The 2007 Jeep Patriot has a new kind of campaign – and it sure is not going to use the usual blend of television, radio, and print campaigns.

The new campaign is known to have a cutting edge appeal. And it is surely going to surprise most of us. See, the 2007 Jeep Patriot is going to be brought to the knowledge of the consumers through a whole new internet experience wherein consumers and visitors would be able to get to know the vehicle in its whole package.

It can be remembered that last February the brand had sent out that campaign called ?The Patriot Factor? which is quite unique. It is a combination of the Jeep brand and Marvel Comics? characters. This has been made to be a comic book but can be read and accessed online. Readers would be shown the adventures that would follow a storyline depending on who is reading. It is part of the whole new scheme of marketing the Jeep Patriot and consumers are given that chance to have a ?choose your own adventure? kind of game.

The additional marketing strategy is now already launched and it is known as ?The Way Beyond Trail?. This time around, it is an online film made to be interactive. If they choose to, consumers and visitors can be part of a whole adventure by joining the three other characters shown on the monitor. They would be driving a Jeep Patriot, going through different locations without much noise, thanks to Nissan mufflers, and then they would be on the hunt for buried treasure.

Jay Kuhnie, the director of Jeep Communications, is proud of these strategies and he shares, ?’The Way Beyond Trail’ and ‘The Patriot Factor’ combine the timeless magic of story-telling with the power and reach of the Internet. Both applications allow us to engage prospective customers of the Jeep Patriot in an environment that is interactive and entertaining, which resonates well with them.?

To access these Jeep creations, you can visit www.patriotadventure.com starting March 15.

In his most recent State of the Union Address, US President George W. Bush stated that one of the goals of the current administration is ?to promote energy independence? for the country. He asked the legislators to enact laws aimed at protecting the environment, and he also did propose a $1.2 billion fund for research on the use of hydrogen as a potential substitute to gasoline.

He also asked the nation to: ?Join me in this important innovation to make our air significantly cleaner, and our country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.? Recently, the President made a move that supports his statements earlier in the year by visiting the Ford Motor Company?s Kansas plant where hybrid and flex fuel vehicles are being developed and produced.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant by Ford with more than 300 employees welcomed the President when he toured the hybrid assembly line. He addressed the gathered employees of the plant saying: ?Technology changes the way we have lived our lives and technology is going to change the way we drive our cars.? The President also commended the development undertaken by the country?s second largest car manufacturer in the development of flex fuel vehicles which can run on E85 fuel. This fuel is a combination of bio-ethanol and it is produced from agricultural products and is used as a conventional gasoline. The President said: ?You’re making a new kind of automobile that is literally a part of changing America for the better.?

Ford?s top man Alan Mulally was present to welcome and tour the President around the facility. He has this to say during the President?s visit on the company?s plant: ?Ford stands ready to work with the Administration and Congress to reduce our nation?s dependence on foreign oil. At Kansas City Assembly, we are doing some exciting things. In addition to producing the nation?s first hybrid electric SUV, we are also building the best-selling pickup truck in the world ? the Ford F-150 ? capable of running on E85 ethanol, gasoline or any combination of the two fuels.?

Ford?s president and Chief Executive Officer also highlighted the company?s other efforts in consonance with the administrations goal of energy independency by saying: ?We are also developing a range of advanced technologies that improve fuel efficiency, such as clean diesel, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen internal combustion engines, hydrogen fuel cells and advanced gasoline engines. These advanced technologies will help reduce green house gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign petroleum.?

These technologies being developed by the Ford Motor Company will serve as a good stepping stone for the future of green cars. With these vehicles, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by their vehicles will be reduced as efficiently as a Volvo muffler reduces unwanted noise. The Ford Motor Company has already invested $100 million in the production of both the conventional and hybrid version of the Ford Escape. Ford is also the parent of Mercury brand which is the producer of the Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

Aside from these vehicles, the President was also shown the Ford Edge equipped with the HySeries Drive? which is the first fuel cell plug in hybrid electric vehicle. In closing, Ken Ward, the plant manager of the Kansas City Assembly has this to say: ?It is an extraordinary honor for us to welcome the President into our plant. Our employees had the opportunity to explain the hybrid production process and demonstrate their commitment to building the best hybrid and E85 vehicles in the world.?

