The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class

"Hamburg, May 15, 2013. This evening, the new flagship for luxurious motoring landed in Hamburg on board an Airbus A300-600 DHL cargo plane. Mercedes-Benz had the new S-Class flown in exclusively from its birthplace in Stuttgart for its world premiere at Airbus in Finkenwerder.

At the delivery centre for the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft and a benchmark in travel comfort, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its new luxury saloon in front of around 750 international guests from the worlds of politics, industry and media. Flanked by the 20 current Mercedes-Benz models and musically accompanied by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the new top-of-the-line model from Stuttgart rolled across the tarmac as part of a spectacular show.

In a dazzling display, it took up its position at the head of the Mercedes-Benz family and drove onto the stage with its first passenger, the global superstar Alicia Keys."

BAM!

Even after a couple of days, it's hard to find the right words. Although I am personally not a fan of high tech stuffed cars, the new S-Class with it's three engineering priorities "Intelligent Drive", "Efficient Technology" and "Essence of Luxury", extends the boundaries of technology on many levels.

Not to mention the fact Mercedes-Benz threw a mind-blowing party. Five German star-rated chefs specialising in different culinary styles each cooked their own dish, Alicia Keys had come specially to Hamburg just a few days ahead of the start of her European tour. And with 19 musicians under conductor Prof. Johannes Schild, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra played various pieces that had been specially composed for the world premiere of the S-Class by the internationally successful film composer Marius Ruhland.

Chapeau, Mercedes-Benz.

Continental X Chromjuwelen: Videos

It has been long overdue that we compile a video of all our brand ambassador media work that we did for Continental. From our early (awkward) beginnings 'til now. So, here it is. Enjoy.

In this context I would like to send out a big thank-you to all the people who made this happen (in alphabetical order): Carsten Brix (cinematographer), Dean Malay (deluma productions), Dennis Petermann (autobild.tv), Christian Suhr (Filmfreunde) and Jan Wigger (cinematographer). And of course to Kai Rühling (Continental) — who wasn't afraid to handle our neurosis. Props go as well to JC Chaix, my personal "Principal Word Basher" aka "Ralf's Crazy Shit Dept.". Dude, you know what I am talking about.

In this context I would like to add two more videos: A short version of "Continental Extreme" and a Chinese bootleg of our "Chromjuwelen Road Movie". The first one was compiled because the full version of Continental Extreme may be way to long to catch the message, the second one was done by our Chinese colleagues of Continental.

If if you like our videos — follow our brand-new (re-activated) YouTube-Channel!

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl Debut At Techno Classica Essen

What an experience. A few days ago we had our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl debut at the famous Techno Classica, the legendary "Klassik Weltmesse" in Essen. And it was AWESOME.

Our big THANK YOU! goes to our friends Michael Schade and Wolfgang Prostka from OETTINGER Sportwagen, with whom we teamed up for our booth. And to Ulla & Mathias Jahn of "FUNC. functional furniture etc" — for sending us their unbelievable furniture. And — of course — to all our friends who visited us.

We had a very entertaining week. But the best thing ever were the confused faces of all those, who thought Chromjuwelen Motor Öl is just another marketing fake.

No. Chromjuwelen Motor Öl is not just another internet hipster gimmick. It's just the best custom tailored motor oil you can get for your classic engine. For all details visit chromjuwelen-oil.com. To order your set (15W-40, 20W-50), pay mathy.de a visit. And if you are a reseller — drop us a line!

Magnus Walker, Höing Sportmotoren & Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

Blushing — thank you very much Carlos Fernandez Laser!

Magnus Walker, Höing Sportmotoren & Chromjuwelen Motor Öl via Conleys.

Style Deluxe: Bell Rock Rod

When Oliver Kaps told me the first time that he'll build a stretched Hot Rod, I was like: W-T-F. And I suppose everybody thought "W-T-F" as well. Beside Olli himself. He was always sure it would look awesome. Now, as the rod is finished, I know I was wrong. The car is a beauty. Although it has been stretched.

Mr. Kaps picked up a 1931 Chevrolet as a basis. And if you are familiar with the German TÜV, you'll know what it means to get such a monstrum street legal. Ok, it wasn't easy all the time, but Olli accomplished it. Chapeau!

