dealership and have them order you one!!!

Mercedes S 600 Guard Continued
Aside from armor and other protective equipment, the Mercedes S 600 Guard naturally comes equipped the same cutting edge innovations that are present in the regular S 600s/S class.
• Brake Assist PLUS-Basically radar that detects incoming vehicles and other cars in front. A proximity sensor in the system warns the driver if and when the S 600 gets too close or when it advances too quickly. If the system detects a risk of collision, it automatically calculates the required braking power and applies this as soon as the driver steps on the brake pedal-even if the pedal is not pressed hard enough.
• PRE SAFE Occupant Protection System- is a preventive emergency system. In conjunction with the Brake Assist PLUS, it warns the driver if and when the distance between the S Guard and the car in front gets critical. The system will also calculate the optimal braking power required so even if the driver stomps on the brakes, the system will only use the necessary braking power needed in order to safely decelerate the vehicle. If collision is imminent, PRE SAFE immediately closes all windows, tightens seat belts and reverts seats to a safer position thus minimizing the effects of the crash. The system also detects if and when there is a risk of skidding due to rapid deceleration. PRE SAFE then proceeds to: 1- increase tension in the front seat belts and 2- inflate air cushions in the multicontour seats in order to provide support and keep the driver, front and rear passengers in place.
• Enhanced multicontour seats and a relaxing back massage- These newly developed seats can be customized by customers to suit their individual comfort needs. Standard are 12 way power adjustable front seats. Dynamic multicontour seats for the front, heated and actively ventilated luxury seats and front and rear multicontour seats are available options.

Mercedes continues its’ almost 80 tradition of producing special protection vehicles by way of the Mercedes S 600 Guard.

The S Guard provides the ultimate level of protection against attacks and other acts of terrorism.

The B6/B7 rated armor, together with the other protective measures such as a special protected fuel tank that re-seals itself if perforated by bullets or shrapnel, an optional emergency fresh-air system which is capable of counteracting dangerous gaseous substances, a fire-extinguishing system that can be triggered either automatically or manually, sensors that detect smoke and/or tear gas and the Michelin PAX run flat-tire system are factory installed.

Since armoring is integrated in the production system, customers can be assured that all the required body structure reinforcements made necessary due to the extra weight of the protective systems are properly installed as opposed to post production armoring wherein the armor plates and defensive systems are retrofitted into the finished vehicle.

It also goes without saying that the Mercedes S 600 Guard comes with the same hi-tech innovations as its unarmored S 600 brethren.

These include:
• Brake Assist Plus
• Pre-Safe Brake
• Enhanced Pre-safe anticipatory occupant protection system
• Distronic Plus
• Night View Assist

In cases of stop and go traffic, Brake assist Plus and Distronic Proximity Control can maintain the distance between your car and the vehicle in front of you.

Distronic Proximity Control is a radar based system that can also slow the car at a rate of up to 4 m/s2 and if necessary, to a complete stop and accelerate again to a speed as programmed or set by the driver.

The MSRP of a standard or regular S 600 is $147,450.Total Cost to Own is $177,551.

As of this time, I have yet to find a quote for the S 600 Guard.

I have been told though that depending on the customer’s specific needs, you can expect to pay anything between $700,000 and $1,200,000.

Did I mention the US Army’s Stryker, an armored combat vehicle costs $1.4 million?

But you won’t find one of those at your San Antonio Mercedes Dealership.

Horsepower (hôrs’pou’ər)-A unit that is used to measure the power of engines and motors. One unit of horsepower is equal to the power needed to lift 550 pounds one foot in one second. This unit has been widely replaced by the watt in scientific usage; one horsepower is equal to 745.7 watts.
Coined or invented by Engineer James Watt, it’s basically the work that a single horse can do in minute. The term “horsepower” itself is used to measure output of engines, machines and electric motors among other things. It sounds simple but not really. It doesn’t necessarily follow that the higher the horsepower the faster the car. An Abrams tank has a Honeywell AGT1500 C multi-fuel turbine 1500 hp engine yet has a top speed of only 45mph while a Mercedes CLK 550 has a 5.5L V8, 32 valve, 382hp and is electronically limited to 155 mph.
So what gives? This is known as power to weight ratio which is the power output of the engine divided by the car’s curb weight. So going back to the example above, though the Abrams has a 1500hp engine, it weighs 61.4 metric tons while the CLK 550 with its 382hp engine weighs a mere 3720 lbs. Mercedes has invested a lot in R&D to maximize the power to weight ratio. Due to this, Mercedes has some of the best performing vehicles on the road today. So before you go off to see your General Dynamics dealer, you may want to think about this. By the way, MSRP of an Abrams? $4.35 million.

The other day a friend of mind emailed asking for help in choosing a vehicle. He already decided on the brand- Mercedes. I replied asking him the following:
1. Where do you plan to use it? City? Off road? Cross country?
2. Do you plan to haul cargo or bulky stuff in it?
3. Will your decision be function over form or the other way around?
4. What’s your budget like?
5. Are you particular about mileage and the cost of maintenance?
6. How long do you intend to keep it?
7. Will this be for the family or just for you most of the time?
As he mentioned, he isn’t much of a techie so I listed the above KISS simple guidelines to help him decide. If for example the answers to items 1 and 7 were city and primarily just for him, I’d suggest a sedan, coupe, a convertible or a roadster.
Mercedes has a good line of sedans starting with their “entry” level C Class (MSRP starts at $32,900) all the way up to their S Class (MSRP Starts at $89,350). Engines and naturally power varies from model to model. The C300 series (Sport sedan, Luxury sedan and 4Matic sedan) come equipped with the 3.0 liter V6 24 valve engine, producing 228 hp. Only the C350 and C63 AMG come with bigger engines-The C350 has a 3.5 liter V6 24 valve engine and the C63 has a whopping 6.3 liter, 32 valve V8 that pumps out 451hp, 0-60 in 4.3 seconds! Not bad for a sedan. Later on, I’ll discuss the other body styles.