Author Archives: Adam Denault

Vehicle 2 Vehicle Communications

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Last month Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America and the U.S. Department of Transportation launched the largest connected vehicle field in the world in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Over 2800 passenger, commercial, and transit vehicles were being fitted with 5.9GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) radios.

Mercedes-Benz, being a pioneer in automovite safety, considers innovations based on the 5.9Ghz DSRC technology, in combination with invehicle Advanced Driver Assistance Systems as an important step towards accident free driving.

The passenger vehicles have an LED indicator on the dashboard that will illuminate if an impending collision exists.  The commercial vehicles display warnings through tablet devices installed in the cockpit.  Local Ann Arbor residents will drive these vehicles over the course of a year, while researchers collect and analyze data to assess the systems effectiveness.

Mercedes-Benz continues to collaborate with government agencies and other manufacturers both in the U.S. and Europe and is currently heading up a similar project in Germany.

5 Years Ago…

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5 Year Employee Anniversary

It is hard to believe that this time 5 years ago RBM of Atlanta-North staff started reporting for training and to begin to prep the store for its October opening.  I remember walking in the first day and thought to myself there is no way we are going to be open in 2 weeks.  The showroom was a disaster area.  The sales cubes were in boxes, there were bucket lifts on the showroom floor, construction workers and painters were feverishly working to get the doors open.

The first week consisted of sitting at 8ft folding tables in a horseshoe shape completing paperwork and discussing the sales processes that were put in place.  The original sales staff was recruited from a variety of backgrounds ranging from Honda, Infinity, Nissian and Audi.  I was the only sales person with Mercedes-Benz experience.

Week 2 brought the start of product training by Mercedes-Benz and the drawing for our office cubicles.  This was a big deal as we were all starting fresh and had different ideas about which seat was the best seat in the house.  Once our cubicles were set up, it was back to learning online.  Mercedes-Benz requires dealers to maintain staff certification by completing a number of online classes and tests.

The inventory arrival…if I recall correctly we received 80+ cars and trucks in one day.  It was all hands on deck to help get the cars checked in by pulling the books and keys to get them ready for PDI (predelivery inspection).

Opening…the store had a soft opening on the first of October as planned.  It was almost like “if you will build it they will come” to quote the movie Field of Dreams.  The store opened and people showed up without much advertisement.  The official opening came a couple of weeks later in mid October once the last of the construction work was completed.

It’s really amazing looking back at how far the store has come in 5 years.  To quote our General Sales Manager “it (RBM North) is like a ball of clay, consistently being shaped and molded.”  In 2010 RBM North was awarded the first Mercedes-Benz Sprinter franchise in Atlanta.  RBM North also received the Mercedes-Benz “Best of the Best” award for 2010.  2012 brought the second smart car franchise in Atlanta to RBM North as well as being awarded the “Womens Choice Award”.

The future…the Mercedes-Benz brand is the best it has ever been with new cars and fresh designs.  I am excited to see what the next great innovation by Mercedes-Benz will be.  As for RBM North, our vision is simple, to continue to deliver the best of Mercedes-Benz.