Mika Hakkinen in Singapore - My personal Video Montage

It might take a while to upload..pls be patient.It's worth the wait.
This videos and pics were taken by my cousin Mira & myself. Editing courtesy of my wife Shatz & Mira.

Back In Time >> 1958: Riding the LP 333 three-axle truck

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It was a made-to-measure truck, designed in response to dimensional and weight restrictions which came into force in 1958. The LP 333 16-tonner had two steered axles and the maximum-possible payload capacity. And it helped the cab-over-engine principle on to its breakthrough.

More likely than not, it saw more than enough country roads in its lifetime. Germany had, after all, just 2,260 kilometers of motorway when the truck was introduced in 1958. But the LP 333 proved its mettle particularly on poor roads, its two steered axles taking bumps in their stride and pampering the driver with enormous ride comfort. Even transverse ruts did not throw the three-axle truck at higher speeds. Many a present-day semitrailer tractor driver would be grateful for this heavenly level of ride comfort.
Other features of this unusual three-axle truck take some getting used to, at least from today's perspective. The engine tunnel, for instance, with its noble quilted cover, bulges enormously into the cab, reaching almost up to the upper edge of the instrument panel. And yet the sound of the 200 hp pre-chamber combustion engine is damped only timidly. Even in idle, the eleven-liter six-cylinder inline engine produces an earthy sound which develops into a truly impressive roar and thunder as engine speed rises. This vehicle was designed for a gross combination weight of 32 tons, and it complied with the contemporary legal stipulation of at least six hp per ton with bravado.

In direct contact with the engine

In touch with the engine and its pulse � that was the price to be paid for this compact but otherwise highly modern cab-over-engine design. The driver of the LP 333 was pals with his truck's engine. Since the cab was still rigidly mounted to its frame, the engine tunnel had to be tiltable and demountable to permit engine oil checks and work on the engine.
The cab-over-engine design took its time in gaining a foothold in the 1950s before it experienced a sudden boom in the second half of the decade. The first Mercedes-Benz cab-over-engine trucks with cabs from Wackenhut or K�ssbohrer appeared on the roads in the early years of the 1950s. The first post-war production truck with cab-over-engine was the LP 315 in 1955. Its Wackenhut cab was now a standard feature. In 1958, then, this design principle experienced a sudden boom due to the radical limitation of combination lengths. More about that later.
The LP 333 proved to be a highly modern representative of its kind, and not only for dispens-ing with a nose which has disappeared almost completely today. Its single-plate dry clutch, for instance, required astonishingly low pedal pressure. Little strength was equally required for turning the almost horizontal, ivory-colored four-spoke steering wheel. The same color was used for the large number of knobs in the instrument panel which had to be pulled and pushed, just like the stops of an organ.

Warning of insufficient tire pressure

The instrument panel of the LP 333 also featured a number of warning lights already. The most original one of these was probably the lance-shaped, sputnik-like tip of the indicator lever on the left, which flashed in a reddish shade when the indicator was activated. The most advanced warning light (and one that is currently being considered again for trucks with single-tire rear axles) was the yellow light in the left-hand bottom section of the instrument panel, which came on to indicate insufficient tire pressure. Needless to say, however, the simple mechanical solutions of the 1950s and present-day electronic systems are worlds apart.
In the LP 333's day and age, spring-loaded brakes were far from being state of the art. And so the classic ratchet brake still emerged at an angle on the left-hand side of the engine tunnel; it had to be pulled several times to secure the stationary truck, to the accompaniment of its characteristic sound. To release the parking brake, on the other hand, it was enough to press a small transverse strut with the ball of the thumb, to return the brake shoe on the driven axle, on which the parking brake acted, to its waiting position.

Engine brake as standard for the first time

With the standard engine brake, the LP 333 introduced a brake system without which modern trucks would be inconceivable, and whose efficiency has reached a level today that would have been inconceivable in the 1950s. The engine brake generated a build-up in the exhaust manifold by means of an exhaust flap, thereby curbing the pistons' movement and decelerating the vehicle on downhill stretches.
Handling the brakes correctly ranked among the elementary skills drivers had to master in those days. The LP 333 did not have a modern-day dual-circuit brake system in which the supply of fresh compressed air is ensured during braking as well. It only had a single brake circuit whose resources were easily exhausted on long downhill stretches and after a correspondingly large number of brake applications. Therefore, the non-wearing and inexhaustible permanent brake, fitted in the LP 333 as standard, was an extremely reassuring feature.
However, this had certain consequences for the configuration of the entire combination, summarized in a release by the sales organization as follows: "When braking ... with the engine brake, a low axle pressure at the rear axle may have unpleasant effects if the trailer is not equipped with control valves for the 'third' brake." In other words, if the fully laden trailer pushed the truck too heavily, high tire wear on the rear axle was unavoidable.
Hence the factory urged its sales staff to convince customers that they needed this control valve to apply the trailer brakes synchronously to a certain extent when the engine brake was activated. Only in this way could it be ensured that the combination remained stretched at all times and that safe handling was retained even in winter.

