Finally - Delivery Today
07-26-2008, 09:10 PM
#51
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SLS Irridium silver,2014 GL350 BT Irridium, 2015 White Dodge RAM Hemi Quad
i actually had a good idea the other day, and want to look into it
(but mayeb a similar product already exists)
how about a magnetic plate frame???
not so much to put on while your driving but,
lets say you like the look with out the plate,
you drive without it
and then when you park in the street or something, you just take it out the car, and stick on on the front so you wont catch tickets
what do you guys think??
(but mayeb a similar product already exists)
how about a magnetic plate frame???
not so much to put on while your driving but,
lets say you like the look with out the plate,
you drive without it
and then when you park in the street or something, you just take it out the car, and stick on on the front so you wont catch tickets
what do you guys think??
07-26-2008, 09:39 PM
#54
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Steel Gray 09' C63 AMG
07-26-2008, 09:56 PM
#55
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'08 BMW 650ci
its gonna be a while for me!
my build is 1st week aug, so i should get it week 1 or 2 of sept
im really hoping someone will have posted one sooner
my build is 1st week aug, so i should get it week 1 or 2 of sept
im really hoping someone will have posted one sooner
07-27-2008, 03:54 PM
#56
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'08 CL600,'09 C63 (sld), '07 550i (sld), '08 VW , '04 X5 4.4 (sld), '02 ML (sld), '01 e46M3 (sld)
More pics and updated impressions
A few days in, I wanted to provide some more feedback on the car.
This really is a remarkable vehicle and not for the feint of heart. If you like anonymity, this car is not for you!
Everyone talks about the sound and they should. It is stunning. It's also a little obnoxious at times, but if I worried about that I would be driving a luxo barge. Just cruising along at 30 mph is a pleasure, the rumble coming out of the exhaust melding with the distant whine of the V8. Heads turn. Then you feather the gas pedal and all hell let's loose! The growl under moderate acceleration is incredible. I can't wait for 700 more miles so I can really hit it hard. Every bit as pleasurable are the downshifting throttle blips in S mode. Let me assure you, you'll be shifting up and down every time you find yourself under a bridge or overpass.
C mode has proven to be important too though. Driving along my local roads which is close to taking a car offroad thanks to all of the bumps and potholes, I've found it hard to maintain gentle and consistent throttle control in the more sensitive S mode. In C mode this is no issue at all.
Talking about road surfaces, a little more thought on the ride quality. Despite the 4 doors, the C badge and the silver star, this is not a luxury sedan, it's a sports car. With that in mind all of the concern over ride quality disappears. Is is firm? Absolutely! How does it compare with, say, a 911 with PASM set in comfort mode? The C63 is a little smoother. The pay-off? This car handles really really well. The steering feel is excellent and it stays beautifully flat through hard corners. For those with an E, CLS etc, you may still find the ride objectionable, but let's remember what the brief was for the C63 - being to move away from the big engine in a luxury car approach of AMG to-date (aside of their glorious pre-benz integration vehicles) and to provide a less compromised, performance based vehicle. This car is meant to be more hardcore. It is. They met the brief. After years of poor comparisons to BMWs, this car really shines. I've always considered myself a BMW guy. I've owned 4, including an e46 m3. This car out-handles them all and having driven the e92 M3, IMO there really isn't much in it in the handling department. In fact, I think the main contributor to the M3 often edging out the C63 is simply that the M3 chassis has a lot less power to deal with.
Funnily enough, driving the C63 has given me a new appreciation for the E92 M3. Ignoring the looks-dept (preferred the e46 bay far - also applies to the non-M version), the M3 is a glorious vehicle. As is the C63. In the end, neither is "better" - it comes down to which is best for you and what you're looking for. For me that happens to be the C63. As I mentioned a while back on this forum, if the toughest decision we have in life is between an M3 and a C63, life is pretty good!
Now an update on the MMI as I have had a chance to get more familiar with it. my impressions are improving. The ipod integration is OK, but no better. Thanks to others on this forum, I'm now able to control it through the dash, but the inability to use the nav screen is a gap. I like the CD changer being in-dash and love the Gracenote feature that is able to display the CD name and song names for most of my discs. I also really like the hard drive function. It's a breeze to rip CDs across and I think I'll end up using this much more than the changer or ipod. One slight annoyance with listening to CDs has been when I've accidentally brushed the back of my hand against the MMI controller when reaching for the C-S-M transmission button, resulting is forwarding about 3 songs by mistake. Annoying.