We are just into the fifth month of the year and car manufacturers are already promoting their 2008 model year vehicles. The 2008 Ford Escape and its hybrid version have already been released and so are other auto models from different car manufacturers.

In the United States, as prices of gasoline increases, hybrid cars have been gaining popularity. For the 2008 model year, it is expected that car manufacturers will be introducing more hybrid vehicles as the demand for this type of automobiles increases. Another technology though is set to be unleashed into the United States and Canadian auto markets in the form of clean diesel engines. Next year, it is expected that European and Japanese car manufacturers will be introducing diesel cars in the said auto markets. In Europe, the use of diesel engines is already popular, thanks to companies like Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz. The success of diesel engines in the region is expected to give diesel engines a better reputation in the United States.

For years after the 1970s and 80s decades, Americans have been staying away from diesel engines. It can be remembered that this engine technology was introduced in the 1970s in the United States. Unfortunately, the diesel engines of old are known for their black soot emissions and in some cases poor reliability. Newer diesel engines though have overcome this problem with the use of better emission filter technology.

The Ford Super Duty already available in the market boasts of having a powerful diesel engine with emission similar to that of a gasoline engine. The Super Duty is one of the vehicles that can promote the use of cleaner diesel engines. The problems encountered in the use of bio-ethanol is also another reason seen that will help popularize the use of diesel cars.

Flex-fuel vehicles in the United States which are designed to run on a combination of gasoline and bio-ethanol is recently being criticized due to the lack of fuel refilling stations offering E85 – the alternative fuel composed of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent bio-ethanol. In a recent study, it was found out that 99 percent of flex-fuel vehicles in the United States are actually using conventional gasoline thereby beating the purpose of these supposed to be environment friendly vehicles.

Already, European car manufacturers have expressed their intentions to release diesel vehicles in the United States next year. The German Volkswagen has been selling diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. for decades and at present, they will upgrade their engines by using a cleaner technology dubbed as the Blue Motion. The first Volkswagen auto model which will use the clean diesel technology is the Jetta.

Another German car manufacturer which will introduce diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. next year is Mercedes Benz. Sport utility vehicles or SUVs, known as the favorite of American car buyers, will be what Mercedes Benz will be equipping with their clean diesel engines. Already announced to be released in the United States auto market are diesel versions of the M-Class, R-Class, and the GL-Class. These vehicles will be equipped with clean diesel engines and other soot cleaning technologies from the engine to their, Mercedes Benz mufflers and out the exhaust pipe. Aside from these European carmakers a Japanese company has expressed their intention to introduce a diesel car in the U.S.

Nissan, the third largest Japanese car manufacturer announced that they will be producing a diesel-powered Maxima sedan in the near future.

One problem in the way of the promotion of use of diesel engines in the United States is the availability of diesel fuel. Not more than 50 percent of all refueling stations in the country are offering diesel engines. Fortunately though, the oil industry is clearly supporting the use of diesel-powered vehicles. The Marathon Petroleum Company recently earmarked $3.2 billion for the expansion of their refineries that is expected to increase the availability of diesel fuel in refilling stations across the United States.

Another problem faced by diesel powered-vehicles in the country is consumer acceptance. Although new technologies have made diesel engines cleaner than their ancestors, its reputation has been tarnished heavily. Gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles are also popular among car buyers and it would be something that diesel cars must contend with. Furthermore, the use of advanced emission cleaning technology gives these diesel engines a price almost equal to that of hybrid vehicles. In the end, it would be a matter of preference that will spell the success or lack of it for diesel-powered vehicles.

Somewhere on the ocean floor lays a treasure chest full of $50,000 worth in pirate gold and a key to a all-new Volvo XC90. And enthusiasts around the world are finding ways to search for the sunken treasure…

The Volvo Car Corporation is calling all pirates, scallywags and treasure fanatics to join The Hunt – a competition in connection with the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, which opens in theatres on May 25.

The Hunt, which has started on the 4th of this month, is the second in Volvo’s partnership with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. This will also be the first time the competition has been open to Canadians. Last year’s program was limited to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Spain and Austria. Now, the competition includes Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan and Thailand.

