Mercedes channels Che Guevara for car tech

(CNET) 

Under a huge portrait of Che Guevara, Mercedes' Dieter Zetsche touted a vision of car-sharing.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

They said it, not me.

"Some colleagues still think that car-sharing borders on communism," Mercedes-Benz Chairman of the Board of Management Dieter Zetsche said onstage at CES today, speaking about Mercedes' new CarTogether initiative. "But if that's the case, viva la revolucion!"

To be sure, a luxury-car maker like Mercedes is not actually promoting communism. But during his CES talk, Zetsche pushed hard on a vision that the company has for a greener future that allows drivers to reduce emissions by using connected and social technology to easily find compatible passengers to share rides with.

Still, it's odd--and no doubt intended to stir up conversation--to hear a company so inexorably tied to money and lavish lifestyles invoking philosophies like communism. Especially with a picture of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara towering over Zetsche as he talked. Of course, Che's signature beret sported a Mercedes logo.

Either way, Mercedes' car-sharing technology is part of the company's larger vision for a smart-car future, one it's already implementing in its cars, and which it thinks can help drivers save money on fuel, and save the earth from excess emissions at the same time. As well, Mercedes wants to leverage the latest in telematics technology to give those who plunk down small fortunes on its vehicles the most up-to-date driving/technology experience.

To begin with, Mercedes promoted a new telematics system it called @yourCOMMAND. "The car becomes a mobile communications center than enables driver and passengers to access all modern media and services at any time," it said in a release this morning. "Uncoupling from the conventional vehicle development cycles is achieved on the one hand through secure and comfortable integration of the smartphone in the vehicle, and on the other hand through the use of a consistently cloud-based solution. This ensures that one is always in close touch with the rapid developments in the smartphone and computer world."

According to the release, @yourCOMMAND focuses on four areas: sensory perfection, holistic experience, natural interaction, and a convenient remote control.

Mercedes' vision starts with the notion of the cloud, and giving its cars' telematics system--known as "mbrace"--the latest in connected apps: software that stays up to date via the Internet. The idea here seems to be that Mercedes' cloud connection should reduce owners' reliance on going to dealers for software updates. Essentially, owners should be able to download things like infotainment updates and upload vehicle diagnostics. Zetsche said that mbrace is now available on its German SL model, and should be coming to the U.S. in all new models.

Another big part of Mercedes' vision of a tech-savvy car is voice recognition--and comprehension. Intelligent cars should be our "digital companions," Zetsche said, but there's little value in a car's tech systems telling you that it's raining outside. That's something you already know. What would be much more valuable would be a system that could tell you that it will be raining in a couple of hours at your destination and that you should bring an umbrella. That's useful proactivity, he said.

Zetsche laid out a picture of a tech-savvy car that has a touch-screen dashboard and an augmented reality overlay. In a video he played, a Mercedes owner sat relaxed in a car, playing with its "Minority Report"-like interface while the vehicle safely drove itself down the road.

Clearly, this is the future, but one that Mercedes wants to make a reality--at least for its customers.

'Communism'
The next idea Zetsche talked about was CarTogether, the car-sharing application he said could help the world cut down on emissions, while also helping people create new bonds of friendship as like-minded strangers meet for the first time.

Future Mercedes cars will feature CarTogether, an app that can help drivers find people with whom to share rides. This is not quite the same thing, of course, as lending out your Mercedes, as services like Getaround or Wheelz would like to have you do. Rather, the app will help owners find riders. And this is all in a bid to cut down on emissions by cutting down on the number of car rides people have to make.

Zetsche said onstage that car-sharing is sustainable. And with cars with electric drive, "we can effectively push zero-emissions mobility."

The idea here is that using social tools like Facebook, drivers can find potential riders that share similar interests, serving everyone involved. For example, Mercedes showed a video that depicted a Mercedes owner driving to a concert and using the CarTogether system to find someone looking for a ride to the same show. The driver picks up the passenger, and a lifelong friendship begins. That may be far-fetched, but at least it's easy to imagine the driver picking up someone with a shared interest.

It's interesting, of course, to see a company like Mercedes promote the idea of car sharing, since carmakers don't make as much money on fleet purchases as they do on single-car sales. And while CarTogether seems aimed mainly at individual owners, Zetsche also seemed to be touting a larger car-sharing concept.

This is a graphic depicting CarTogether, the car-sharing concept from Mercedes.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Remote information
Another idea Mercedes wanted to promote was the tight link between cars and smartphones that we'll all know and love in the future. Especially when it comes to electric cars, something Zetsche talked about at length during his CES talk.

One thing that people who have electric cars worry about is what he called range anxiety. And as a result, Zetsche talked about the idea of a smartphone being the link between the car and the next charging station. "If you like, you can even follow your own car on Twitter," he said. "It can notify you when your car is charged."

Apps could show electric-car owners when their vehicle is fully charged.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Zetsche also talked about fuel cells as part of a future of highly fuel efficient vehicles, as well as electric cars as a smart way of storing renewable energy. And he said that production of "B-class fuel cells has already begun."

