Mercedes-Benz revs up its smart, connected car efforts (photos)

Mercedes-Benz delivered its first CES keynote today, led by Dieter Zetsche, chairman of parent company Daimler. He focused on car-sharing, electric vehicles, new driver interfaces, and a future focused on "auto-mobility."

Here's one of the vehicles to grace the keynote stage, the Mercedes-Benz F125 concept.

Click on for more photos from the event. Or see our summary post on how the event unfolded.

Also onstage is the Car2Go ride-share vehicle, which has been tested pretty extensively in Europe and select U.S. cities.

Geoff Day, director of communications at Mercedes Benz USA, kicks off the event, asking audience members to tweet questions for a question-and-answer period.

Zetsche then takes the stage and out rolls the brand new SL coupe.

"A car is a personal declaration of independence," Zetsche says. He carries the themes of connectivity, freedom, and independence throughout his speech.

He touts Mercedes services and apps stay up to date with the Internet. "Mercedes is currently the only OEM who offers [a safe Internet connection in the car]."

Zetsche then moves onto ride-sharing efforts. "Some colleagues still think that car-sharing borders on communism," he says, with this picture of Che Guevara towering over him. "But if that's the case, viva la revolucion!"

He also says future Mercedes cars will have a telematics app called CarTogether that can help drivers find people with whom to share rides.

Of course "emissions are one thing; congestion is another," he adds, leading to an update on Mercedes efforts to better manage traffic data.

Using GPS data from smartphones can help identify pain points ahead of time. "The connected car is a proactive car," Zetsche says.

His final message and "personal favorite" is that cars are fun, and will be even more so. "To be truly successful, a car has first to deliver its function and then [deliver] excitement."

He closes with a new "declaration of automotive independence: the best days...are yet to come," he said, touting "life, liberty and the pursuit of mobility."