Semi-retirement to Greece

The LP 333 we are writing about remained in operation for more than four decades. The ancestor of the modern truck went the way many of its colleagues went before and after it in the course of time: in its old age, when it was no longer wanted in Germany, it ended up in sunny Greece. Since the Greek customs regulations prevented new vehicles from being imported for a long time, the Greeks had no choice for decades but to resort to vivid used-truck importing activities.
But contrary to the majority of its brethren, who did service under the Mediterranean sun to the very end, our LP 333 found its way back home. Today, after thorough restoration by classic truck collector Johannes Gottinger in Landshut, it is at least as spick and span as it was on the day it was delivered to its first customer in 1960.

Nicknamed "millipede"

The 1950s were a hard time for German haulage operators. But then again, the three-axle truck owed its very existence with the unusual new feature of two steered front axles to these extraordinary (legal) circumstances in Germany. This new feature in combination with the innocent-looking, nicely rounded cab-over-engine gave the LP 333 the likable appeal of a cute crawler. Its popularity among the population was correspondingly high, and it soon acquired its nickname, the "millipede".
Nevertheless, giving the LP 333 its extraordinary design was making virtue out of sheer necessity. In the course of the years, Federal German Transport Minister Seebohm, who had come into office in 1949 and was to stay until 1966, had developed a deep concern with regard to the growing truck traffic in the 1950s. He vented his displeasure in a number of decrees, seen by the haulage trade as substantial restrictions.
It started in 1953 with a ban on the second trailer which had been widely used until then. This ban was introduced together with a shortening of the permissible overall length of a truck-and-trailer combination from 22 to 20 meters. One year later, some 45 percent of the goods previously carried by truck were banned from the road and vehicle and mineral-oil taxes were raised drastically. But this was still not enough. The haulage operators' world almost collapsed about them when Seebohm amended the StVZO (road traffic licensing order) in 1956, stipulating a reduction of the gross combination weight from 40 to 24 tons and of maximum length from 20 to 14 meters from 1958. Under the new law, trailers were not allowed to be heavier than the truck � exit the combination of two-axle truck (16 tons) and three-axle trailer (24 tons) which had been so popular in Germany until then and was to become widely used again at a later stage.

Designed for the maximum-possible payload capacity

Nevertheless, the new law left certain loopholes, accompanied as it was by a complex range of transitional regulations. These were systematically exploited in the design of the new LP 333 in order to provide buyers with a maximum of payload capacity and productivity even under these extremely restrictive framework conditions. The LP 333 used the available scope intelligently. With its two steered front axle, each with a load-bearing capacity of four tons, the LP 333 was considerably lighter than a three-axle truck with two rear axles. With a 16 ton trailer, the LP 333 became a 32 ton combination, thereby giving the customer the extra bene-fit of a good 20 tons. By comparison: with a conventional two-axle truck and trailer, a payload of hardly more than 15 tons was possible.
However, the gagging of truck transport did not last long. The German stand-alone solution (comparable restrictions were imposed nowhere else in Europe) was soon abandoned again. As early as 1960, Minister Seebohm relaxed some of the regulations and made substantial concessions where maximum weights and dimensions were concerned.

Future-oriented concept

That was the reason why only 1,833 units were built of the LP 333 nicknamed "millipede". Only about a dozen of these trucks have survived to this day. It goes without saying that this truck, tailored specifically to German regulations, qualified for export only to a very limited extent; hence it was sold almost exclusively in Germany. At 82 units, the LP 333's export share was below five percent. One of the few foreign customers was Verwer's Expresse, a Dutch haulage operator whose four millipedes commuted between the company's headquarters in Voorburg and Switzerland.
Although the LP 333 owed its concept to very special circumstances, its three-axle design was to point the way far into the future. The three-axle tractor, the LPS 333 derived from the millipede, served as a model in the design of the extremely successful LPS 2020 tractor introduced in 1966. With its steered forward-trailing axle, it combined perfect handling with minimum tire way in exemplary fashion.

Download : Technical Data of the LP 333

Download : Legally stipulated dimensions and weights








Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Back In Time >> 1898: The world�s first bus series launched by Daimler � a milestone for passenger transport

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Acid test in the Welsh mountains
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Spectacular orders from all over the world
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Platform shared with trucks

Four different models for between six and sixteen passengers, engine output ratings from four to ten horsepower: the first bus series was launched by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in May 1898. The automotive pioneer thus became the world�s first supplier of a complete series of motorized buses.

Hoofs, steam and electricity

There had been a large number of forerunners: horse-drawn buses had been operating in cities and industrial areas for quite some time. Experiments with steam-powered buses had been made in Britain as early as the 1820s, and in 1882, Siemens presented an electrically powered trolley bus in Berlin. The bus as a means of passenger transport had been preceded by railways, streetcars and taxis.
Carl Benz had produced a motorized bus as early as 1895; in the same year, it started operating in regular line service on the 15 kilometer route between Siegen and Deuz. The eight-seater bus set out in Netphen at 6:00 hours in the morning, commuted between Deuz and Siegen four times in the course of the day and finally returned to its starting point at 8:55 p.m. A journey along the complete route cost 70 Pfennigs. However, this bus was still a clearly visible derivative of the horse-drawn coach, featuring an eight-seater landau bodywork and a single-cylinder engine installed horizontally at the rear.