By far the weakest aspect of MMI is the phone integration. Why on earth they didn't set it up to automatically download your address book is beyond me. So, having spent quite a bit of time sending each individual v-card (my phone doesn't allow me to send all at once), I now find, because it used v-card formatting, that every name has all of these additional blank information lines that have no business being in a car address book anyway. Really dumb system.
My MMI conclusion is that it has some features I've not seen elsewhere, but IMO, idrive remains superior. While the downfall of idrive is the need to go through too many steps to perform a single task, the overall system is simpler to use, the force feedback is really nice, keeping your eyes on the road, and the phone integration is how it should be. Luckily for MB, BMW now seem to be messing things up with idrive anyway - the recent step to include the 6 or 8 programmable buttons is stupid - who'll remember what number corresponds to what task? Also, if you've seen pre-launch pics of the new 7 you'll notice that they added some Audi-esque menu buttons around the controller.... and then put the controller on the far side of the shifter so you can't see them anyway. Nice move?!
So, back to the beautiful beast. I'm quickly becoming a bigger fan of the seats. Tight? Yes. Bolsters running too far up the seat? Yes. Hold you in place? Fantastically! Cool? Absolutely. (The important question) would I switch then for another option, say E63? Not a chance.
I've also read quite a few comments about the interior quality. I have to say that for this class of car I think it's great. I think my color combo helps but the fit and finish is excellent. The woods with chrome edging is beautiful. The nappa leather is a delight. The shifter design and feel is terrific and I love the steering wheel.
So, I'm going to close in a risk way by providing some ratings. Let me first provide some context. These ratings are specific to what I personally desire from a premium ultra-sport sedan. e.g when I measure luxury, I'm not comparing to an S600 or Bentley, or when rating handling, I'm not comparing to a GT2 or F430. These ratings are specific to the class in which I think the C63 exists.
Engine - 10
Performance - 10
Sound - 10
Luxury - 8
Handling - 9
Comfort - 8
Amenities - 6 (heavily influences by phone integration)
Transmission - 9
Looks - 8
Overall feel of quality - 10
Gas consumption - refuse to rate - irrelevant in this type of car.
Subtlety - 1
Ability to get laid by a hot treehugger - 0
Overall Rating - 9
I hope this information is of interest. Feel free to share opinions and questions.
This really is a remarkable vehicle and not for the feint of heart. If you like anonymity, this car is not for you!
Everyone talks about the sound and they should. It is stunning. It's also a little obnoxious at times, but if I worried about that I would be driving a luxo barge. Just cruising along at 30 mph is a pleasure, the rumble coming out of the exhaust melding with the distant whine of the V8. Heads turn. Then you feather the gas pedal and all hell let's loose! The growl under moderate acceleration is incredible. I can't wait for 700 more miles so I can really hit it hard. Every bit as pleasurable are the downshifting throttle blips in S mode. Let me assure you, you'll be shifting up and down every time you find yourself under a bridge or overpass.
C mode has proven to be important too though. Driving along my local roads which is close to taking a car offroad thanks to all of the bumps and potholes, I've found it hard to maintain gentle and consistent throttle control in the more sensitive S mode. In C mode this is no issue at all.
Talking about road surfaces, a little more thought on the ride quality. Despite the 4 doors, the C badge and the silver star, this is not a luxury sedan, it's a sports car. With that in mind all of the concern over ride quality disappears. Is is firm? Absolutely! How does it compare with, say, a 911 with PASM set in comfort mode? The C63 is a little smoother. The pay-off? This car handles really really well. The steering feel is excellent and it stays beautifully flat through hard corners. For those with an E, CLS etc, you may still find the ride objectionable, but let's remember what the brief was for the C63 - being to move away from the big engine in a luxury car approach of AMG to-date (aside of their glorious pre-benz integration vehicles) and to provide a less compromised, performance based vehicle. This car is meant to be more hardcore. It is. They met the brief. After years of poor comparisons to BMWs, this car really shines. I've always considered myself a BMW guy. I've owned 4, including an e46 m3. This car out-handles them all and having driven the e92 M3, IMO there really isn't much in it in the handling department. In fact, I think the main contributor to the M3 often edging out the C63 is simply that the M3 chassis has a lot less power to deal with.
