carpersn

I have just discovered something that most of you may already know (if you care). I have a 2003 E320 wagon with Parktronic, which i have grown to love and depend on. I went to look at new 2005/6's this weekend and found that Parktronic is NOT available on the wagon! Isn't it logically more useful on a car which doesn't have a trunklid to look out over-i just don't get the logic. Anyone know anything more-dealer says cannot even special order.

CE750

I'm getting factory PTS installed this weekend by MBenzNL, so I'm sure he could solve that problem on the "Estate"

Can't wait!

SUNILP

even if the factory doesn't offer it with pts, you can have STEVE install it for you in the wagon.... even an 06 wagon

northbenz

It may be that Mercedes (for the US) is dropping Parktronic across the line for all E Class models to include the Sedans with the possible exception of the E55 in an effort to distance the E from the upcoming new S. Parktronic never has been that popular (i.e. dealer ordered) option on US E Class models anyway. While I have it and do use it when parking in the garage in the winter, it is probably an option I could otherwise live without by just hanging a string from the ceiling.

CE750

that would not surprise me one bit! with all of the dumbing down of the E I've seen lately. I had 9 CDI's to choose from when I got mine, and none had it.. Glad for Steve who's doing mine soon! I have a Volvo XC90 with it, and once you get used to having it, it's murder driving a car without it.. you forget you don't have it!

ATS

There was a funny story about Ralf Schumacher that I read. He used to drive for BMW and he got into a car accident in a parking lot. One of the best drivers in the world. The funny thing is that he was used to his BMW (his old team)parktronic and when he changed teams and went to Toyota, none of the cars he was using had it and he was backing into cars all over the place.. So, it shows how easily you can get used to having it..

Barry45RPM

It seems to me that removing Parktronic as an option on the E class has nothing to do with "distancing the E from the new S". What it really is, is MBUSA is acknowledging that the "Gee Whiz" electronic options designed by MB simply don't work well, and that MB Germany is incapable/unwilling to make them reliable, useable, dependable, and user friendly, so MBUSA, which is tired of fielding complaints from US owners, who KNOW that their friends who drive Lexus', all have these features on their cars that work 1st time/every time is simply deleting them, making them unavailable to E class owners.

The E class is a real seller in this country, so by eliminating the source of endless complaints, dealer visits & bad publicity on JD Powers Surveys, this is one way to improve the car's ratings. What they are doing (MBUSA) is making the cars similarly equipped to last century's E (W 210), where they were mechanically pretty darned good, but plain as a loaf of white bread, as far as "Gee-Whiz Technology". If you can make the more beautifully styled W 211 appear as dependable as the 210's were, that would be an instant fix for all of the "dependability" woes.

It is however, the wrong fix... Its quick but counter productive because it doesn't address the real problems Mercedes' (E Class) cars have, which is: Mechanically these cars are "Bullet-Proof". Stylistcally, a real work of art. Electronically, they are poorly designed, overly complicated... and the big secret is MB Germany appears NOT to be feverishly working to resolve these electronic design problems, and "clunky programming on those items where the hardware "works" except for poor programming, other than to patch them so that they appear to be working as designed.

While there is nothing that compares to the MB driving/ownership experience right now, Lexus will learn to emulate the "feel" of a Mercedes in certain of their models which they will be aiming squarely at soon to be former MB owners. (and NO, they don't have to last 10-15 years in this country, since almost all MBs sold here are 39 month leases according to my dealer!)

I can't for the life of me figure out why MBUSA (a very large purchaser of all of MB's production, therefore a VERY good customer) isnt demanding MB/DC get help and redesign the problem areas on these cars once and for all (Which will help MB throuout all of their models in the long run) instead of trying to sweep the mess under the rug, hoping to get buyers to be happy with a 20th Century car in a 21st Century world. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. ...People want Gee-Whiz, and there is NO turning back anymore.

CE750

Barry, have you contacted MBUSA on this? Cause I have.. and spoke to a CS Supervisor who just (effectively) nodded his head. I think its going to take a lot of us customers who're buying 50K+ cars, and possibly in the future, buying 100K cars.. to write/call them and let them know we're not going to roll over on the next car, for them to listen. This needs to make it to senior management at DC or it's not going to get fixed. Geewiz is a part of it, but so is competitive price/feaure ratios... I mean Vinyl seats at $55K?? common!

prprandall51

Barry, I can't believe this. Whilst I don't disagree with your hypethesis in general (disappearance of SBC-Stop and subsequent move from SBC altogether, for example) this cannot be the reason for pulling parktronic from the price list, surely?

Parktronic is standard, worldwide technology that has been around unchanged for more than 10 years now. Although I don't know who MB's supplier of parking sensors technology is, I bet that company provides it to three or four other major manufacturers, too (bound to be Bosch or Seimens).

