The Mercedes luxury coupes embodies forty years of design and styling that has made Mercedes Benz to become one of the most renowned luxury brand in the world.

The story of Mercedes luxury coupes started in the year 1950 in West Germany years later after the Second World War. During that time the traffic density in Germany was very low with only 19 cars per 1000 habitants. Despite the depressing post war situation in Germany Mercedes Benz was able to shine through and was able to launched the 300 S Coupe in the W 188 model series which was presented at the Paris Motor Show in autumn of 1951. And then a year later in the summer of 1952 the 300 S Coupe entered series of production.

The 300 S Coupe demonstrated Mercedes Benz outstanding engineering expertise and its entrepreneurial spirit. The S Coupe was equipped with 150 hp six-cylinder engine and capable of reaching 175km/h.

In 1955 Mercedes Benz presented a revised model of the 300 S, the 300 Sc Coupe which is equipped with an injection pump that resulted to its 128kW/175hp output. The new 300 Sc Coupe was also made even more comfortable with the addition of a single-joint swing axle derived from the Saloon model. Between the years 1951 to 1955 only 314 of the W 188 series coupes were produced.

The year 1956 an economic recovery in Germany had developed which was recorded in history as an ?economic miracle?. For the past four years starting 1952, car ownership in Germany has doubled to 40 per 1000 inhabitants.

It was also in the year 1956 when the first transatlantic telephone cable went into service making it possible to call New York or San Francisco from the comfort of one?s home. This year was also the start of the global revolution in telecommunications. Mercedes Benz presented the 220 S Coupe in the W 180 series also on this same year. The 220 S is a two door coupe with flowing roofline and prominent, curved rear window. And just like the 300 S Coupe the 220 S also displayed powerful and elegant contours that is typical of a Mercedes vehicle.

The large bumpers and fog lamps of the 220 S characterized the front end but its most striking feature was the three-fold division of the passenger cell, front end and rear end which has led to the ?Pontoon Mercedes? nickname given to the 220 S. The 220 S is the very first coupe ever produced by Mercedes-Benz to possess a self-supporting body which was welded to the frame floor.

The ?Pontoon Mercedes? models were given a 74kW/100hp engine which was increased later to 78kW/106 hp. Its front wheel location was also enhanced to provide better riding comfort. The same thing was done with the single-joint swing axle with its low pivot point. And at an addition of 450 Marks, an automatic, hydraulic clutch called ?Hydrak? is added.

The interior was also luxurious and included polished exotic wood trim, leather upholstery and an auxiliary fan which are for heating and ventilation system. The ?Pontoon Mercedes? was a blend of ?Modern technology and purposeful elegance?. As answer to the demands of customers, Mercedes-Benz offered a petrol injection system in the 220 SE W 128 series at an extra cost amounting to 1900 Marks from 1958. Only 2081 220 S and 220 SE coupes were produced. And today the ?Pontoon? Coupes have become one of the most sought after collectors? items.

1961 is the year when Mercedes Benz has started to attract enormous international attention. This is also the very same year when the GDR sent a construction team to build the wall that would separate the East and West Berlin. This has marked the political division which has lasted for 28 years.

Despite the political strife in Berlin Mercedes-Benz was able to launch another coupe, the 220 SEb coupe in the W 111 series which was presented at the opening ceremony for the new Museum at the plant in Stuttgart-Unterturkheim on February 24. The new coupe as expected has once again demonstrated the creativity and unerring sense of style that Mercedes vehicles are known for.

The 220 SEb is a four-seater coupe provided with plenty of room for long trips. It has adopted the engine and suspension plus the safety body from the four-door Saloon. It is powered by a six-cylinder engine that delivers 120 hp, enough for high average speeds on long journeys. The 220 SEb was the first series production car made by Mercedes Benz to feature disc brakes at the front. A padded steering wheel, three-point seat belts and new wedge-pin door locks were also added.

Then came the year 1981 which is the era of global communication, it was during this year that Mercedes Benz launched its 380 SEC Coupe and 500 SEC Coupe in the C 126 model series. With the production of these new coupes the designers and engineers of Mercedes Benz has once again turned to the S-Class as their basis. The 380 and 500 SEC were given slightly bigger dimensions.

The 380 SEC and 500 SEC coupes were also given the V8 engines which have been revised to achieve reduced fuel consumption and exhaust emissions as part of the Mercedes Benz Energy concept. The output of the 380 SEC Coupe was 150 kW/204hp while the 500 SEC Coupe delivers 170kW/231 hp. And according to a motoring magazine: ?The feeling of spaciousness and visibility are quite excellent, the SEC appears to drive itself.?

The SEC coupes were also given improved camshafts with altered timing, air-bathed injection valves and electronic idling speed control. The SEC coupes also share the same safety features as those of the S-class Saloons.

One of the most interesting interior features of the SEC coupes was the electrically operated belt feeders which were designed to bring the seat belts into the filed vision on all four seats while those of the driver and the front passenger were made easily accessible. Newer types of Mercedes Coupes produced today are equipped with even more advance equipments and parts such as the Mercedes catalytic converter which helps in reducing harmful emissions.