Where in the world did the Swedish automaker hide its treasure? Well, that is for participants to find out… The mystery thrills everyone… And it puffs out fumes of eagerness like the Volvo muffler. And the increasing breathtaking sensation makes the competition more intense. Tens of thousands of online treasure hunters across the globe vie to find a chest. To inspire, entertain, or even distract all would-be pirates on their quest for the treasure, Volvo offers up some other great watery mysteries from over the ages.

“Okay, okay. Maybe it is a stretch to call The Hunt one of the greatest mysteries of the deep, but it certainly has got a lot of people flummoxed,” said Linda Gangeri, the national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “We thought some of our more prodigious participants might enjoy pitting their wit and skill against some age-old mysteries… but even if they solve them, the only way to get your hands on Volvo’s treasure is by joining our Hunt!”

Just days after Volvo launched its latest treasure hunt, the company has revealed some spots where it did not sink the treasure. “Three-quarters of the earth’s surface is under water, so finding a sunken treasure chest is not going to be easy,” said Volvo’s Linda Gangeri. “We want our hunt to be challenging, but we don’t want participants to become discouraged, so we thought we’d help narrow the playing field by revealing places where ‘X’ doesn’t mark the spot.”

Some of the more rational sounding places where the treasures are not found include the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, the Caspian Sea, and Sea World. Even though the hunt started on 4 May, there is still time to join. Volvo is calling more participants aged 18 years and older to visit a Volvo retailer to pick up a special pirate chart then register at www.volvocars.com/thehunt any time between May 4 and May 29. The first person from each of the participating markets to finish the online hunt will compete against one another in one final online challenge June 2. To participate in the global head to head, players will be required to present an original pirate chart upon conclusion of The Hunt. Winners will only be eligible if they can produce the pirate chart.

Once registered, participants set sail on a virtual high seas adventure and receive clues as they solve a series of challenging and fun online puzzles. Enthusiasts can join The Hunt and can catch up with other participants if they correctly answer the puzzles posted online. As the contest progresses, the puzzles will become more and more hard to solve.

The first of those 22 individuals to solve the final puzzle will be named the winner and will receive a trip to the burial location to retrieve the chest filled with $50,000 in pirate gold and a key to a brand new Volvo XC90.

“Last summer, we held a treasure hunt to find a buried Volvo XC90 V8 to tie in with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and were blown away by the success – more than 100,000 participants from around the world joined in,” said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. “This year, with more countries, more booty and all the early interest, we’re really excited to set sail.’ So, come join The Hunt!”

Novell, a leader in the infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise, earlier announced that the BMW Group is using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell

Not a lot of teenagers care that much about the waste that comes out of their parent?s GMC muffler or what happens to the trash after they take it out of the house. But there are some who do care about making this world a better place.

Two years ago the World Health Organization gave Indonesia the title of the dirtiest country in the world ? a title that certainly would not be the envy of other countries. Just recently however, two 15-year-old students from Surabaya in Indonesia have helped turn the tables by winning the prestigious Volvo Adventure World Final in Gothenburg.

Useful Waste for a Better Future is a project that not only removes rubbish but also recycles it into sustainable souvenirs and gifts with the additional advantage of adding value and helping overcome poverty.

Edging out of 365 projects across 47 different countries worldwide, two 15-year-old Indonesian schoolgirls, Wening Pranayadipta and Vania Santoso, alias Bright Youngsters took the US$10,000 first prize for their project Useful Waste for a Better Future ? beating out New Zealand (second place) who won US$6,000 and South Africa (third place) winning US$4,000.

Theodore Oben of the official Volvo Adventure partner, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said, “The standard goes up and up each and every year and this year, and Useful Waste for a Better Future is a project that works on many environmental levels, waste reduction, recycling and revenue-earning and as such, it was the outstanding project amongst 15 excellent finalists.”

New Zealand?s Plastic Not So Fantastic project, represented by the Green Teens won the US$6,000 while South Africa’s Facing Up team took the US$4,000 third prize for their EnergyWise campaign.

