Continental and Chromjuwelen at the IBM Social Business JamCamp

I just had the honor of being one of the keynote speakers at the IBM Sociel Business JamCamp. Yep — IBM. My job: presenting our Continental Brand Ambassadorship, which we hold since over a year. And explaining how we use "Social Media". 

It was very interesting. We are used to present our work to potential partners, but this was our first time we showcased our work in a completely differnt "social" context. Just in case you are interested — here are my (German) slides.

Oh, btw, thanks for the picture, Nicole!

Mercedes-Benz: COMAND Online Apps

A few weeks ago Mercedes-Benz invited my wife — who works as a contributing editor for an UK based lifestyle magazine for over ten years now — to Palo Alto. For those who aren't familiar with all the interwebs tech talk: Palo Alto is kind of the epicenter of all the Silicon Valley high-technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Tesla Motors, Facebook and Google. When Mercedes-Benz founded the Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. in 1994, the headquarter in Palo Alto was the first Research & Development Center of an automotive company in Silicon Valley.

Mercedes-Benz invited selected media people to provide insight into their latest tweaks of their multimedia System "COMAND Online". Only a few months after the launch of the new multimedia generation, Mercedes-Benz is extending the range of integrated apps: new apps for Facebook, for Google Streetview and Google Panoramio will be available for COMAND Online from this autumn. Additional apps which have already been introduced are Google Local Search and Weather and the facility for downloading a route which has previously been configured on a PC using Google Maps and transmitted to the car.

Over a dozen additional apps are planned in the medium term. These are currently under development, in some instances in collaboration with innovative start-ups such as the US talk radio operator Stitcher, the Twitter short message service and the popular music providers Pandora in the USA or Aupeo in Germany, for example. The new apps will be usable by all customers who drive a Mercedes-Benz with COMAND Online and will be provided by Mercedes-Benz via the so called Daimler Backend Server — so customers can update their COMAND Online without going to a Mercedes-Benz dealer. An overview specifying the telephones on which the COMAND Online apps can be used is available at the website www.mercedes-benz.com/connect.

For sure, I am not the target group — as I use all those apps already on my mobile phone. But for everyone else, who is not such a nerd as I am, this is just a perfect way to get hands on the mobile internet.

Err ... wait a second ... can I jailbreak it?

Style Deluxe Opening Hamburg

A few shabby snapshots of Olli's shop opening (Style Deluxe Hamburg) I took with my mobile phone. The event was sorta family gathering — all the top nobs found their way to Style Deluxe's new location in Hamburg Bergedorf. Sourkrauts/Volksrodderz, BSG Racing, Faust & Heisler, Motoraver, Heliumcowboy, Jo Fischer, Cars From USA, Jens Dell´Ali, Carlos Kélla, Reinhard Garbers, Jules ... to name but a few.

Mr. Kaps, Mr. Cremer — Chapeau!

ADAC Trentino Classic, Italy

We just had a blast racing with Dirk Hattenhauer (Sonax, BSG Racing) in a souped-up 1977 Opel Ascona B through Italy (first photo). Our friends from Sonax invited us to accompany them on the ADAC Trentino Classic. To see all photos just hit one of the images above. Or follow this gallery link.

New Family Chromjuwel: 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5

I just bought a new family jalopy. A 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 (W 108 S-Class).

This car – which was owned and driven by Helge "Motoraver" Thomsen and Felix "Kiez Kustoms" Hertel before – is a stunning beauty. Perfect patina, superb (rocker-)résumé, Mercedes-Benz V8. I think I am in love ...

Back to Daddy

Blame it on me. I am a bad person. I abused my 1972 Pontiac "LeSupra" LeMans – I left it outside.

The reason for this inexcusable outrage is I was shilly-shallying how to proceed with this project. When I brought the Pontiac to Oliver "Style Deluxe" Kaps, our intention was to do some body modifications and to create a mind blowing paint job. But in the meantime we figured out that there was still too much technical work to be done. As it would be batsh*t to paint the car first and tear out the drivetrain afterwards, I said: "Er ... wait a moment, let me think ...". This moment took me far too long, which is obvious when you see the pictures above.

Another thing was that Michael Wolf, the Dr. Frankenstein behind this incredible engine swap monster, never finished his work. And it was also me, who is responsible for this. I wanted to drive that car, although I knew it was not finished. To cut a long story short: the car just returned home to West Coast Resto, so Michael Wolf can finish his masterpiece. Which was high time I did this.

10. Hamburger Stadtpark-Revival 2011

Just a few snapshots from the 10. Hamburger Stadtpark-Revival. For more photos follow this link. 

Again and again it is astonishining, how much Motorkultur is around Hamburg. And how much people are taking care of it. Impressive.

Mercedes-Benz & Friends, Berlin Tempelhof

Prior to their huge "Mercedes-Benz & Friends" event in Berlin Tempelhof we had the privilege of discussing with Mercedes-Benz what it takes to be a "cool" (Young Classics) brand. The meeting took place in a small circle in their stunning Berlin Gallery. As we usually travel long distancies in our 1970 Mercedes-Benz W 109 we might be a little prejudiced regarding that question ...

Just hit one of the images above to visit our "Mercedes-Benz & Friends" gallery.

Decim8

I think I've fallen in love. With Decim8. As everybody is applying retro or vintage effects to images, this handy little app decimates them. Yeop—it destroys them. It makes your images look like a "corrupt JPEG on a dying hard drive". 

If you are a fan of streamlined pop music, get a Hipstamatic. If you get inspired from Throbbing Gristle (video above), Frontline Assembly or Trent Reznor, get Decim8.

Mercedes-Benz Brand Workshop

A couple of days ago, we were invited by Mercedes-Benz for a "brand workshop". We had a fabulous guided tour through the stunning Mercedes-Benz Museum, visited the design department and test drove a lot of cars. Just follow this link for more pictures.

The first car we tested — voluntarily — was the Smart Electric Drive. We had a lot of discussions regarding this car recently, so it was a good opportunity to form our own opinion. Um ... well ... interesting. But to be honest: most fun we had with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. I think we can't hide our origin. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is a wonderful beast.