Funnily enough, driving the C63 has given me a new appreciation for the E92 M3. Ignoring the looks-dept (preferred the e46 bay far - also applies to the non-M version), the M3 is a glorious vehicle. As is the C63. In the end, neither is "better" - it comes down to which is best for you and what you're looking for. For me that happens to be the C63. As I mentioned a while back on this forum, if the toughest decision we have in life is between an M3 and a C63, life is pretty good!
Now an update on the MMI as I have had a chance to get more familiar with it. my impressions are improving. The ipod integration is OK, but no better. Thanks to others on this forum, I'm now able to control it through the dash, but the inability to use the nav screen is a gap. I like the CD changer being in-dash and love the Gracenote feature that is able to display the CD name and song names for most of my discs. I also really like the hard drive function. It's a breeze to rip CDs across and I think I'll end up using this much more than the changer or ipod. One slight annoyance with listening to CDs has been when I've accidentally brushed the back of my hand against the MMI controller when reaching for the C-S-M transmission button, resulting is forwarding about 3 songs by mistake. Annoying.
By far the weakest aspect of MMI is the phone integration. Why on earth they didn't set it up to automatically download your address book is beyond me. So, having spent quite a bit of time sending each individual v-card (my phone doesn't allow me to send all at once), I now find, because it used v-card formatting, that every name has all of these additional blank information lines that have no business being in a car address book anyway. Really dumb system.
My MMI conclusion is that it has some features I've not seen elsewhere, but IMO, idrive remains superior. While the downfall of idrive is the need to go through too many steps to perform a single task, the overall system is simpler to use, the force feedback is really nice, keeping your eyes on the road, and the phone integration is how it should be. Luckily for MB, BMW now seem to be messing things up with idrive anyway - the recent step to include the 6 or 8 programmable buttons is stupid - who'll remember what number corresponds to what task? Also, if you've seen pre-launch pics of the new 7 you'll notice that they added some Audi-esque menu buttons around the controller.... and then put the controller on the far side of the shifter so you can't see them anyway. Nice move?!
So, back to the beautiful beast. I'm quickly becoming a bigger fan of the seats. Tight? Yes. Bolsters running too far up the seat? Yes. Hold you in place? Fantastically! Cool? Absolutely. (The important question) would I switch then for another option, say E63? Not a chance.
I've also read quite a few comments about the interior quality. I have to say that for this class of car I think it's great. I think my color combo helps but the fit and finish is excellent. The woods with chrome edging is beautiful. The nappa leather is a delight. The shifter design and feel is terrific and I love the steering wheel.
So, I'm going to close in a risk way by providing some ratings. Let me first provide some context. These ratings are specific to what I personally desire from a premium ultra-sport sedan. e.g when I measure luxury, I'm not comparing to an S600 or Bentley, or when rating handling, I'm not comparing to a GT2 or F430. These ratings are specific to the class in which I think the C63 exists.
Engine - 10
Performance - 10
Sound - 10
Luxury - 8
Handling - 9
Comfort - 8
Amenities - 6 (heavily influences by phone integration)
Transmission - 9
Looks - 8
Overall feel of quality - 10
Gas consumption - refuse to rate - irrelevant in this type of car.
Subtlety - 1
Ability to get laid by a hot treehugger - 0
Overall Rating - 9
I hope this information is of interest. Feel free to share opinions and questions.
07-27-2008, 05:42 PM
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'08 CL600,'09 C63 (sld), '07 550i (sld), '08 VW , '04 X5 4.4 (sld), '02 ML (sld), '01 e46M3 (sld)
07-27-2008, 05:44 PM
#61
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'08 CL600,'09 C63 (sld), '07 550i (sld), '08 VW , '04 X5 4.4 (sld), '02 ML (sld), '01 e46M3 (sld)
Nah. Not a big fan of tints myself. I actually intend to keep the car stock. The only item I'd been seriously considering was wider wheels but I like the look of the stock rims more than any of the custom options - far more than I expected. I someone made quality replicas with additional width that'd be an option though