Vania Santoso joyfully received the most prestigious young environmentalists’ accolade in the world saying, “Whilst it was a stain on Indonesia’s reputation being branded the dirtiest nation in the world by WHO, it was also a wake-up call that something had to be done and in our small way, we may have helped both change perceptions and improve our local environment and economy.”

Her colleague Wening Pranayadipta added, “It has been an amazing experience coming to Gothenburg and being encouraged by how many other students are as passionate about the environment as we are and it is a great honour to win, especially against so many other powerful projects.”

Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Volvo Cars presenting the prizes at the Volvo Adventure Awards ceremony, said, “The pride and the passion all these students have for their own local environment and the wider global picture is highly encouraging and in fact they are all winners.”

“But the big winner here is the environment itself, and facing so many challenges on so many fronts, the creativity and dedication of these young people convinces me that the environment is being passed into safe and responsible hands,” added Mr Axelson.

“The Volvo Adventure is immensely inspiring and within the automotive industry in general and Volvo in particular, we can draw great strength and motivation to redouble our environmental efforts.”

Projects are already underway all round the world for the seventh annual Volvo Adventure and the closing date for entries is 31st January 2008.

Kikki Hugestrand, Volvo Adventure Project Manager said, “The Volvo Adventure has become a fixture in the environmental calendar and a key component in expressing Volvo’s passion for and commitment to the environment, whilst for the students, it is an educational, environmental and cultural experience that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.”

For more information about Volvo Adventure visit www.volvoadventure.org.

For the 2008 model year, Japan?s third largest car manufacturer will introduce a new car in the United States and European car market. Dubbed as the Nissan Cube, the vehicle is being compared to Scion vehicles and the Honda Element. The Cube, as its name suggests, is square-like in its design and is currently being marketed in Japan.

The Scion xB-esque was introduced in the Japanese auto market in 1998 and received a respectable amount of attention in the said country. With the success of the Element and the Scion xB in the American car market, Nissan has taken a step to market the similarly-styled Cube in the United States as well as in Europe.

Car experts though are wondering whether the Nissan Cube will have what it takes to become a success outside Japan. One primary concern is the relatively small engine that the Cube is equipped with.

In Japan, the Cube is equipped with a 1.5 liter engine. This same engine is expected to come with the Cube when it hit showrooms in the United States. The relatively small engine means that the Cube will not be as fast as the Honda Element nor as the Scion xB. This will definitely raise an issue since Europeans and Americans are known for their penchant for powerful engines and fast speeds.

The small engine though may play a major role in promoting the car. As the price of gasoline increases, the demand for more fuel efficient vehicles also directly increases. This means that the smaller engine of the Cube will surely attract fuel economy-conscious car buyers.

This assumption though will raise another issue. Since the Cube will be rather boxy and heavy as well as having a high coefficient of drag, the small engine will be working hard to drive the vehicle. This means that the engine is likely to consume more fuel. This issue means that Nissan would have to think of a way to reduce the car?s weight or equip it with a bigger engine. As far as emission is concerned, Nissan is likely to equip the Cube with efficient exhaust filters leading to Nissan mufflers and ultimately to the tail pipe.

The Cube though has some distinct advantage over its competition. Its attention-grabbing grille and its multi-spoke wheels are just some of its exterior features designed to capture the attention of younger car buyers.

Since it will be offered to American car buyers, Nissan has given emphasis on interior space. Instead of a floor shifter, the Cube?s transmission shifter is integrated into its steering column. In Japan, the Cube is a right-hand drive vehicle, but as part of its homologation, the Cube will be introduced in the United States as a left-hand drive vehicle. This change des not affect the interior space of the Cube.

Before Nissan announced that the Nissan Cube will be released in the United States, speculations have already been surrounding the Cube. The introduction of the Cube in the United States and European markets is possibly an effort on the part of the car manufacturer to increase their offering to car buyers. The scarcity of car models in their lineup last year has resulted to sales setback – the first one that the company suffered from since Carlos Ghosn took over the reins of the Japanese car company.

In the past decades, fuel cells auto technology has become a buzzword in the industry. But the hype was silenced more than a decade ago. But experts are sure that technology will play a great part in the future of the automotive realm.

