Mercedes-Benz offers Internet in the car

If you are like me the Internet has become such a part of your life that it is becoming difficult to know how we lived without it. There are now over 7 million unique sites on the World Wide Web and the number is growing daily. You just can’t get away from it. Wireless web access even gives you your fix on a desert island. Perhaps the only place you were cut off was in the car. Until now!

Mercedes-Benz, the first automaker to debut an "Internet on Wheels" research car in 1997, is now the first to offer useful, web-based information in a production car. Using the same telematics technology that makes the basic Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid system possible, any owner of a 2001 model equipped with the COMMAND center-console LCD display can now subscribe to new web-based Info Services provided to Mercedes by CNN Interactive.

For an annual fee of $125 plus airtime, clients begin by customizing personal preferences on their own web page within the Mercedes-Benz USA website at http://www.mbusa.com. Then, whenever they push the SVC button beside the color display, their selected stock quotes, news topics, sports and weather can be downloaded and displayed on the screen. Calendar reminders are also possible through the new system.

The Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid system, which provides in-car convenience and emergency services at the touch of a button, is now standard on all 2001-model Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid system integrates client response/service from the Mercedes-Benz Client Assistance Center and Roadside Assistance Program with emergency response/ location-based services from ATX Technologies as well as hardware and software from Motorola.

With free connections and 30 minutes of airtime included for the first year on new vehicles, the standard Tele Aid system incorporates three useful new features for 2001. If an owner reports a problem, the status of the car’s electronic systems can be accessed remotely via Tele Aid from Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance. If the owner locks the keys in the car, arrangements can be made to unlock the car from the Client Assistance Center, or directly from the MBUSA website. If the anti-theft alarm is triggered the system notifies ATX Technologies, who contacts the owner.

Tele Aid allows Mercedes-Benz drivers to communicate directly with the company from their vehicles, to get information about the vehicle, assistance with its systems or just general information on Mercedes-Benz and its products. The innovative Tele Aid system offers four distinct kinds of services accessible at the touch of a button.

For emergency help, there’s an "SOS" button above the rear-view mirror that immediately establishes voice contact with ATX Technologies, an experienced provider contracted by Mercedes-Benz. Pressing this button also transmits crucial information about the client to ATX, including the precise location of the vehicle (through GPS satellite tracking), the model of the car and its color (to help emergency services visually locate the car quickly).

The ATX response specialist can then notify the nearest appropriate emergency service and help guide them to the car. ATX Technologies can also notify local police, fire or emergency services if voice contact is not established (e.g., the customer is unable to respond) or any third party that the client wants notified.

If a collision deploys any airbag (or the ETR tensioner in the seatbelt), the system automatically establishes contact with ATX Technologies, relaying all pertinent information. Tele Aid eliminates the need to know your exact location, dial a phone number, or juggle a handset during an emergency. Moreover, the standard Tele Aid system does not require the customer to purchase a cellular phone or service.

Full details on Tele Aid and "Internet On Wheels" are now available at Silver Star Mercedes-Benz in the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall, who can also show you the new 2001 model Mercedes-Benz models.