Breakthrough for the motorized bus

A lot speaks in favor of quoting the year 1898 as the start of motorized bus operation. In that year, Benz supplied three twelve-seaters to Llandudno in Wales where they were operated on excursion routes throughout the summer. In this case, the design was based on a horse-drawn bus concept known as the Kremser Pate, an open vehicle with soft-top, driven by a 15 hp two-cylinder engine. At the time, the �Birmingham Daily Mail�, reporting on a planned city bus line, wrote: �Since they coped well with the tough conditions encountered on Welsh roads and in the Welsh mountains, there need be no worries concerning their suitability for the forthcoming line service in Birmingham.�
The first regular-service bus from Daimler started operating in the same year. After trial driving with a Victoria car, in which Gottlieb Daimler himself had taken part, a company called �Motorwagen-Betrieb K�nzelsau-Mergentheim GmbH� was founded as early as February. However, it was not before September that a converted Victoria car with 10-hp engine (7.4 kW) started operating, with a stage coach body with capacity for ten people serving as passenger compartment.
The country line had to contend with a number of problems. A filling station network was not yet in place, and the fuel-selling chemists did not always have sufficient quantities on stock. In rainy weather, the high and narrow wheels occasionally got stuck in the mud, and it took a team of farm horses to pull the vehicle out again. And finally, the three-meter high vehicle�s road-holding was far from satisfactory, since its high center of gravity called for great sensitivity on the part of the driver.

First double-decker bus for London

And yet, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) had already proved earlier that difficulties such as these could be avoided. As early as April 1898 DMG had supplied a significantly more elegant double-decker to England, ordered by Motor Car Company. Its wheels were smaller and wider. The driver sat at the front, directly above the 12 hp (8.8 kW) engine, and the enclosed passenger compartment accommodated twelve people. Another eight were seated on the open-top upper deck. The vehicle reached a top speed of 12 mph (18 km/h).
In a newspaper report, the bus� maiden journey from the small harbor of Gravesend to the City of London on April 23 was described as follows: �Every man, every woman and every child in Long Acre and along Piccadilly stopped and stared at the vehicle as it thundered past, pursuing its course steadily and with determination. ... One must have seen the three-tonner, working its way through dense traffic at that speed, with one�s own eyes to gain an impression of what it was like, but this impression is as intense as the circumstances are astounding.�
More likely than not, it was the success of this early double-decker that prompted Daimler to launch a complete bus series as early as May 1898.

Maximum possible parts commonality with trucks

�The motorized Daimler bus is available in different sizes, and engines of different output ratings are fitted to match local conditions. Less powerful engines are chosen for level routes, while the vehicles have to be equipped with more powerful engines for routes through hilly terrain.� That�s how Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft described its novel vehicle in 1898, praising the engine, in particular: �Power is supplied by the new Daimler Phoenix engine whose design � specially matched to vehicle propulsion � is unsurpassed in every respect.�
Gottlieb Daimler�s ingenuity lay in identifying new applications, time and again, for the gasoline engine he had developed together with Wilhelm Maybach. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that the chassis, the 4 � 10 hp (2.9 to 7.4 kW) engines, the glow-tube ignition, the three- to four-speed gear-only transmission and the pinion drive were all completely identical with what was, at the time, the second generation of Daimler trucks.
The smallest bus model had been designed for six passengers and 200 kilograms of luggage; the largest bus had a capacity for 14 � 16 passengers and 450 kilograms of luggage. Cruising speeds ranged between four and 16 km/h and, provided the engine was sufficiently powerful, the buses climbed inclines of up to twelve percent. The unladen weight of the smallest version was 1.1 tons, whereas the largest model tipped the scales at 2.5 tons. The six-seater�s net price amounted to 6,800 Reichsmark; the larger models cost 8,000, 9,200 and 10,500 Reichsmark, respectively.
These prices did not include the simple but effective heating system for the driver�s seat and passenger compartment, with engine coolant being circulated under the floor. Depending on the model, this extra cost between 180 and 260 Reichsmark. Another option at an extra cost of 500 � 600 Reichsmark was a set of rubber tires � �recommended only for the smaller models, however�. Where the two heavier models with unladen weights above two tons were concerned, Daimler advised its customers to stick to conventional iron-clad wooden wheels.
According to a contemporary Daimler brochure, the motorized vehicles were operational after just three minutes. In those days, readers were interested in information such as the specific weight of fuel and consumption per hour and hp under full load � the brochure states between 0.36 and 0.45 kilograms; at a top speed of 16 km/h, this was equivalent to anything between twenty and thirty liters per 100 kilometers. In the early days, however, customers were not familiar with fuel consumption in liters per 100 kilometers, so the information on fuel costs amounting to ten Pfennigs per horsepower and kilometer will have been more meaningful for them.
DMG endeavored to emphasize the vehicles� operational reliability in every respect. The fuel tank with capacity for ten hours� driving was located �in a protected area under the vehicle,� and the water cooling was �fully operational� even in winter. The manufacturer�s brochure went on to say that �gear-changes are performed in a perfectly safe manner� and that the foot-operated brake brought the vehicle �quickly and reliably� to a standstill. However, the company did not let it rest at asserting these qualities but granted a three-month warranty on all parts.