The Bell Rock Rod was built for the Bell Rock Hotel (Rust Europar Park). You'll find a lot of details on Olli's site — just follow this link.

(Photos: Carlos Fernandez Laser)

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl X Oldieklinik Bruckner (Austria)

It's official — we just teamed up with our first partner in Austria: Bruckner's Oldieklinik. For us it's a major honour, especially as Otto Mathé, the builder of the famous Porsche-based "Fetzenflieger"and the racing legend who developed the additive (Mathé® Classic), came from Innsbruck, Austria. 

Sorta homecoming.

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: Top Gear Magazine, Petrolicious

I love my inbox (not). I just rediscovered this photo Clemens Gleich (mojomag.de) sent me — over a month ago. The reason why I turned my back to my inbox (and overlooked this Top Gear Magazine photo) is we shut ourselves away to build a brandnew Chromjuwelen Motor Öl website, which you might have seen already. If not — shazam, HERE IT IS. 

You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Ok, and while we're on it, I forgot to say thank you to Wrenchmonkees as well. Darn, I am an idiot ... 

Well, with this one I will be much faster: our soulmates from Petrolicious just presented our tailor mad engine oil to their audience — thank you very much, Barmak!

Mercedes-Benz: Die G-Klasse von 1979 bis heute

Darn it! Now I am hooked. And want a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Especially as I sold my Mercedes-Benz W 108 in 2012.

Anyway — Thank you very much for sending me "Legendewagen — Die G-Klasse von 1979 bis heute", Mercedes-Benz!

Google+ Communities

"Google+ Communities" is the new kid on the block. And although a lot of people think Google+ is dead, we think it's worth a try. As of shortly Google's tools felt clunky and geeky, but in the meantime that has changed. The web-interface is smart, and the new mobile app is a killer. No more fiddling with different apps, just one intuitive and snappy client.

Beside from that the quality of communications quality on G+ is very high. Which is perfect for our intention, as we aren't interested in just another blinged and artistically-filtered food porn flash in the pan. Our intention is much more to create cultural (Think: Motorkultur!), long-tailed storytelling.

You wanna join the party? Follow this link!

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: Print

ramg Magazin 2012

Wallpaper Magazine 2012

Elle Dezember 2012

Edition – Das Werte Magazin (Nummer 3, 2012)

auto revue 2012

Street Magazine (November 2012)

PowerGlide Magazine 2012

Eigen Huis & Interieur (November 2012)

Volkswagen Fleet MagazineWhen we thought first about "Chromjuwelen Products", our intention was create products which embody a certain type of lifestyle. The mixture of Chromjuwelen Motor Öl in print — auto revue, Edition, Elle, Eigen Huis & Interieur, Fleet Magazine, PowerGlide, ramp, Street Magazine, Wallpaper Magazine — shows we reached that target. Yeah!

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl can be ordered here. If you are looking for some further information about Chromjuwelen Motor Öl, follow this link.

Dear Auto Industry, It's time To Roll Up Your Sleeves And Get To Work

Our friends from Amy & Pink just posted this Rammstein video of "Mein Herz brennt". There's one sentence in Amy & Pink's article, which made me laugh:

"Etwas, das dein großer Bruder, der jetzt um die 40 ist, hört, wenn er an seine Exfreundin denkt, die ihn wegen Torsten, dem stellvertretenden Filialleiter des lokalen Tengelmanns verlassen hat." (Rough: "Something your 40 years old brother is listening to, when he thinks of his ex-girlfriend — who left him for Torsten, the manager of the local supermarket.")

A moment later the laugh sticked in my throat.

For some time past we are asking different automotive industriy, marketing and media decision makers about the average age of their readers and clients. And without the ability of attesting it — the average age seems to be something between 35 and 50 years. If not even higher. Once again, this is just a gut feeling. But it seems car enthusiasts are at the least 40+.

So – compared to Amy & Pink's article – are (we) car enthusiasts just as the above mentioned old (fashioned) brother? Recapitulating the majority of our meetings we had with the German Auto(motive) Industry recently, I would go so far to say: Yes, we are.

