evilsaint

... to try and help beat a phony reckless driving charge levied against me today by some ornery utility workers. Please, if you can, help me find me a web page or document listing the original specs of the C32; it would be an enormous help. They don't have those excessively detailed information sheets of the specifications on the Motor Trend/C&D/Automotive/etc... web site "first drive/first review" pages, at least that I can find, or on any car review pages that I've found in three search engines so far... Even a scanned image of a physical page from one of the original reviews showing the times/distances for acceleration/braking to and from individual speeds would be perfect. Even a 2003/2004 review would work for all intensive purposes.

For the record (no pun intended), I know that some 24-year old kid in court with his lawyer bickering about with performance figures and "unproven" measurements are certainly a far cry from an expert witness. However, having gone to check out the site of the "crime", I can even tell from the pictures of the scene, let alone actually driving back over it a few times (a part of the neighborhood that I've lived in for 4+ years) that if I had really been going "45-50" where they said I was, that I would have ended up in somebody's living room.

The main thing I'm looking for is the distance and/or time to accelerate and/or brake to or from 45-50MPH. I've found 30mph and 60mph figures, but I'd *reallllly* like to narrow it down, so as to make it as simple as possible for the judge. I know I'm innocent, and I have a few others pieces of "evidence", versus the complainant's hearsay complaint and prejudicial witness, but having this info, along with the pictures that I've taken, would almost guarantee to cement my charge's dismissal, even with the coldest judge in the world. I can do the math myself, but something simple to physically disprove the allegations against me (flying by a utility truck at "45-50MPH" on a residential street 60ft before a stop sign and a 90 degree curve...) would be great. Let's hope the judge doesn't know what AMG stands for...

This is, of course, unless somebody knows a lawyer with tons of connections in Lake County, IL (or a judge, for that matter...), which would be divine intervention

Sorry if this is a double post, btw. I posted it before and I can't seem to see it anywhere, though it hasn't been deleted as I can pull it up in a search. If this is against the rules, somebody please PM me.

c32used

I believe the website www.C32life.com has actual specs but not sure it will have what you are looking for...GL!

FrankW

road and track has full review and spec. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&article_id=92

DarkXerox

I have the comparo sheet between the S4, M3, and C32 from R&T:

TemjinX2

here's a edmunds review of the c32 as well with there testing.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...rticleId=48643

DarkXerox

I'm not sure if there is an easy way to calculate it, but since the charts show a C32 stopping from 80mph in like 208 ft vs 112ft at 60mph, I would expect it to stop in like 80-90 feet at 45-50 mph. Dunno how that translates into p=m*v , but doing your physics homework might help your case. Or testing the car yourself on video in a safe situation might help.

cnchung

Conditions differ in each road test. How well will all these figures fit into your case and how convincing will they be to the judge?

evilsaint

That page is perfect, and just about exactly what I was looking for I'll probably cut out just about everything else, considering the ticket just says "2002 Mercedes-Benz C", but it should work perfectly, all things considered. I'm still hoping the complainant just won't show and I can ask for a dismissal, but you always gotta hope for the best and prepare for the worst...

evilsaint

The mud track on the road there is right about the middle of where the two trucks were parked, and the stop sign is, well, where I stopped

76 feet from 50MPH around the gentle curve, downhill, on a car with 60k+ miles on the stock brakes, while negotiating around two trucks taking up the right side of the street? I didn't think so either.

evo2turbo

I'm not sure of your exact situation and certainly am not a lawyer, but I would make sure to start by questioning the credibility of the witnesses (utility workers). As far as I know, they are not trained in visually estimating vehicle speed like police officers (supposedly) are. Start there, then show based on hard facts (ie track test results) how it would be impossible for you to be going to speed they claim. Then ask for the case to be dismissed on those grounds.
Good luck!

evilsaint

That's sorta where I was heading with it, plus the two notarized letters showing my locations and the times that morning that pretty much establish a timeline that according to their theory of "he left, he came back, then left again", would also not hardly have been possible, which would discredit 'em even more. Few other tricks up my sleeve, but those are locked down solid