Spectacular orders: Two double-deckers for London

Just about as little is known about the production volumes of the first bus series as about the majority of the early customers. The available documentation extends to spectacular orders which more often than not specified out-of-the-ordinary models, as well as illuminating the problems of regular bus services in the early days.
The interest of those responsible in London had not waned after the encouraging experience gained with the first double-decker bus. In its edition of September 30, 1899, the �Autocar� journal reported that another two buses �were to start operating next Monday and provide service between Kensington and Victoria Station [�], its route taking it across Westminster Bridge and down Victoria Street. The route was selected with foresight since the streets are paved with wooden blocks for the most part and the steepest sections are the ascents to Westminster Bridge from either side.�
Again, double-decker buses were supplied, now offering room for as many as 26 passengers. More likely than not, the fears concerning climbing ability were unjustified � the new buses were powered by new four-cylinder engines which Daimler had been offering as an alternative to his two-cylinder units since June 1899. However, the more powerful of the two four-cylinder engines with a rated output of 12 � 16 hp (8.8 to 12 kW) cost as much as 3,100 Reichsmark more than the largest two-cylinder engine with an output of 10 � 12 hp (7.4 to 8.8 kW).

A bus for Stockholm

An order from Stockholm illustrated the consequences of a preference for streets with wooden block paving. The DMG buses had caught the Swedes� attention when King Gustaf acquired a car from Bad Cannstatt in 1899. However, when the fully occupied bus with its iron-clad wheels, weighing between four and five tons, rumbled across the wooden-block pavement of Drottninggatan in downtown Stockholm, the walls in the houses lining the street began to shake. Bus operation was discontinued after complaints by residents and house owners.

Five mail buses for Speyer

On February 1, 1899 a transport company was founded in Speyer with the intention of setting up several bus lines for both local public and mail transport. It was not before December 10, however, that line service was started on four routes, between seven and fourteen kilometers long. The five vehicles supplied by Daimler to Speyer for this purpose surpassed the conventional production models in terms of dimensions, weight and capacity. They were 5.60 meters long, 2.80 meters high and 1.80 meters wide, and in unladen condition they tipped the scales at four tons. The passenger compartment had capacity for 14 passengers; another ten were carried standing inside or on the rear-end platform. The power unit chosen for these vehicles was nevertheless a ten-hp two-cylinder engine (7.4 kW).
The five buses were running on iron wheels. It was not before 1904 that a vehicle was fitted with solid rubber tires which, however, had to be replaced very often � solid rubber tires were subject to high wear in those days. Pneumatic tires had already been invented but were still far from being suitable for commercial vehicles. Hence, where wheels were concerned, customers had no other choice but between fast-wearing rubber tires and rather uncomfortable, though durable, iron cladding.

Pragmatic design

Rubber tires also feature on a double-decker that is shown on the cover of the fourth-edition bus brochure of 1900 and that is likely to correspond to the previous year�s vehicles for London. By contrast, the covers of the second and third editions of the brochure (dating back to February and June 1899, respectively) show a vehicle with a long engine hood, while the first edition had been printed with a schematic drawing on its cover. Since photos of the first bus models are few and far between, the three illustrations provide the best impressions of the looks and function of these early Daimler buses.
Conspicuous differences between the model-year versions existed in the arrangement of the driver�s seat and the steering in relation to the engine. In the 1898 drawing, the driver�s seat is located immediately above the engine (indicated by dashed lines), with the driver�s feet resting just above the front wheels. In the double-decker of 1900, by contrast, the floor is at the same level as the upper edge of the engine hood and the seat is mounted correspondingly higher.
In contrast to these two �cab-over-engine� versions, the vehicle shown on the cover of the two 1899 brochures features the �cab-behind-engine� design. Whereas the drivers of the other two buses were unprotected against inclement weather, the 1899 vehicle provided its driver � and the passengers on the rear-end platform - at least with roofs above their heads.
The route written in large letters on the 1899 bus� side reveals that Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft received orders not only from London, Stockholm and Speyer. Since the brochure appeared in February, the bus shown on its cover must have started operating in line service from Munich�s Augustenstrasse via Theresienstrasse to Milbertshofen early in 1899 at the latest.






Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Back In Time >> 1928:Debut of the Mercedes-Benz OE agricultural tractor

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New standards in terms of operating costs
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Matured design for a wide variety of applications
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More robust and easier to service than any other tractor in its day and age

The OE agricultural tractor chugged into the limelight at the 1928 International Motor Show (IAMA) and on to its buyer in May that year. It was vastly superior to its contemporary competitors in terms of economic efficiency, but in engineering terms, too, it was one of the most matured designs of the 1920s. The OE incorporated all the experience gained in decades of engine and agricultural machinery development.
As early as 1902, Daimler had been awarded a first prize from Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG, German Agricultural Association) for its locomobile. However, all-out suitability for field work was not achieved before 1913 when Daimler introduced a motorized plow. This articulated plow weighed 6.6 tons and was not so far away from the principle of tractor-plus-trailing-plow, which was to prevail in the 1920s. In 1921, finally, Daimler presented such a plow tractor, over five meters long and weighing four tons.

