Carl Benz played a prominent role in promoting the development of the automobile. Production of the Benz Patent Motor Car of 1886, the world’s first automobile, ran to around 25 examples. The vehicle’s name was apt: Carl Benz had also been engaged in the development of bicycles, called velocipedes at the time. At an early stage, he used this designation for his first three-wheelers - probably to distinguish his light automobiles from the heavy motorized carriages. The Velo fulfilled all the criteria its designer had specified. It was light, robust, fast and comparatively inexpensive - with its "perfectly refined equipment complete with lanterns", it cost 2,000 marks which, however, was not exactly cheap at the time. The car's top speed was 20 km/h. It was fitted with a wooden frame with iron reinforcements. It had compact dimensions and was 2.25 meters long - 45 centimeters shorter than the Benz three-wheeler - and it looked rather delicate on its wire-spoke wheels. The first version of 1894 tipped the scales at 280 kilograms - as much as 380 kilograms less than the Victoria.
The car featured rigid axles front and rear. The double-pivot steering was operated via a vertical steering column in the center of the car. Benz designed a new, smaller engine for the Velo. As before, this was installed horizontally, developed 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) at 450/min from a displacement of 1,045 cc and had a bore/stroke of 110/110 millimeters. Initially, Benz used his surface carburetor, to replace it at a later stage by the floating carburetor, which had equally been designed by him. As on the three-wheeler, the engine was started by the turning of the flywheel to chug away at an even rhythm. The fuel tank under the seat bench had a capacity of almost 18 liters - which seems to be plentiful at first glance but is put into perspective by a fuel consumption of some 14 liters per 100 kilometers. The engine, installed under a wooden hood, drove the countershaft with a loose disc, a fixed disc and an integrated differential via two flat belts, with two chains running from the differential to the two rear wheels.
As on the larger engines of the three-wheeler and Victoria models, the crankcase was still open; an enclosed housing was not incorporated until 1898. The car had two forward gears but, initially, no reverse. Power was transferred to the road via a two-stage flat-belt transmission. The Velo rolled on wire-spoke wheels with solid rubber tires, 550 millimeters in diameter at the front and 850 millimeters at the rear. The wheelbase was 1,340 millimeters long; the track width was 1,000 millimeters at the front and 1,040 millimeters at the rear. In 1896, an improved version of the Velo - the "Comfortable" model - became available at a price of 2,500 marks. It came with better equipment in every respect, and pneumatic tires were optionally available at a surcharge of 350 marks. The diameter of the wheels was 540 millimeters at the front, 780 millimeters at the rear. A revised model was introduced in 1900, with an engine developing 3 hp (2.2 kW) at 700/min from an unchanged displacement of 1,045 cc. The transmission with reverse gear introduced in 1896 now formed part of the standard specifications. In 1901, engine output was raised still further to 3.5 hp (2.6 kW). With his Velo, Carl Benz achieved two things above anything else. First of all, the production volume of more than 1,200 units testified to people's great desire for personal mobility independent of horses. And secondly, the Velo paved the way which was followed by Benz with his company: building cars in large series.
Dual-sport Adventure bikes offered with both the LC4 Engine (Adventure 640, 640R) and the LC8 Engine (Adventure 950, 950S, 990), the 640R is the base of the Rally 660 which has won many Dakar Rallies. Since the major rule changes in Motocross to make 4-stroke bikes more competitive in motocross and being given a 125 cc 2-stroke to 250 cc 4-stroke advantage the cheaper, simpler and faster 2-stroke bikes have been dying out. Since other manufacturers have decided to discontinue their 2-stroke models, KTM has continued with creating and improving their 2 stroke models and taking up a very high proportion of the 2-stroke bike market. KTM has also created a new 2-stroke MX bike with 144 cc to comply with the 2008 AMA motocross class changes. This change has been made to bring back the 2-stroke bikes to encourage more entry to the market as the 2 stroke bikes are cheaper to maintain and repair than the expensive 4-stroke bikes. Environmental agencies have tried to remove 2-stroke machines because they produce more pollution than 4-strokes. However with newer advances in technology 2-strokes have begun to burn cleaner and pass green sticker standards. In recent interviews KTM has revealed that they will continue to produce and improve 2-stroke bikes and have already begun looking at EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection). EFI will benefit the 2 stroke bikes because they will become more fuel efficient and will also produce less waste. Beginning in 2006, KTM has begun the development with a lightweight street legal (Europe) car known as the X-Bow. It will use an Audi engine and a Dallara sourced chassis, and have a weight of less than 1,400 lb (640 kg). This new car will seat two people. On the 8 January 2008, Bajaj announced that it would jointly develop two new 125 cc and 250 cc bikes for Europe and the Far East. The bikes would be badged 'KTM'.
The telematics future of Mercedes-Benz. For many people, unrestricted access to information has become an indispensable part of their daily lives - be it at work or in their leisure time. And what's more, worldwide more and more people are spending increasing amounts of time on the move - particularly also in the car where they want to stay fully "networked" wherever possible. Mercedes-Benz has responded to this growing customer need with its seamless telematics strategy @yourCOMAND: the inventor of the automobile showcases the concept of a comprehensive cloud-based system in its new F 125! Mercedes-Benz is already offering secure, convenient in-car internet access in numerous models courtesy of the COMAND Online multimedia system introduced this year. Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Mercedes-Benz has implemented this strategic approach for the first time in its F 125! Seamless experience connects the multimedia systems in the F 125! The applications are socially interactive and do not distract the driver.
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