John Sheridan, the president, chief executive and the director of Ballard Power Systems, remembered it fondly and paradoxically. Sheridan said in an interview: “For the most part, we had only a working proof-of-concept back then,” he said. “We hadn’t really begun to do anything with it. But everybody was excited about it.”

Between 1989 and 1994 Ballard, hydrogen fuel cells and car companies like General Motors Corp. have begun investing heavily in fuel cell technology. But there were inherent problems that would restrict the public’s interest. Fuel cell technology is science. And according to some, science often does not conform to the needs of the next news cycle. There are trials and errors.

Science has little respect for deadlines. Additionally, it is also complicated and expensive. Its intricacy defies the sound bite, whether political or straight news. As a fact, its expense rattles investors who are more interested in the next big payoff than they are in the next big or best thing.

Ballard, founded in 1979 as Ballard Research and now headquartered in Burnaby, had formulated a technology fated to change the world. It was a hydrogen fuel cell with a proton-exchange membrane. The technology would trigger a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. In cars and trucks, hydrogen fuel cells would signify an end to pollution coming from the Saturn muffler and other manufacturers? tailpipes. It would also mean curbing reliance on foreign oil. Additionally, the technology would remove the vehicle as a negative component in the environmental equation. The press was agog and politicians rapt. But the hype and the enthusiasm faded.

Ballard and hydrogen fuel cells faded from the news, ceded to the plea of gas-electric hybrid technology and to the delusions of the quick fix and the silver bullet. And therein dwells the satire. Neither hydrogen fuel cells nor Ballard went away. In fact, they are bigger than ever, as evidenced by Ballard’s extensive research-and-development and manufacturing facility.

“Maybe we made some mistakes in the beginning by over-promising – that is, giving people the idea that the benefits of this technology would be immediate,” Sheridan conceded. “The reality is that we’re in a marathon race.” He suggested that Ballard and the technology it has pioneered have many more miles to run before it reaches any finish line.

At present, notwithstanding its reported loss of $14.2 million in the first quarter, Ballard’s future looks hopeful. And fuel cells are beginning to surface in sectors largely invisible in the past. Sheridan said that the continued development and application of the technology amounts to a long-distance race.

But at least he and Ballard now appear to be gaining more political backing as evidenced at the Pacific Economic Summit’s Clean Energy Conference held last week. Both Gordon Campbell, premier of British Columbia, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commended Ballard for its contributions to the development of alternative energy.

“We have to embrace the changes in front of us,” Campbell said at the summit. “We have to look at what is being offered and ask: `How do we make the world a better place?’ ?That means we have to be willing to develop technologies that might not have an instant impact, “but that will have an impact 20 or 30 years from now.?

Kelley Blue Book (http://www.kbb.com/) and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research announced on June 21 the results of the ‘Driving Performance’ portion of its consumer automotive perceptions research study called ?Brand Watch?.

The latest results revealed that Toyota and BMW each claimed two number-one ranks for best driving performance: Toyota ranks in both the Minivan and Non-Luxury SUV segments, while consumers chose BMW as the best among Luxury SUVs and Luxury Sedans.

In terms of driving performance, local brands sweep the Truck segment in Brand Watch. Chevrolet, GMC and Dodge place first, second and third, respectively. Previously, domestic brands had been chosen as consumers’ top picks for Interior and Exterior Styling in the Truck segment. Foreign brands lead across most segments claiming the top three ranks in every vehicle segment except trucks and also with the exception of Ford which bested as third among Non-Luxury SUVs. In the Convertible/Sports Car segment, a category in which performance is the most desired characteristic, Porsche claimed the top spot.

Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda, co-maker of quality Acura muffler, each bagged three top-three spots in different categories while Nissan and Lexus garnered two top-three finishes each.

Jack R. Nerad, the Executive Editorial Director and Executive Market Analyst of Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com., said that according to the new-car buyers, the being top placer of BMW in the Luxury Sedan and Luxury SUV segments reflects the brand?s expertise on performance characteristics in the luxury category which is an instance where both the brand image and the consumer brand perception are in perfect parallelism.

He added that pickups are the last stronghold of local dominance and such leading is strong with Chevrolet, GMC and Dodge sweeping the top three spots for performance without an import brand along with them.

