An Organic Car That Returns to Compost

The Los Angeles Design Challenge, held as part of the Los Angeles Auto Show. This year's theme was "a car that is excellent in handling, has first-class design, and is ultra-lightweight at 1000 pounds (approximately 454 kg), while maintaining comfort and safety." The Mercedes-Benz design studio in Carlsbad, California, presented the concept car "BIOME" with an innovative vision.

The BIOME is grown from a seed in an organic environment, emits only pure oxygen when driven, and becomes compost or building material at the end of its lifespan.



According to Hubert Lee, head of the design center, "As the inventors of the automobile, we wanted to envision the perfect car of the future that coexists completely with nature. The BIOME grows like a leaf as part of the natural ecosystem."

The body is made of a super-lightweight material called biofiber, weighing 875.5 pounds (approximately 394 kg). This material is lighter than metal or plastic and more robust than steel. The powerplant is the "bionnector 4534" housed within the biofiber chassis, interior, and wheels. It is an innovative organic car where solar energy and liquid fuel directly provide power.

BRAND HISTORY
When tracing the history of the automobile, the pioneers we arrive at are two Germans: Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. It goes without saying that these two men independently created gasoline-powered automobiles between 1885 and 1886, laying the foundation for automotive society. The automotive companies they founded were sometimes seen as rivals, but to overcome the recession after World War I, they joined forces, and Daimler-Benz AG was established through a merger in 1926.

The name "Mercedes," given to the products, originated when Emil Jellinek, a Daimler customer, had it named after his eldest daughter in exchange for undertaking sales outside of Germany. It was registered as a trademark by Daimler-Benz in 1902.

Thus, Mercedes, and subsequently Mercedes-Benz, has always led the way in automotive development, continuously introducing cutting-edge technologies such as the safety passenger cell, airbags, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), and Night View.