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.

Mercedes Benz cars are known for their technological innovations and their emphasis on safety. They were first to introduce the safety cage, anti-lock brakes, airbags, traction control and many other safety features that are standard in every car they produce. Mercedes or Benz has also become one of the world’s top status symbols for the rich and famous. If you want the ?look,” the ?luxury? or simply the ?name,? Mercedes is the right brand of car for you.

Wouldn’t it be a drag if you’re driving around on your Benz and you hear a deafening kind of noise coming from within? I’m pretty sure it would reduce the whole ?Benz experience.? This is pretty much the main reason why mufflers were invented.

The muffler is also known as ?silencer? in other parts of the globe. It actually came from the term ?muffle? which means to wrap with something to deaden or prevent sound.

A muffler is typically installed along the exhaust pipe as part of the exhaust system of the engine. It’s connected between the tail pipe and the catalytic converter. Its main purpose is to reduce the tremendous amount of noise that an engine produces.

When the exhaust gases from an internal-combustion engine are released directly into the atmosphere, they create a loud noise, caused by the passage of the exhaust gases from the high pressure of the cylinder to the normal pressure of the atmosphere. To be more specific, when an exhaust valve opens, it discharges the burned gases at high pressures into the exhaust pipe, which is at low pressure. This type of action creates sound waves or what we call ?noise? that travel through the flowing gas, moving much faster than the gas itself. Typically a muffler consists of a tubular metal jacket containing perforated pipes and chambers through which the exhaust gases flow before entering the atmosphere.

But what really happens in the inside? A Mercedes muffler consists of several tubes with holes in it. These tubes are designed to create reflected waves that interfere with each other or cancel each other out. The exhaust gases and the sound waves enter through the center tube. They bounce off the back wall of the muffler and are reflected through a hole into the main body of the muffler. They pass through a set of holes into another chamber, where they turn and go out the last pipe and leave the muffler. This time, the noise would have been reduced.

There are two types of muffler designs. One type uses several baffled chambers to reduce noise. The other type sends the gases straight through perforated pipe wrapped in metal or fiberglass and is designed to reduce back pressure and, consequently, makes slightly more noise because they produce much less restriction.

An example of this second type is the glass pack or a cherry bomb. This specifically uses absorption to reduce the sound.

Mufflers of this type were invented in the late 20th century. Some of its advantages were increased engine efficiency, performance, power output, and simultaneously decreased overall wear and tear on the components of the engine.

The entire ?Benz? experience is one thing that Mercedes Benz car owners all around the world are craving about. Each Mercedes Benz car is packed with the excellence that consumers expect from it. One car part that fails or malfunctions will definitely ruin this ultimate experience. It is therefore necessary to keep every Mercedes Benz part as properly maintained as possible. Take for instance the Mercedes Benz muffler.

A Mercedes Benz muffler is the exhaust system of an engine that is specially designed to reduce emissions and noise. The term muffler actually originated from the word ?muffle? which means to deaden or to prevent sound. It is commonly located along the exhaust pipe as part of the exhaust system of the engine. It’s connected between the tail pipe and the catalytic converter.

A Mercedes Benz muffler consists of a backbox and one or more tailpipes. Although internal combustion accounts for some of this noise, most of it comes from pressure waves generated by the rapid opening and closing of the engine’s valves. One muffler design uses several baffled chambers. This type of muffler’s backbox is internally designed to receive the pressure waves and bounce them around inside carefully designed chambers and cylinders. The shape and length of these baffles creates pressure waves of a roughly equal nature moving in opposite directions. When they collide with one another, the waves of equal but opposite amplitude cancel each other out. One drawback of this design is that it causes back pressure, which impacts performance. The high performance muffler is another type of muffler. It is consists of a straight steel pipe with perforations, which allows some sound canceling while creating very little back pressure. The tube is wrapped in glass insulation, protected by a steel shell, and referred to as a glass pack. This muffler was very popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s for souping up muscle cars. The muffler has a characteristic explosive sound that earned it the street name cherry bomb. These mufflers are still popular for hot rods and classics. This type of muffler was invented in the late 20th century and some of its advantages include engine efficiency, performance, power output, and simultaneously decreased overall wear and tear on the components of the engine. Aside from this, there are also other ways in which the Mercedes Benz muffler car reduce the engine’s noise. One is that the body of the muffler is consist of three layers, two of which are thin metal layers with a thicker slightly insulated layer between them. These layers allow the body of the muffler to absorb some of the pressure pulses. Another one is that the pipes going to the main chambers have holes that allows tiny pressure pulses to bounce around and cancel each other out in the main chamber.

A Mercedes Benz muffler will eventually rust over time. A muffler in poor condition may keep a car from passing state-required smog tests. When a vehicle is smogged, the inspector will insert a probe inside the tailpipe to read smog emissions emanating from the engine. It is therefore recommended to check the muffler regularly to avoid failing the state-required smog test and to keep the vehicle up and running.