The world�s first vehicle diesel engine to power a tractor

After the merger with Benz in 1926, however, everything spoke in favor of the former competitor�s model. The decisive criterion was the diesel engine which had been installed in a three-wheeled tractor by Benz as early as 1922. Benz had developed this somewhat weird-looking tractor with a single, roller-type drive wheel with a diameter of 1.40 meters immediately after World War I, together with Munich-based engine and tractor producer Sendling. Its heavy-oil engine was really only used to test the pre-chamber diesel in practical operation, one year before the latter was built into a truck for the first time. But the diesel-engined tractor became a complete success, too.
The prototype was sold on the spot, at the agricultural show in K�nigsberg in 1922. Two additional units followed before series production of the diesel-engined Benz-Sendling S6 tractor with a single drive wheel started one year later. By 1925 the first one hundred tractors of this type had been sold, followed by another 200. Overall, Benz-Sendling was able to sell 1,188 units of the three-wheeled tractor until the early thirties.
The main reason for the plow�s design with a single drive wheel � or that of Daimler�s very similar plow tractor with two rear wheels arranged very close to each other � was the fact that it did not require a differential. Very soon, however, it was realized that this advantage had been achieved at the expense of stability: the tractor was prone to toppling over. For this reason, Benz-Sendling developed the four-wheeled diesel-engined BK tractor as early as 1923, and this model was also available as a road-going version with solid rubber tires. It was the direct predecessor of the OE.

Coordination problems after the merger

Buyers do not always decide on the grounds of technical sensibility, however. While the three-wheelers sold like hot cakes, their four-wheeled brethren met with a good deal of reservation on the part of buyers. It was to hand down this fate to its successor, the OE model, and to make things worse, the latter was introduced at an unfavorable point in time.
After the merger in 1926, Daimler and Benz were preoccupied with newly organizing their different business activities. During the later stages, Benz-Sendling had had its tractors built by Komnick in East Prussia � hence the designation BK: a Benz diesel engine in a Komnick chassis. The OE, by contrast, was to be produced in Stuttgart-Untert�rkheim. By the time everything was ready for production, two years had passed and soon afterwards, the world economic crisis was to reduce the customers� purchasing power quite severely.

Hotly contested market

It wasn�t exactly easy to achieve success with a new tractor in the German market of the 1920s. As many as 70 companies competed in this field around 1920. Ford�s Fordson tractor, built in large series and being significantly cheaper, threatened to push all others out of the market. When import restrictions could no longer be maintained in 1924, the German government resorted to loans specifically granted to buyers of German products. Several companies offered highly favorable payment conditions or compared their products directly with the Ford tractor in aggressive advertising campaigns, naturally presenting their own tractors in the most favorable light.
This somewhat crude approach was not Daimler-Benz�s style. The company drew up comparisons indirectly at the most. In a brochure for the 1928 IAMA, the silhouettes of two differently sized tractors illustrated copy with the headline �Small tractor?� � quite enough to tell readers what it was all about. The copy itself explained that �however powerful an engine may be, it can only pass on so much output to the tractor�s towing hook as the driven wheels are capable of transmitting without digging themselves into the ground. Under identical ground conditions, the so-called slip at the driven wheels depends on the size, grab angles and weight of the tires.�
The rear wheels on the diesel-engined Mercedes-Benz tractor had a diameter of 1.30 meters; they were made of flat-iron sections with 14 diagonally arranged grab angles. The deep-tread rubber tires of modern tractors were still unheard of at the time. Tipping the scales at some 2.5 tons, the OE was a ton heavier than the Ford lightweight. �The higher weight prevents the machine from rearing or rolling over under any circumstances� � that�s how the brochure discreetly referred to yet another important difference.
At 24 hp (18 kW) and, at a later stage, 26 hp (19 kW), the OE even was less powerful than the 30 hp (22 kW) Fordson. That, however, was not important; what counted was the tractive power when starting off, especially on wet or sandy soil or on uphill gradients. Let�s quote the brochure again: �In practical operation, the vehicle has the same performance as a so-called small tractor with an output in excess of 30 hp. The frequently observed dangerous rearing and rolling over of small tractors is reliably prevented by the high front-axle pressure of over 1,000 kilograms.�
State of the art: Frameless block design, heavy-oil engines, flywheels
However, the OE�s design was far from oriented to its American competitor. In Germany, two tractors were capable of holding their own against the Fordson, and these two were produced on assembly lines from the mid-1920s. One was the WD from Hanomag, a direct competitor in the lower weight category, low-priced and with technical improvements. The other was the OE from Mercedes-Benz, which was more like the Bulldog from Lanz.
There was one thing the German tractor manufacturers had learnt from Ford: frameless block design, with engine block, transmission housing and rear axle forming a torsionally rigid entity � a clearly superior design to previous frame constructions in coping with the high loads encountered when plowing rough fields. This � as well as the economic advantages of heavy oil � had been realized by Lanz as early as 1921. However, the Bulldog was not powered by a diesel engine but by a hot-bulb heavy-oil engine patented by Herbert Akroyd Stuart and further developed by the company�s chief engineer, Fritz Huber. The OE largely corresponded to the Bulldog in terms of dimensions, weight, engine output, speed and reduction in the three-speed transmission. Laterally arranged flywheels with one of them containing the clutch, as on the Lanz vehicle, also provided for similarity in terms of looks.
While Lanz�s hot-bulb engine was considered economical given the low crude-oil prices, the Daimler-Benz diesel engine was a straightforward miracle in terms of economic efficiency. This was the main reason that prompted the Untert�rkheim-based company to send the OE out into the field to compete against the eleven remaining German tractor producers in 1928. However, Daimler-Benz was not the only one to launch a new tractor: Deutz had introduced its diesel-engined MT 222 tractor somewhat earlier, though initially only in a road-going version with rubber tires.