Here are some more interesting details. Sorry for linking to German articles, but I am sure — if you ask a search engine — you'll find similar articles written in your language as well:

• Adolescents prefer smartphones/communities to driving licenses.

• (Maintenance) costs for automobiles are way too expensive.

• Media usage behavior is changing dramatically and irretrievably. Which means: Ads and offers don't reach younger people.

• Brand values are in danger to age (and to die) — as they aren't connected to younger, inspiring (lifestyle) scenes.

• It seems more than a few decision makers don't understand the opportunity of converting a brand into a sender. Which is crucial at the moment.

• Journalists/bloggers mutated into rat racing SEO-bots. But will search engines reach a younger – and much more skeptical – target group?

• ...

Ok, there is one (courageous) star in the (media) sky which gives hope, because he is doing a lot of things properly. But what about the rest? And what about the auto industry suppliers? If the trends will prove to be true — will any younger person ever be interested again in the product differences of tires, dampers, wheels? The risk of being buried in oblivion is high.

Dear Auto Industry: Awake – Dein Herz brennt. It's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Bethink yourself of your core (brand) values and start communicating — but be aware of all the filters that are installed to avoid annoying advertisement. Please start surpriseing us again — like Tesla does, like Car2Go does. But stop acting that stony. 

If you need any help, let us know.

Two Car Shows On Two Continents In Five Days

Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

Wolfgang Würth, smart electric bike

smart electric bikes, Niketown, Beverly Hills

The Jim Henson Company, smart forjeremy

Jet-lagged and tipsy: Mathias "MC Winkel" Winks and some muppet

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 Coupé, LA Auto Show 2012

Decadent lunch with Marcel Winatschek (Amy & Pink), David Fischer (Highsnobiety) and Mathias Winks (Whudat)

"A brand is your friend" — Word.

Slammed W108 with mascara (caption borrowed from Clemens Gleich)

Now, with a Chromjuwelen branding, this Opel Kadett is worth over a million. No — wait: Five millions.

Bon appétit!

Yes, you can. You can visit two car shows (LA Auto Show, Essen Motor Show), three world premieres (Mercedes-AMG SLS AMG Coupé Black Series, Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force, smart forjeremy) and several parties in five days. Here's a quick journal:

• Tuesday, November 27th (early): HAM-FRA-LAX

• Tuesday, November 27th: Arrival Los Angeles

• Tuesday, November 27th: Beverly Hills on smart electric bikes

• Tuesday, November 27th: Presentation Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force

• Tuesday, November 27th: Presentation smart forjeremy at the Jim Henson Company

• Wednesday, November 28th: LA Motor Show

• Wednesday, November 28th: Santa Monica

• Wednesday, November 28th: Departure (LAX-MUC-DUS)

• Tuesday, November 29th: Arrival in DUS

• Tuesday, November 29th: Dinner with Chem-Tools

• Friday, November 30th: Essen Motor Show 2012, meetings

• Friday, November 30th: AUTO BILD Race Night

• Saturday, December 1st: Essen Motor Show 2012, meetings

• Saturday, December 1st (late): Back in Hamburg

• Sunday, December 2nd: BRAINDEAD

• Monday, December 3rd: BRAINDEAD

What I learned: You need a really good condition (err ... really?). And some good friends, who help you.

I would like to thank Mercedes-Benz/smart for the hospitality, Klaus Rasch for saving me from the police in Santa Monica, Thomas Backe and Dieter Hofem for picking me up in DUS, Manfred Prescher and Stefan Müller for the wonderful Race Night — and DOTZ/AEZ for gallons of coffee.

And not to forget — thank you David Fischer (Highsnobiety), Mathias "MC Winkel" Winks (Whudat), Marcel Winatschek (Amy & Pink), Michael Kaune (QVEST) and Matthias Arens (Quality) for teaching me lessons in "Lifestyle, Ego-Blogging and Fashion"!

smart forjeremy: Haters Gonna Hate

The smart forjeremy rises

Jeremy Scott: "Few can afford"

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam aka M.I.A. aka "Missing in Action" aka "Missing in Acton"

Dr. Annette Winkler (smart), Jeremy Scott

Landed: smart forjeremy

Winged smart fortwo electric drive

White

smart electric drive forjeremy

I have to admit I didn't know who Jeremy Scott was when Mercedes-Benz/smart invited me to join their exclusive "smart forjeremy" event in front of the LA Auto Show 2012. A quick search later I learned that he is a fashion designer who has built a reputation for outrageous designs favored by pop stars and celebrities: Madonna, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears — just to name a few.

