Video update: Eurocopter EC-155 & Alouette III takeoff

Today something totally different from Guitigefilmpjes' usual line of duty, taking it into the air this time.

Every day on April the 30th, the Dutch celebrate Queensday, during which the Dutch Royal Family visits two cities or town in the Netherlands. During the visit this year, the Royal Family chose the Royal Flight as their mode of transportation. For this purpose the Royal Dutch Airforce keeps four Alouette III helicopters for VIP-flights, painted in the blue color (blue representing the Royal Family). As the passenger capacity of these helicopters is limited, another civil helicopter (Eurocopter EC-155 Dauphin) joined the two Alouette III helicopters.

After having transported the Royal Family to their destination Rhenen, the formation continued to the airport "Teuge" (EHTE) near Apeldoorn for refuelling. In the video the formation can be seen departing the airport, heading back to their respective bases.

Tip: the video is in full-HD, please watch it in full screen for the best viewing experience.

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Video update: Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro

A short while ago, pictures of a Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro had been posted. Today the attention turned its spotlight on the videos of this 2012 Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro with 245hp.

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro Park Assist - Showing the working of the automatic park assist

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro MMI Touch - Showing the working of the MMI Touch system

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro walkaround - Exterior and interior shots of the car

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro Fuel Consumption Test - testing the fuel consumption under real life conditions

 Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro Acceleration - Acceleration test from 0km/h

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro Flatout - Putting the pedal to the metal on the German Autobahn 

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Mercedes Benz C-class W204 Facelift comparison

Mercedes Benz C-class (2009 / left) vs Mercedes Benz C-class Facelift (2012 / right)

In 2007 Mercedes Benz introduced it's new C-class, internally known as the C204. After 4 years Mercedes Benz gave the C-class a facelift (in German called Mopf = Modellpflege) updating several parts on the exterior and interior. These pictures are comparing these changes against each other.

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Picture update: Mercedes Benz C220 CDI Facelift

Mercedes Benz C220 CDI: €37.217,25

0 - 100km/h: 8,4 seconds
Topspeed: 232km/h
Performance: 170hp (125kW)
CO2-Emission: 117g/km

6-speed manual gear box: €0
Standard trim: €0

Palladium Silver Metallic: €916,30

Standard 16-inch 7 spoke alloy wheels: €0
Cloth black: €0

2-Zone automatic airconditioning "Thermatic": €0
Front seats heated: €380,80
Comand Online (Satnav): €3117,80
Linguatronic: €0,00
Multifunction Combi-instrument: €178,50
Attention Assist: €0,00
Multifunction Steering wheel: €0

Parktronic: €833,-
LED daytime running lights: €351,05
USB-connection : €?

Total price: €42.994,70

Prices are for the German market, April 2012

For the complete folder of the Mercedes Benz C-class Facelift (with several different cars), please click here.

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Picture update: Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro

From the outside, today's Audi A6 may look like the ones posted here before. Click 1 / Click 2. However, apart from the bigger engine (3.0 TDI 204hp vs. 3.0 TDI 245hp) and the Quattro all-wheel drive, this particular Audi A6 is equipped with some extra features, which are compared to the more standard features on the regular A6.

Phantom Black Metallic

Standard steering wheel (above) vs the sports steering wheel

Standard armrest (above) vs. armrest wrapped in leather

Normal MMI Navigation (above) vs. MMI Plus Navigation

Simple monochrome display (above) vs. full-colour 7-inch display

For more pictures of the Audi A6 4G / C7, click here.

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Fuel consumption: Audi A4 / A6 / Mercedes Benz E220 CDI

As the fuel prices continue to rise, the fuel consumption of a car is becoming a more important part of the operating cost of a car. On an early morning drive to work, during a general rush hour, I tried to see what fuel consumption could be achieved by driving as economically as possible.

This includes accelerating modestly, not driving at speeds above 130km/h (80mp/h), trying to anticipate stops by letting the car roll instead of braking and using cruise control as much as possible. The onboard computer was set to 0 before departing, although the largest part of the trip was made on the highway (including several kilometers of traffic jam), the value in the pictures also displays the parts driving in the city center at the beginning and end of the trip.

Possible some drivers are able to still lower this consumption, when the traffic congestion (lots of stopping and accelerating again) is taken out of the equation, it is probable that it will further reduce consumption. On the other hand, the onboard computer usually displays a lower consumption then really took place, but still I hope that these pictures will give you an impression of the fuel consumption of these cars.

Audi A4 2.0 TDI Avant (143hp / MY2011 / 6-speed manual gearbox/ diesel)

Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro (245hp / MY2011 / 7-speed "S-tronic" automatic gearbox / diesel)

Mercedes Benz E220 CDI Estate (170hp / MY2011 / 5-speed automatic gearbox / diesel)

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