Cornering radius of just four meters

It has to be said, however, that the OE was far more than just a diesel-engined copy of the Lanz Bulldog. In quite a number of technical features, the tractor broke new ground, thereby contributing significantly toward making farm work easier. This began with the careful tuning of power unit and power transmission; it continued with the weight distribution to front and rear axles and did not end with the size and width of the wheels which could be broadened for operation on marshy soil.
A decompression unit facilitated the starting of the engine by means of an ignition capsule. A control element on the camshaft, reducing revolving speed as load declined and vice versa, proved to be an ingenious invention. It ensured that the highly flexible, horizontally installed single-cylinder engine evenly transmitted its power to the ground at all times, even when starting on soft soil, under changing loads and in mountainous terrain. A �rising torque at declining engine speed� was also praised as an advantage of the Mercedes tractor in a brochure.
For a tractor of this size, its cornering radius of just four meters was unparalleled. It goes without saying that this required a differential. Not all the tractors, however, had a differential lock to prevent wheel spin. The differential lock was designed so as to convert the two halves of the rear axle into a rigid unit � to prevent the different loads of cornering wheels from being transmitted back to the gearbox in case the farmer forgot to release the differential lock again. A pendulum-type suspension on the front axle additionally helped in avoiding unnecessary stresses.
The characteristic front view of the OE revealed four major elements: the single-cylinder engine mounted at the front of the transmission housing, a flat rectangular receptacle arranged above the engine and containing coolant and fuel tanks, a high-rising air filter on the right-hand side and the exhaust on the left. The low heat generated by the diesel engine permitted the use of evaporation cooling instead of recirculation cooling, conventional at the time but prone to freezing. Nevertheless, Daimler-Benz offered recirculation cooling for tractors exported to warmer countries.
The efficient, long-term force-feed lubrication also benefited from the close combination of engine and gearbox in a single, torsionally rigid housing. In an article for the trade journal �Die Technik in der Landwirtschaft� (Agricultural Engineering), Benno R. Dierfeld, a high-ranking government official, wrote in 1929: �The lubrication system, which is crucial for the service life and operational reliability of the engine, is designed with outstanding care.� Compared to chain, pinion or worm-gear drive, the direct transmission of power from the gearbox to the rear wheels via spur gears proved to be virtually indestructible.
Thanks to the easiest-conceivable handling, well-matched parts and an extremely robust design, the OE was a reliable workhorse, capable of easily coping with the most arduous conditions. In spite of this, Daimler-Benz had taken unique precautions against signs of wear: two large, easily removable maintenance flaps provided easy access to the dust-tight transmission housing, described by the brochure as �a unique and valuable new feature, not to be found on any other manufacturer�s product.� It was equally easy to replace the cylinder liner, made of a special iron alloy with chromium and nickel additives, in case it was found to be worn out after a large number of operating hours.

Jack-of-all-trades

Earlier motorized plows had had the big disadvantage of only being suitable for heavy-duty plowing work due to the rigid connection of plow and drive unit. The versatile OE tractor, by contrast, was capable of doing a lot more, as revealed by the table of performance figures in the tractor brochures: in deep plowing, the tractor covered between 3.75 and five acres in a ten-hour working day; it managed between 6.25 and 7.5 acres in sowing and plowing with a two- or three-share plow and between 12.3 and 15.5 acres in skim plowing with a five-share top-soil plow. And it was able to cultivate and harrow up to 25 acres per day. Harvesters, potato or beet lifters and sorters were driven via a power-take-off. In addition, it was possible to mount a belt pulley whose revolving speed could be adjusted to anything between 300 and 800 rpm to drive stationary machinery. In this way, the tractor could also be used to drive pumps, circular saws, threshers and chaff cutters, grinding mills and even dynamos.
The farm tractor was also available in a road-going version, its grab-angle wheels replaced by all-metal wheels with solid rubber or pneumatic tires and a different transmission ratio, achieved by the replacement of two gearwheels. While the farm tractor reached 3.2 km/h in first gear, 4.5 km/h in second and 6.2 km/h in third gear, the road-going tractor managed 10.6 or 12.3 km/h, depending on the trailer load, and as much as 15 km/h at a later stage. Customers were able to choose: the standard tractor pulled 15 tons in third gear on a level road � for carrying higher loads or climbing slopes, it was possible to change the overall ratio accordingly.
The road-going tractor featured a simpler air filter version. A belt pulley for driving stationary machinery was optionally available at extra cost, and the same applied to a rear-mounted rope winch, a soft-top with sides to protect the driver from inclement weather, as well as petroleum, carbide or electrical lamps. Thanks to maintenance flaps in the transmission housing, the farm tractor was easily converted into a road-going vehicle when required: all that needed to be done was a change of wheels and of two gearwheels in the transmission. At a later stage, Daimler-Benz offered a �combination tractor� version with two sets of wheels and gearwheels for the changeover from field work to operation on the road.