Shame on me, but I am no fashionista. I may know some things about Winged Warriors, but neither I had heared about "The Wing(ed) High Tops", nor about the "Teddy Bear Shoes". As well I am really awful at things like pop music. After some of my diehard old school petrol heads heared that I would fly over to Los Angeles to watch the presentation, I saw a lot of scrunched up noses. "A guy who is into gaudy fashion is doing a car? And he is doing what — a winged plastic car? Are you kidding me?"

Well, I think the smart forjeremy is cool. And let me explain, why. The fact, that a car manufacturer — in this case: smart — cooperates with an artist — in this case: Jeremy Scott —, impresses me. It is sovereign and courageous, because it creates something new. And for smart it is long overdue to get such a remix, if you ask me.

And regarding those who dislike this project: You know how it is — haters gonna hate. It is always the same. But if you've got haters, you'll probably have done some things right …

Where The Wild Things Are: Our Latest Stockists

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Red Wing Store (Hamburg)

Oettinger Sportwagen (Hamburg)

Burg & Schild (Berlin)

Burg & Schild (Berlin)

Oldtimer-Tankstelle (Hamburg)

Oldtimer-Tankstelle (Hamburg)

FUNC. functional furniture etc (Feldafing)

FUNC. functional furniture etc (Feldafing)

Previous articles like "In The Wild" and our Facebook-Page (make sure you follow it!) are already listing some of our stockists: Rider's Room Hamburg, Prototyp Museum Hamburg, Oldtimer Tankstelle Hamburg. In the meantime we teamed up with some more specialists, as shown above. We are very proud to introduce:

• Burg & Schild (Berlin)

• FUNC. functional furniture etc. (Hamburg)

• OETTINGER Sportwagen (Hamburg)

In this regard we would like to thank one person: Tobias "To" Pflug – as not only for showcasing our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl in the Red Wing Store Hamburg and consulting us, but also for providing us with his very valuable contacts.

Hemi Ride

Drivestyle.

In The Wild: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

The other day we made our debut with our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl. In the wild, at the Oldtimer Park Hamburg. We are still thrilled, to be honest. It is a huge difference to see a ton of your products at one place, after you played around for a long time with a handful of home-made dummies. Wow.

As well we were priviledged to shoot some campaign images at the Prototyp Museum Hamburg, where the "Fetzenflieger" lives — Otto Mathé's famous racecar we are showing on our label. As I wrote before – if you will ever be in Hamburg, make sure to pay the museum a visit. It is gorgeous. And — btw —the Prototyp Museum sells Chromjuwelen Motor Öl ...

I would like to thank some people: 

• Ronald Szasszer for inviting us to the Oldtimer Park Hamburg and giving us his 1957 Porsche "Ed Parlett" 356 Speedster

• Helge "Motoraver" Thomsen for providing his 1973 Ford "Mad Max" Falcon XB GT Coupe for our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl booth

• Daniel Dimpker (24helmets.de) for showcasing Chromjuwelen Motor Öl at the Stadtpark-Revival Hamburg

• Michael Schade (Oettinger Sportwagen) for the perfect neighborhood

• Everybody who joined our premiere of Chromjuwelen Électrique at the Oldtimer Park Hamburg

At the moment we are working hard on shipping the Chromjuwelen Motor Öl to our stockists and finishing our "Online Store". Tragically one thing turned out to be more tricky than we thought: shipping the oil to the States. The freight charges kill us. So — if somebody reads this who wants to act as an distributor — please shoot us an email!

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: Ready To Ship

Finally. We just launched an online store – which means Chromjuwelen Motor Öl is ready to ship.

At chromjuwelen-oel.com you will be able to order our products via a fulfillment partner next to you. At the moment we are looking for a partner in the US – as we are getting overwhelmed with inquiries. If you have got an idea who might be a perfect partner for our Chromjuwelen Motor Öl – don't hesitate to shoot us an email!