But regardless of the amount of emissions being put out by cars, there's always going to be gridlock, he said. And that's where connectivity between cars can help. In other words, on-the-fly technology may well be able to help with traffic management. "We use the Web to manage huge amounts of data traffic," he said. "So why not use it to manage huge amounts of road traffic?"

Here, the idea is to embed cars with sensors that can quickly identify threats. With many cars using them, it could be "crowdsourcing applied to traffic," he explained. "The trick is using information from the cars ahead of you" to avoid congestion before you reach it. And one way to do that is to aggregate GPS data from smartphones.

Zetsche said Mercedes will be implementing the first private system using tools like this later this year in Germany. He wouldn't give many details, but did say that "If we bring the best of both worlds together, we will not only protect the traditional strength of automobiles but also make further growth sustainable and create new opportunities."

[Hitokiri_Craig]

Guevara's first judicious act was to preside over a book burning of 3,000 stolen books and sign the death warrants for many Cuban authors. The ONLY reason for his visit to America back in 1964 was to get together with the Black Liberation Army to plot the destruction of the Stature of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the Washington Monument. Guevara considered anyone who listened to rock and roll music, who wore his hair long, or who spoke up against him a delinquent. His very goal was to, "make individualism disappear from the nation!" He considered it, "criminal to think as individuals!" American individualists should think twice before brandishing the picture of a man who persecuted "hippies, homosexuals, free-thinkers and poets," and who employed constant surveillance, control, and repression.

[CarlosX4]

There is an entire anti-Che industry of lying right-wing hucksters who make their living by creating lies about the heroic guerrilla and then parroting each others lies as if it gives them any credibility. Luckily, when actual historians research the man, they realize just how many noble qualities he does have and see through the Miami propaganda.

It is actually hard to think of another historical figure who was as well rounded, intelligent, poetic, brave, sincere, audacious, and revolutionary as Che Guevara. This is why he has so much resonance over 40 years after his CIA-aided execution.

There is a Che in all of us who dream of a better World and his ghost haunts the U.$. Empire wherever they go and attempt to rape the resources of other nations. Anyone who has ever seen 3rd world poverty up close understands Che's fury and determination. Anyone who has ever seen how the top 1% live in luxury while most barely have enough to eat will sympathize with Che's struggle.

... America needs a Che Guevara of our own :o)

[Hitokiri_Craig]

Really? I bet the thousands of Cuban-Americans who fled their country to come here to escape the mass murderer Che would beg to differ. You libs crack me up, trying to turn this Stalinist mass murderer into an icon. Guevara's first judicious act was to preside over a book burning of 3,000 stolen books and sign the death warrants for many Cuban authors. The ONLY reason for his visit to America back in 1964 was to get together with the Black Liberation Army to plot the destruction of the Stature of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the Washington Monument. Guevara considered anyone who listened to rock and roll music, who wore his hair long, or who spoke up against him a delinquent. His very goal was to, "make individualism disappear from the nation!" He considered it, "criminal to think as individuals!" American individualists should think twice before brandishing the picture of a man who persecuted "hippies, homosexuals, free-thinkers and poets," and who employed constant surveillance, control, and repression. Then IDIOTS like you want a Che here in America? HELL NO!!!

[Philster7656]

Hey, go easy on Mercedes. This isn't the first time they've partnered with a totalitarian mass-murderer who sports goofy facial hair...

[Pika_Mikhala]

I'm not a fan of Che's but I have even less time for the intolerant right wing extremist 'Cuban Mafia' kooks, who keep re-imagining history. I suppose it is tough for them to come to terms with the modern world, when it was their parents who were Batista supporters and possibly even members of Batista's elite.

[CanesMom]

If we are to follow your train of thought Pika...then the right wing extremist "Jewish Mafia" kooks, who keep re-imagining history, should just come to terms with the modern world and get over the Holocaust.

[isthattrue123]

Two wrongs do not make a right. I think the world should have a clear concept of the true qualities of Che Guevara

[Bonnie_R]

I'm afraid you're a one man Che fan club there, Carlos. That makes me so utterly...happy.

Che was a filthy mass murdering psychopath with a regrettable, and solitary, iconic photograph. Using him as an advertising ploy is both idiotic and repulsive. In the days before the internet you might believe the propaganda given out by hard left Marxists about Che, but now anyone with a keyboard and a pulse can find out all about this creature for themselves. Ho, Ho, Hey, Che, How many kids did you kill in one day?

[isthattrue123]

It is good to be an idealist but you should also have your facts straight. I think people should be well informed before making comments.

[adamhi]

I can see Volvo invoking Che, but Mercedes?

Hey, better grab your homicidal leftist/communist while they're still available.

Still available are Stalin, Castro, Pol Pot, Mao, Kim il-Sung, Haile Mengistu, and many other lesser known lights of the revolution.