Operating costs making all the difference

Right from the start, Daimler-Benz praised the OE as �the most reliable and cheapest tractor for agriculture� and listed the fuel costs incurred by the individual types of work: between 33 Pfennigs for cultivating and harrowing and 133 � 150 Pfennigs for deep plowing per acre had to be paid by the farmer. The considerably lower price of diesel fuel combined with a fuel consumption that was 30 percent below the gasoline engine�s so that costs could be cut by 1,500 Reichsmarks with 1,200 operating hours per year.
�The return on 1,000 Marks more or less invested capital is virtually insignificant,� it said in a 1928 brochure � a direct reference to the Lanz Bulldog which cost 5,600 Marks, precisely 1,000 Marks less than the OE. Daimler-Benz nevertheless reduced the price to 5,900 Marks somewhat later.
When customers did not immediately realize the cost advantage arising from lower operating costs, the manufacturer went to extremes in directing their attention to the cost-cutting potential. Brochures going into all details of tractor operation costs were printed with two-color covers, revealing at first glance what it was all about: �74 percent reduction in fuel costs!� The unparalleled economy of the tractor was demonstrated time and again at promotion events and in comparative tests, for instance in an international tractor competition in England in 1930 from which the OE emerged as the best performer of all candidates.
A 1931 brochure put it quite bluntly: �Your expenditure on means of transport is too high and has to be reduced. This is achieved by the acquisition of a Mercedes-Benz diesel tractor whose cheap purchase price, lowest operating and maintenance costs and significantly raised performance account for annual savings of several thousand Marks compared to the operation of equally powerful vehicles with gasoline/benzene engines.�

Convincing in practical operation

The company�s PR efforts also extended to obtaining testimonials from buyers of the diesel tractor. The numerous letters Daimler-Benz received from customers from the tractor�s first year onward provided proof of the very high level of customer satisfaction, as well as of the wide range of different uses to which the diesel tractor was put.
There is for instance a letter written by Fritz Teuscher, retired major and owner of the Paunsdorf estate near Leipzig: �In response to your inquiry, I take the liberty of informing you that I am very satisfied with the tractor you supplied in July 1928. In particular, I would like to stress the machine�s great power reserves, permitting the vehicle to start off effortlessly even under the most difficult conditions.� After detailed descriptions of the tractor�s applications and fuel consumption, the major came to the following conclusion: �I can recommend the acquisition of a Mercedes-Benz tractor without any reservations.�
The steward of the city of Speyer�s estate came to a similar conclusion: �We worked with different tractors during the last five years. The diesel tractor outclasses them all in terms of both operating cost savings and ease of operation, and it is in no way superior in terms of tractive power.� The steward, a Mr. Ott, also praised the differential lock and finished his letter with the following comment: �Quite apart from that, I congratulate you on the fact that the famous Benz factory is now at last offering a tractor to German farmers that is superior to all foreign brands, including in our opinion the well-known I.H.C tractor, in every respect and especially in operating cost savings.�
The owner of the Moisall estate, Baron von Swieykowski-Trzaska, equally confirmed �that your Mercedes-Benz diesel tractor performed outstandingly in trial plowing on my estate. Fuel consumption was the lowest of all, and the furrow plowed by your tractor was significantly better than the furrows ploughed by your competitors� machinery at the same time. This is all the more praiseworthy when you consider that the Mercedes-Benz diesel tractor had to work on extremely mountainous, loamy and stony terrain.�
The majority of testimonials were, however, sent in by large privately or publicly owned estates, one of them even by the �Compagnie Ouest-Cameroun� whose director wrote on June 19, 1930: �With great conviction, I am able to confirm that your diesel tractor machines are of remarkable efficiency and high value, especially in this country where tractor work bears no comparison with European requirements at all. Here, heavy-duty work has to be performed in reclaiming land overgrown with extremely dense and tenacious prairie grass.�
Daimler-Benz also received ample feedback from various industrial and trading enterprises which used the road-going tractor version for a variety of purposes. Among them were coal dealers, haulage companies and breweries, a sugar factory, an iron foundry, a farm machinery producer and an electromechanical workshop. A gravel pit used the tractor as a stone crusher, and a construction company, a plasterer's workshop and a cement and construction materials trader among the testimonial writers testify to the tractor's use in the construction industry. And finally, there was a consortium which used the OE in the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Haute Provence.