@ the rest – what'cha waiting for!

Chromjuwelen Électrique: Full Version & Bonus Videos

Not all that long ago we made a self-attempt: we eBay-ed a 1964 Imperial Crown and drove it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas – and back to Los Angeles. As you can imagine, we had a blast. You will find the video here. This time we switched to the other extreme: We travelled in a smart fortwo electric drive from Paris to Le Mans (Classic). Yup. Battery-driven. Of course – we know this electrified fellow isn't made for long distances. Even worse – we knew it will not be easy to find enough charging stations. But hey, that exactly was the challenge. If anybody of us speaks fluent French? Er ... no.

My favorite scene? Arthur's tribute to Stephen Brooks and all the dubstep video jockeys at 09:38.

Chromjuwelen Électrique features:

• smart

• Mercedes-Benz Classic

• Blenheim Gang

• Chartres

• Le Mans Clasic

• Frank Jacob (Springbok Sportwagen)

• Jochen Maas

Music:

• La Horse

• "Getting Along"

• mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape

• szoll

• "broke"

• soundcloud.com

• Tarpans

• "Rivers"

• mercedes-benz.com/mixedtape

• Advencher Club ft, Kai

• "Need Your Heart"

• soundcloud.com

• Edvard Grieg

• "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - I. Morning" (performed by Musopen Symphony Orchestra)

• musopen.org

• EmoShock

• "Kaboul"

• soundcloud.com

All filming & editing: Faust & Heisler. For a full (German) Travelogue visit chromjuwelen.com.

Chromjuwelen Motor Öl: THANK YOU!

It seems we did something properly – as we are getting such a tremendous feedback. We are turning as red as a beet and would like to say THANK YOU to everybody who is supporting us!

• AUTO BILD KLASSIK (Print; 09/2102)

• Blenheim Gang: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Cool Hunting: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• The Dieline: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Designbote: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• For Love And Glory: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl // The Beauty Of A Genuine Product

• fubiz.net: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Gear Patrol: Chromjuwelen Classic Car Motor Oil

• Motoraver: Das läuft wie geschmiert

• notcot.org: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• Packaging Of The World: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl

• The Pixeleye: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl — Pre-Order Now!

• race-dezert.com: Chromjuwelen Motor Öl — Pre-Order Now!

• Stipistop: Otto Mathé feat. Chromjuwelen

I am sure there is more on it's way — I will update this article regularly.

A special THANK YOU goes to Oliver Schmidt and Thomas König, as they are not only supporting us with Otto Mathé's "Fetzenflieger" for our packaging, but also opening their awesome Prototyp Museum Hamburg for our shootings. If you ever come to Germany — make sure you will visit their beautiful museum!

X-RAY MAGAZINE: Hamburg – City Of The Classics

Im Vollbildmodus anzeigen

Im Vollbildmodus anzeigen

The other day x-ray magazine ("fashion business intelligence") asked me if I would like to write an article about "Motorkultur in Hamburg". What a question — of course! This is not only a perfect opportunity to present Hamburg amongst the other featured cities Los Angeles and London, but a good way to thank all those people and places who inspire me every day.

If you ever were looking for a perfect Motorkultur travel guide regarding Hamburg, here it is: Hamburg – City of Classics (English; page 64-67), Hamburg – Die Stadt der Klassiker (German; page 64-67).

Featuring (in alpahbetical order): 

• 20 Flight Rock

• Artistocrat (Zsolt Machat)

• Hafenbahnhof Hamburg

• Hamburg Harley Days

• Hamburger Stadtpark-Revival

• Heliumcowboy Artspace (Jörg Heikhaus)

• PLY (David Einsiedler)

• Prototyp Automuseum Hamburg (Oliver Schmidt, Thomas König)

• Queen Calavera

• Rider's Room (Sven Eden)

• Oldtimer Tankstelle (Alex Piatscheck, Jann de Boer)

• Jules Wenzel

 In this regard I would especially like to thank two persons: Oliver Breitwieser for taking all photos, Sven Wiesner for slamming his Rostkäfer. And yeah, needless to say: I <3 Hamburg.