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late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Originally Posted by jclboston
Here's a photo of the C450 at the Detroit show that I stole from Autoblog. Looks pretty bang on to me as far as how it should look. If anyone will actually be at the show, can you take very close photos? I imagine that some of the forum members here can use those to help convince the SA's at dealerships that poor fitment is not "just the way they all are."
That looks good to me & perfect seam down the fender line.
Porsche Macan S SportDesign / Ex M-B's: 11 & 10 & 06 E350's, 02 S500
Originally Posted by DBOC205
Are they serious with that badging?!!!
You almost have to wrap that into a paragraph..
Lol. Exactly what I thought when looking at that. The new S has it too. Worst badge-job I think I've ever seen.
Originally Posted by floridadriver
Such a great car design that obviously on the exception it can be built well....and we have like 7 variations of the W205 now? Could they have just done 2 or so to start and gotten those built right and somewhat consistently?
That's the issue when companies over expand. Dilution occurs in more ways than one. They literally can't put as much focus into perfecting every individual models. As a car enthusiast I wish a lot of these guys kept it smaller and simpler, putting all their efforts into making sure their core/focused products are with no compromises. Rather than trickling R&D across such a wide range of vehicles.
That looks good to me & perfect seam down the fender line.
I'd expect that the QA on a car going to a show is going to be FAR more detailed, but I think you have a great idea.
In addition, I think that the Alabama plant needs some serious management and QA "restructuring". "Made in America" is becoming a joke at this rate.
I'm sure that Alabama was selected because of its historically depressed economy and cheap labor and the ability to maximize profit for MB. The fact that MB hasn't inspected its own US plant production quality and taken action is highly irritating to me. MB, get it in gear and deal with the Good Ol' Boys post haste....the Alabama plant intelligence on this site alone should give you a clue that you are doing your company harm. End rant.
I'd expect that the QA on a car going to a show is going to be FAR more detailed, but I think you have a great idea.
In addition, I think that the Alabama plant needs some serious management and QA "restructuring". "Made in America" is becoming a joke at this rate.
I'm sure that Alabama was selected because of its historically depressed economy and cheap labor and the ability to maximize profit for MB. The fact that MB hasn't inspected its own US plant production quality and taken action is highly irritating to me. MB, get it in gear and deal with the Good Ol' Boys post haste....the Alabama plant intelligence on this site alone should give you a clue that you are doing your company harm. End rant.
Uh, yeah maybe you haven't been paying attention but the bumper fit and finish problems have been proven not to be limited to Alabama and the "good Ol boys". It's not a QC issue at this point but a design issue.
You're being tactful, Glyn. Are you feeling alright?
Seriously, if one uses that C450 show car as an example, very few rear bumpers on any W205 are really perfect fits. They always seem to be off in some place, either in too far or offset to one side. Then, the light rarely sits in there flush ... it typically protrudes at some point to some degree.
I should have taken pictures of the rear bumper of the S550 in my dealer's showroom. It's set up exactly like the W205, but the panel and light fit on that car was perfect. Both lights lined up perfectly with the panels, and the match between the panels was spot on. After my dealer adjusted my rear bumper, the panel fit looks great, but the line of the lights is higher on the bottom than on the top. It's minor, and you really have to look for it, so it's no big deal and I'm happy with the way it came out.
For a minor cosmetic issue, that seems all too common and has generated so many complaints worldwide, you'd think that by now someone at MB could have figured out how to get this done consistently right during the assembly process.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Originally Posted by StanNH
You're being tactful, Glyn. Are you feeling alright?
Yes ~ fit, well & bouncing off the walls. South Africans, Australians, Brits & some Europeans tend to call it the way it is with no hard feelings. It's a cultural thing. We are not very "sensitive" nations. Political correctness is not high on our barometer.
I'm a little more tactful than most having worked for a US based major oilco all my life. When living in Dallas & later Marin County Bay Area I was always impressed by US politeness of interaction. Maybe not in NY.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 02-14-2015 at 07:59 AM.
Yes ~ fit, well & bouncing off the walls. South Africans, Australians, Brits & some Europeans tend to call it the way it is with no hard feelings. It's a cultural thing. We are not very "sensitive" nations. Political correctness is not high on our barometer.
I'm a little more tactful than most having worked for a US based major oilco all my life. When living in Dallas & later Marin County Bay Area I was always impressed by US politeness of interaction. Maybe not in NY.
I can only repeat the phrase that is at the heart of my many years of marriage:
"You're probably right," usually works pretty well too, without technically being committed to agreement, LOL.
I'm taking my wife out for a Valentine's Day dinner tonight. I'll give your suggestion a try ... but if you don't see me posting here for a while you'll know it didn't go well.
I'm taking my wife out for a Valentine's Day dinner tonight. I'll give your suggestion a try ... but if you don't see me posting here for a while you'll know it didn't go well.
Well, don't hold it against me if she catches on and it doesn't work. It's Valentine's Day; what could go wrong?
I complained to my dealer and they are trying a test fix on one they have
in showroom. They asked me to go see next week to see I would be happy
with the fix they have done on the test model.
My brand new c300 has it's taillight alignment just a little off, no way of picture taking right now, but it's similar to the above pictures, just 2 or 3 mm off, but that much is quite noticeable in comparison to the fender fit, which is just about perfect. Dealer is looking at the fix for it. (after leaving my car in transport mode, he'd better).
After having a C200 (on loan) to drive around in for the past week, I've been getting a bit more familiar with the vehicle. Firstly I must state that I'm loving the car but it's disappointing to see the quality of the panel fit on this vehicle in its first year of production. The bumper I've already posted so I won't repeat and I don't wish to take the topic off onto another direction, but I just thought I'd share some additional images I took over the weekend. Two major areas that stand out on this car quite significantly are the fuel door and where the hood meets the front left-hand guard.
Have a look at the photos below - I mean I'm not chasing sub-millimeter precision here but this kind of fit and finish is better on many Asian-built cars. I know these are mass produced vehicles still, but I would've expected better from MB to tell the truth. I haven't seen any prior issues with the hood panel alignment before on this forum, so let us know if you're vehicle is also affected. This is an SA built car I believe.
My c450 has its left (driver side tail lamp) protruding from the bumper while the right(passenger) is smooth into the bumper. Was thinking of bringing it into the dealer ship. I didn't notice it in until I washed and dried the car off. Where I noticed the tail lamp wasn't flush with the bumper.
01-13-2015, 09:41 AM