Rick Wainschel, the Vice-President of Marketing Research and Brand Communications for Kelley Blue Book, adheres that perceptions are the key factors to drive automobile buyers’ decisions as to which makes and models will belong on their shopping list. He added that the report can depict the manufacturers? relative position against other makes in specific vehicle segments as to which strengths to highlight and which weaknesses may need to be addressed and resolved.

Brand Watch is available to vehicle manufacturers and auto industry professionals. It concerns active new-vehicle shoppers to determine their perceptions of automotive brands within particular automotive segments. Dealing on how each manufacturer’s brand equity differs across vehicle segments, Brand Watch also compares the relative standing of each make against competitive makes, and reveals the decision factors of car-buyers within each make and segment. Collected, reported and detailed throughout Brand Watch’s comprehensive study which is available quarterly from Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research are detailed demographic and psychographic information.

Mercedes-Benz USA launches a bigger Baby Benz imbibing the Mercedes standards. And it comes at an aggressive price.

?The C-Class is a gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand,? said Bernie Glaser, general manager, product management. ?Priced at around $30,000, it brings new and younger buyers to our brand. It is also a stairway up into our brands, because some customers step up to the (midsize) E-Class, the CLS, potentially into the (flagship) S-Class,? he said.

The new Mercedes C-Class gets minor facelift for 2008 while the least-expensive 2007 model is discontinued. The new C-Class sedan has $31,975 as manufacturer?s suggested retail price for the C300 Sport model, with a standard six-speed manual transmission. The 2008 C300 Luxury model is $33,675, with a seven-speed automatic transmission. Both versions have a 228-hp 3.0-liter V6 engine.

A third model in the American Mercedes lineup is the 2008 C350 Sport, with a 268-hp 3.5-liter V6 engine, at $37,275. Sales of those three models start on August 7. All-wheel-drive 4Matic models will be available starting in September. A high-performance AMG model is expected to be added next year.

The 2008 C-Class is the third generation of the Mercedes entry-level car. In 1982, the automaker first launched the 190 Class, which was promptly called the ?Baby Benz.? In 1993, the C-Class replaced the 190 Class, and the next generation C-Class generation debuted in 2000.

The latest C-Class is bigger than the model it replaces in nearly every dimension, including overall wheelbase, length, front and rear shoulder room, and trunk space. ?This is a direct response to criticisms customers had about the old model; this is what customers told us they want,? Glaser said.

The 2008 C-Class is designed to rival the BMW 3 Series and the Lexus ES and IS models. With the 2008 model, Mercedes is also trying to make its ?Sport? and ?Luxury? C-Class models more distinct from each other. The company has offered two versions of the C-Class since the 2005 model year, but the divergence was less apparent.

The new C-Class Sport is equipped with enhanced Mercedes Benz muffler, slightly racier exterior styling, a metallic instrument panel and rubber-studded aluminum pedals, three-pointed Mercedes-Benz star in the grille, in place of the traditional, stand-up hood ornament. The seven-speed automatic transmission is optional, for $1,440. Mercedes-Benz aficionados know the ?star in the grille? is usually exclusive to the company?s sporty coupes.

The Luxury models have the distinctive black instrument panel, a traditional hood ornament, burl walnut wood trim and an exclusive exterior color dubbed as ?sand beige metallic.?

The 2008 C300 Luxury is actually $500 less than the 2007 C280 Luxury model, which has the same engine. The bad news is that Mercedes is dropping what could be called its ?entry-level? model, the 2007 C230, once it is sold out. That means the least-expensive C-Class for 2008, the C300 Sport, costs $1,550 or 5.1 percent more than the least-expensive C-Class for 2007, the C230 Sport.

But according to Mercedes-Benz, if you added options to the 2007 model to match the standard equipment in the 2008 model, like a power sunroof, upgraded front seats, Bluetooth connectivity and dual-zone climate control, the bigger and more powerful 2008 model would actually cost less than the comparably equipped 2007 model.

A $2,700 option package includes navigation, plus a 450-watt Harman/Kardon system with 12 speakers. The upgraded system can save music from a CD onto a hard drive. It also can play tracks stored on a data CD, DVD or memory card.

?We have raised the bar for the fourth time for ourselves, and for the competition,? Glaser concluded.