Sales lagging behind expectations

The diesel-engined OE truck had everything it takes to become a great success. It was, after all, an extremely robust vehicle, its design well thought out down to the smallest detail, and one that set new standards in maximum ease of maintenance and fuel economy. Moreover, the diesel-engined Benz-Sendling tractor with a single drive wheel � the world's first diesel tractor � had been such a success that its successor, a much better vehicle in many respects, gave rise to great � and perfectly justified � hopes.
And yet, despite the customers' unanimously positive response, the Mercedes-Benz tractor didn't sell well. From today's perspective, the reasons cannot be made out with absolute certainty. The disappointing start is nevertheless likely to be attributable to the unfavorable point in time at which the tractor came onto the market.
Many potential buyers probably reacted somewhat hesitantly to yet another new tractor after so many brands had caused more anger than satisfaction during the first half of the 1920s. The diesel-engined Benz-Sendling tractors had been an exception to this rule but the customers had as yet to grasp the fact that the OE came from the same manufacturer, despite a different production plant and different brand name. Daimler-Benz had therefore been clever enough to announce the OE as a Benz-Sendling product in 1928. The location of Benz-Sendling's partner Komnick near the large Prussian estates may also have contributed to their joint tractor's success. Whereas 888 units of the three-wheeled S7 were sold between 1925 and 1931, no more than 380 customers had by 1935 opted for the OE from Daimler-Benz.
To make things worse, one year after the OE tractor's launch, the world economic crisis shattered many hopes. However low the operating costs, however easy the maintenance, for a normal farmer a purchase price of (eventually) 5,900 Reichsmarks was a steep hurdle � hence the large number of testimonials from large-estate owners and tenants who bought the farm tractor, and the large number of companies which used the road-going tractor for a variety of purposes. But the heyday in farm mechanization was yet to come.
In 1933, when the OE's share in new tractor registrations had reach an all-time low, Daimler-Benz decided to discontinue production, especially since the demand for the company's other products was high. It was after World War II that the company started producing farm tractors again, first in 1951 with the Unimog and then in 1972 with the MB-trac.







Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Daimler Heritage -- Topics for May 2008

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Preview May 2008

May 1958 � 50 years ago:
The Gaggenau plant begins production of the LP 333 three-axle cab-over-engine truck. Dubbed the �millipede�, this heavy-duty truck has two steered front axles, gleaning maximum benefit from new registration regulations.

Other memorable dates:
May 1 � October 31, 1893 � 115 years ago: At the World Exhibition in Chicago, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft presents the first fully operational automobile ever shown publicly in the USA. The model on display is a modified version of the wire-wheel car. Gottlieb Daimler pays a visit to the exhibition, which runs for several months, while on honeymoon with his second wife Lina.
May 26, 1893 � 115 years ago: British businessman Frederick Richard Simms founds Daimler Motor Syndicate Ltd. in London. Although in its early days the company does not manufacture its own vehicles and engines, it sows the seeds of the automotive industry in Britain.
May 1898 � 110 years ago: Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft unveils its first ever bus range which includes four basic models and engines developing four, six, eight and ten hp (2.9, 4.4, 5.9 and 7.4 kW), and is designed to carry six to 16 passengers.
May 26, 1908 � 100 years ago: Benz & Cie. sets up Ungarische Benz-Automobilfabrik AG in Budapest, Hungary, to handle production of passenger cars, trucks and buses.
May 1908 � 100 years ago: Benz brings a small and reasonably priced 10/18 hp car onto the market. The owner of the first model to leave the factory is Prince Waldemar, a nephew of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.
May 1928 � 80 years ago: The first units of the Mercedes-Benz OE diesel tractor are delivered to their owners. This model is designed for road and agricultural use and produced at the Mannheim plant. It is powered by a water-cooled, horizontally mounted, single-cylinder prechamber diesel engine. The impressive 4.2-liter displacement of the single-cylinder unit develops 26 hp (19 kW) which is reached at an engine speed as low as 800 rpm. The purchase price is between 6,000 and 8,500 Reichsmark, depending on the model variant.
May 1958 � 50 years ago: Production of the O 317 was started in the Mannheim plant of Daimler-Benz: with a length of twelve meters the O 317 is the first modern-styled bus. It had capacity for 120 passengers.
May 7, 1998 � 10 years ago: Daimler-Benz AG and US-based Chrysler Corporation sign a contract bringing together the two companies, after discussions about a possible merger had become public knowledge just one day earlier.

Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Mercedes-Benz IPTV Weekly Show 01.04.2008

The new Weekly Show on Mercedes-Benz IPTV brings to its viewers 3 exciting movies. Here they are:

1. Ralf Schumacher, former F1 driver, talks about his world debut in DTM.

2. Lucas Foster, the star producer from Hollywood, takes the new SL-Klasse for a spin around the 20th Century Fox studios.

3. Sir Martin Sorrell, Managing Director of WPP, in an exclusive talk about new media, brands and technology.

Head over to Mercedes-Benz IPTV!

Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Grand Prix Engines from the 1950's

Talbot-Lago T26C - France
� Paul Chenard 2008






Mercedes W196 - Germany
� Paul Chenard 2008






Vanwall 2.5L - England
� Paul Chenard 2008












Maserati 250F - Italy
� Paul Chenard 2008

Pencil and Prismacolor pencil on coloured paper 12"x9"

I decided to do significant 1950's Grand Prix race car engines on paper in International Racing Colours.

The series is available as limited edition premium archival Giclee prints, 14.5'x 11' (image size 12'x 9'), signed and numbered to a limit of 100 of each. The suggested retail price is $125 USD each plus shipping/handling, or all 4 for $445 USD plus shipping/handling.