young

my impressions, well, it is older... felt older. current interior seems comparable/better than the older interior - everything. teeny little glove compartment, single wiper. cup holder is still overengineered.

but the most interesting thing i noticed was the hood ornament - like a targeting sight distracting to me but, i guess, if you're used to it, it is normal.

revstriker

I've never been in an older C Class. Does the hood ornament look different than on the current sedan?

When I was looking at some used cars, I came across an older C230. I did like the instrument cluster a little better than the current one (from just looking in the window). I guess I just favor the round speedometer and tach better. Now that I've had the 02 for awhile, the new design is starting to grow on me.

MarkL

I think Young has a coupe, so no stand-up ornament. I think the M-B hood ornament has been the same for at least 20 years.

revstriker

Thanks MarkL. I was just wondering if the view of the ornament from inside was different. On my old 76 MB, you could easily see the entire ornament, and where it attached to the front grill. On my current car, you can see the ornament, but the front slopes, so you can't really see where it meets the hood (at least, I can't from my sitting position). I wasn't sure if the hood on the older C was similarly sloped, or if it was more like my old MB (although I know that the ornament attaches to the hood, and not to the grill).

revstriker

Thanks Young. It does take some getting used to, but I kind of like the look of it.

MarkL

I "see" what you mean. Communication is no easy task . I also only see the top part of the ornament on mine. On an older design, with a flatter hood, it would be more visible.

Accord

I swear that MB spends billions on the R&D of their cup holders .

steve s

ahh...i remember the days when my grandfather's chauffeur used to take the emblem off the front hood when the car isn't used just so the thieves wouldn't get it.

MB-BOB

I must run in the wrong circles, but my co-workers seem genuinely impressed with the design of the cup holder.

Having driven several manual transmission cars with conventional donut hole cupholders in the console, I appreciate the idea that the cupholder rises from its storage then displaces to the right. What looks at first to be an exercise in overengineering is, IMO, a fruitful attempt to place the cupholder out of range of those changing gears manually.

Although this is a less apparent feature with an automatic transmision, my wife has remarked that I have fewer Coca-Cola stains on my shirt sleeves, now that I'm NOT resting my elbow on that 28 oz fountain drink.

MarkL

Personally, I don't eat or drink in my $35K car!

revstriker

The only complaint I have about the cup holder, is that the one closest to the driver will not take larger cups. I have a couple of big coffee mugs (I just can't start my day without some java for the road ) that are narrow on the bottom to fit into cup holders, but then are fatter on top. I have to use the cup holder on the passenger side for this which causes two problems. The first is if I have a passenger with a drink, they either have no place to put it (if they have the same cup size problem), or they have to reach around mine which could interfere with the gear shift. The second problem is that I never feel comfortable with the cup in the higher stand, as it feels kind of unstable. But so far, no spills.....

One more thing, I forget whether or not the manual gear shift is higher, but if it's not, I would constantly bump into my cup while trying to shift.

I do like the "Pop-up" feature though. Kind of silly, but whenever someone rides in my car and says "nice car", I always add: "and check out the cup holder!" as I "pop" it open.

revstriker

I wish I had the will power.....

Yeah, our chauffeur would do the same thing with the rolls! :p

>>I can dream can't I?<<

benzomonterey

The cupholders never worked in this car

But the 240D hubcaps are kinda cool

PS isn't there something all wrong with displaying the American flag and the Swastika?

DtS

Ehh, you guys make me really confused here. What kind of cupholders do you got in your cars? The only cupholder I have found in mine is the hole in the center console that appears when you pull that wooden-cover back. Same thing in the back seat. Just some plastic "holes" that can be pulled out from the center arm rest. You are talking about some over-engineered stuff, but to me, mine looks very, very simple. If you have some other type of cupholders than me, please post a pic of it/thiem!

Thanks!

revstriker

DtS, the cupholder that we have is located in the center compartment also. When you slide the wood cover back, there is a silver button that you press. The cup holder then slowly lifts up, and then flips over to the right revealing two places for cups. One is a hole into the center console (low), and the other is the higher one which flipped over. Is this not included on the Euro editions?

Hopefully my discription isn't totally confusing. If it is, hopefully someone will clarify better, or post pics if needed.

DtS

Thanks for your reply. I am not TOO confused, even though a pic maybe would clarify this a little bit . Guess the fancy kind of cupholder only comes standard on US-equipped cars. Too bad. I want one of those... Thanks again!

revstriker

I remember a few years back, some friends of mine from Germany were visiting me here in the US. Along with the normal American items that they wanted (Levis 501 etc.), they both LOVED the travel mugs that you could buy here. It seemed like everywhere we stopped, they would buy a travel mug. They even got one at the airport gift shop on their return trip home.

So I guess if travel mugs are not as available in Europe as here (although they could be now; this was about 8 years ago), then there's no need for them to be standard on cars as they are here.

Sorry if this story is a bit off topic, but I never really made that connection until now!

pixmation

1.5 MB video of the cup holder popping up.

MB Cupholder in action

revstriker

Nice avi. I thought for sure someone with a digital camera would go out and take a pic or two. Wasn't expecting full motion though!!

DtS

Wow! Talk about kind and helpful members on this board!!! Now things are perfectly clear! Thanks alot pixmation

pixmation

it's the handy feature of the digital camera that take small AVI video clips.

here is the stills for those have slow connection or don't want to download the video.

pel C

Anyone besides me download and watch the avi, knowing that you play with the stupid thing every day?

pixmation

are you referring to the stupid cupholder or the stupid digital camera?

revstriker

Yep, sure did! I bet you played it more than one time too!!

revstriker

LOL!!! All that for a cup holder video!! We really are obsessed!!

btw - I was thinking the same thing about the coin holder!!