[HumbertoCapiro]

216 DOCUMENTED VICTIMS OF CHE GUEVARA IN CUBA: 1957 TO 1959 From Armando M. Lagos, PhD s - Cuba: The Human Cost of Social Revolution

http://www.cubaarchive.org/downloads/CA08.pdf

[CarlosX4]

"I have yet to find a single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed 'an innocent'. Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder. I should add that my research spanned five years, and included anti-Castro Cubans among the Cuban-American exile community in Miami and elsewhere."

— Jon Lee Anderson, author of the 800 + page 'Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life', PBS forum

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/november97/che1.html

[isthattrue123]

CarlosX4 are you also denying that he was a homophobic that made life for the gay community in Cuba in the 60's impopssible! Unfortunately your research missed some very important aspects of a man who has been pictured world wide as a hero but who really should have stayed in his own country and saved the Cubans of the hurt and pain of watching their country go to ruins.

[HumbertoCapiro]

PRETTY DISGUSTING PR CAMPAIGN BY Mercedes-Benz! I HOPE ALL THE RICH CUBANS IN THE DIASPORA BOYCOTT THIS CAR MAKER!

THE TRUE STORY OF CHE GUEVARA- The History Channel presentation:

From his famous motorcycle trips to his historic role in the Cuban Revolution, Argentinean revolutionary Che Guevara is profiled in a documentary produced to explore the life of the man whose visage has become an iconic symbol of hard left politics.

This man, who ordered the execution of countless human beings while in charge of the notorious La Cabana prison in Havana, who terrorized Cuban society and who denied freedom to thousands of citizens whom he considered "deviants" or "anti-revolutionaries" can never be accepted as a hero, martyr or — the shock of it — a saint.

Its a good documentary in the fact that it brings to light other people in the revolution, and it has this kind of new way of presenting the man, with lots of hard guitar in the background to make him seem "radical" i guess. Jon Anderson the author of one of the best bio's on him is interviewed many times, also there are interviews with American soldiers who fought in the revolution,which is very interesting to get to see them. Overall it is one of the better documentaries.

TO SEE THE FULL DOCUMENTARY CLICK LINK
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-true-story-of-che-guevara/

[CarlosX4]

"Che is not only an intellectual, he was the most complete human being of our time, our eras most perfect man." --- Jean Paul Sartre

American right-wingers like to ignore the inconvenient fact that Che Guevara battled 3 U.S.-backed dictators on 3 separate continents (Batista/Cuba, Mobutu/Congo, & Barrientos/Bolivia).

The right-wing also likes to avoid acknowledging that Che's radicalism was spawned from living in Guatemala during the 1953 overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz by the CIA (Operation PBSUCCESS) on behalf of Secretary of State Dulles and the United Fruit Company.

As the Cuban Revolution and Che proved, when given the decision of backing a democratic government that represents the interests of the majority of a nation's citizens or a right-wing dictator who will protect the business interests of the United States = the U.S. will always chose the latter.

[Ralpa]

I can honestly say Mercedes just turned my stomach.

[CarlosX4]

Che was fighting against:

- American Oligarchy (United Fruit, Texaco, U.S. Sugar)
- The US based Mafia (1959 Havana)
- The Monroe Doctrine rationale for Latin American Imperialism (Bay of Pigs)
- The idea of Banana Republics (Arbenz 1953 coup)

It just kills reactionary Conservatives that such a heroic man will not go away. That is because these troglodytes cant fathom that he lives in the hearts of the hungry and the oppressed and that ideas never die. Hence Che Lives on in hearts across Latin America.

[Steve-Gregg]

When Che murdered his first man, he wrote in his diary, "Now all his possession are mine." He wrote his pappa to tell him that he discovered that he really liked killing people. Fidel encouraged him in this, letting him create the Cuban secret police. Fidel murdered 1892 innocent people in this capacity, men, women, boys. He said he didn't need evidence, just revolutionary necessity. He advocated the pedagogy of the firing squad to educate the masses.

So why wouldn't Mercedes want to promote their autos with a sick, depraved mass-murdering psycho? Maybe Charles Manson turned them down.

[CarlosX4]

"Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom, we will always honor his memory." — Nelson Mandela

CHE GUEVARA:
- Worked in a Leper colony and treated lepers (as seen in the excellent film 'The Motorcycle Diaries')

- Was instrumental in teaching over 900,000 Cubans to read

- Tended to thousands of sick campesinos

- Helped construct dozens of schools throughout Cuba

- Removed the Mafia and dictatorship of Batista from Cuba which had killed 20,000 Cubans and tortured thousands more

- Desegregated the schools in Cuba before they were in the Southern US

- Called out South Africa's Apartheid in 1964, 30 years before the West!

- Denounced the racism and KKK in America

...take your LIES to Glenn Beck's website.

[timmeh60]

So according to CarlosX4, Osama Bin Laden is a great guy who was responsible for thousands of deaths because he build schools and roads. Che was a murderer who championed the oppressive, murderous dictatorship of Fidel Castro. But lefties love their dictators, don't they?