Furthermore, I can't remember any threads that cast aspersions on the reliability of Parktronic.

Could it be to avoid litigation ("I reversed into this wall and the bleeper didn't go off, so it's your fault!")? Because it certainly isn't being pulled from European spec cars.

Philip

alewifebp

And when you consider that all of their competition has a parking aid system of some sort, pulling this feature would be stupid. Like many features, the dealers have to order them with these advanced features since most people buy off the lot. Most dealers order a few variations of cars, but not much else.

If you want to increase the popularity of Parktronic, inlcude it in the Premium Package.

CE750

Well, I went to the MBUSA site and tried to "Build a '06 CDI" with parktronic and .... no luck!

Looks like Steve (MBenzNL) will be busy with W211 PTS's soon...

carpersn

2006 BYO CDI DOES have Parktronic as an option...as do ALL E's with the exception of the WAGONS...obviously it's a design issue with the wagon (maybe the rear display doesn't work as it did in my 210...a reading lamp addition with displays built in).

And as far as I have EVER heard, and experienced, my 210 parktronic has always worked flawlessly....(unlike my mother's 211's radio & AC...)

The money and dumbing down issue comes up on the new R, where you CANNOT order Keyless Go on the 350, only on the 500...WHY not allow someone to pay you money for an option you already have capabilities to put in!!!! I'm starting to rant...sorry

ATS

It seems these deletion of items is MB USA as these features are all available in Canada and Europe.

CE750

I should have been more clear.. I meant to saw wagon not CDI.. I did the BTO wagon and it didn't have it.

Barry45RPM

I dont find the parktronic in my E to be as accurate or as dependable at "seeing" things as the ones on my 02 Caddy Deville. Sometimes they see the same object "too late" when compared to the previous park in the same location, sometimes too soon, some times not at all. The ones in the front ar more erratic than the rears & sometimes go off for no "apparent" reason (maybe I cant see the raindrop or snowflake) but I then have to turn it off for a while. Overall impression: Hate to say it, but not as good as GM's.

Even the "good" electronics are usually compared to another, less expensive manufacturers vehicle, and come up short in everyones posts on these boards. The basic vehicle is stupendous. The look of the 211 is almost Angelic in its beauty... The electronics goals are very lofty and admirable, the excecution at best is very mediocre... Very mediocre when compared to almost anybody elses. To me it seems that overall the "Benz Experience" of affording and driving these cars reduces us to being thrilled when an electronic system appears to function normally when it is turned on this time. Its almost like we are shocked that the A/C stays on in hot weather, or the CD player lists the proper track that it is playing. We lovingly call these outright defects "Gremlins" or some other cute name to reduce the hurt & shock at their failure.

If your pacemaker or ballpoint pen worked like the electronics in this car you'd either be dead or never get anything done.

On the other hand if MB designed the ballpoint pen, it undoubtedly would weigh 8 pounds, be made out of a hollowed out solid block of steel, lathed down to an almost suitable size, with an electronic point retracting mechanism which occaisionaly retracted the point without putting the pen down on a counter and retrying it in 5 minutes. (You also would have to hold the retractor button in until the point was completely retracted into the pen, as an added safety feature.) It would also have 6 different choices of wood grained barrel as options unless you wanted Blue ink, in which case it would cost an extra $1000., and you had to take the fine point only, not the medium point. Of course the refill would only be available from the dealer for $650. + $95 labor to install. UK spec versions of the pen would have the point and retractor buttons on the other ends of the pen from the rest of the world.

But then again Mercedes Pens aren't for everyone!

DWP

If Mercedes made a pacemaker, it would be of the finest exotic alloys and guaranteed to last for the life of the customer. It would also come with a remote control allowing manual adjustment of the heartbeat. Regrettably, the remote would allow adjustment of only 1 BMP up or down at a time, instead of skipping to your favorite preset heartrates.

http://www.thecollection.mbusa.com/c...DisplayIndex=1

Nevada Jack

Just for info (as you know carpersn)...while you can't get KG on the R350, you can get Parktronic on either the R350 or R500. I was told by MBUSA that the KG problem was related to the door handles used on the R500 (Chrome options) and the fact that a similar chrome option on the R350 did not allow for the KG on that model?

I also find it strange that Parktronic is not available on the E wagon.

ATS

So funny...

Barry45RPM

Test drive any Chevy with it. You will see how much more dependable, and consistant they work when compared to MB's. Not to mention GM's memory seats/EZ Exit feature, which works perfectly every time.

...Its not how much you spend on it, (the individual Gee-Whiz electronic option) its how well it works.

I will say though that MB's Voice Command option only rarely can't understand me, (even though I never "trained it" to recognize my speech) and GM's is simply maddening in its deafness and stupidity.