Mercedes-Benz starts unique diesel marathon from Europe to Asia / Start of the long-distance route Paris - Beijing 2006

Paris (ots) -

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An extraordinary automobile adventure started today in the French
capital. This afternoon, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, 36
Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles powered by clean diesel started on a
long-distance journey of over 13,600 kilometres to Beijing, where the
fleet will arrive on 17 November. Mercedes-Benz intends to use the
diesel marathon across two continents to demonstrate the global
potential of its drive technology. Over the course of the five
stages, a total of 360 drivers from 35 countries will be seated
behind the wheels of the E-Class models, which will cover a combined
distance of more than 490,000 kilometres before arriving in the
Chinese capital.

"The long-distance route from Paris to Beijing is not about
speed. Rather, the sporting challenge for the participants is to
achieve the lowest possible consumption on the individual stages and
across the overall distance", declared Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman
of the DaimlerChrysler AG Board of Management and Head of the
Mercedes Car Group, yesterday evening in the Automobile Club de
France, the oldest automobile club in the world. "70 years after
Mercedes-Benz launched the diesel engine in series car production as
the first manufacturer, we want to demonstrate again the high level
of performance of the modern diesel engine in terms of emission,
economy and range, even under the most extreme conditions. We are
convinced that in future modern diesel engines can continue the
success story around the world, something which has long been reality
in Western Europe with market shares of over 50 percent."

The fleet for the long-distance route is made up of production
E-Class models, some of which have the four-wheel drive, 4MATIC. In
addition to 33 E 320 CDIs, the field also includes three E-class
vehicles with BLUETEC. This forward-looking technology makes the
Mercedes-Benz saloon the cleanest diesel in the world. Worldwide, the
E 320 BLUETEC is the first and only diesel engine that generates
figures below the extremely strict US BIN8 exhaust gas standard,
particularly in respect of nitrogen oxide emission. The 320 BLUETEC
has been sold in the USA (in 45 states) and Canada since 15 October
2006. The engine consumes up to 30 percent less fuel than comparable
vehicles with the gasoline engines in North America. With its
enormous range of up to 1,200 km on one tank, it is predestined for
an automobile marathon such as the Paris - Beijing - just as is the E
320 CDI.

The route of the "E-Class Experience" passes through France,
Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Kazakhstan to
China. The itinerary largely follows that of the first
transcontinental car race in history, which was run between Beijing
and Paris 99 years ago. On this occasion, the aim of the French
initiators was to demonstrate the technical superiority of the car
over the horse. The winner was the Italian aristocrat, Scipione
Borghese, who crossed the finishing line after 62 days, with his
competitors arriving in Paris three weeks later.

In a re-run of the long-distance route, 360 drivers from 35
countries will be sitting behind the wheel on the five stages - of
between 1,750 und 3,550 kilometres. These include international
journalists, VIPs and online applicants selected from more than
50,000 Internet applications. Due to the overwhelming demand,
Mercedes-Benz increased the number of E-Class vehicles to 36 saloons
shortly before the start. The most unusual vehicle in the fleet is a
Parisian E-Class taxi, which is to accompany the convoy across the
total distance over eight borders and six time zones.

Originaltext: DaimlerChryslerAG
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Frank Bracke,
phone +49 711 17-75852,
frank.bracke@daimlerchrysler.com

Wolfgang Zanker,
phone +49 711 17-75847,
wolfgang.zanker@daimlerchrysler.com

Internet address: For more information on "Paris-Beijing", including
Google Maps, showing the real-time positions of the participating
vehicles, go to: http://www.e-class-experience.com

For your journalistic research, please log on to:
http://www.paris-beijing2006.com. (login: "media", password
"paris-beijing")

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