TPAbnz

Here we are in Stuttgart and tomorrow’s the big delivery day at the factory in Sindelfingen. After such a long wait, I'm really looking forward to seeing the car (revised console and all).

It was a good omen to start the trip when our flight to Germany began with an excellent caviar service. With sunny but cold weather, our drive through the Alps and Austria should be fun.

In the meantime, I’ve never seen more Mercedes (of all ages) in one place than in downtown Stuttgart. I saw the new CLS and liked the look.

If anyone has a specefic question you'd like me to ask the E-Class delevery tech, post it here and I'll ask.

I’ll see how things go for posting delivery and factory photos, if anyone is interested.

glojo

Afternoon,
Thanks for the kind offer,
Could you possibly ask when the first new V6 CDI will be produced? Thanks very much and have a really nice trip.

Or should I say, "Have a nice day!"

Regards,
John
A cool sunny afternoon in Torquay

Oslo

Do I remember correct if this picture is the railway station opposite Graf Zeppelin Hotel?

TPAbnz

You have a good eye . . . it is a view from the Graf towards the Haupt Bahnnoff. The CLS on the street looked great but the interior looked very tight compared to the E. Also, the wood trim had a new matte finish that made it look like, well, plastic! The window price was Euro 64K. I'm glad that we're getting the E.

I’ll see what I can learn about new engine displacements for the gas and CDI.

If you want to see a lot of MB, this is the place!

khaug

Yes. There's an observation platform on top of the tower, just below the Mercedes star, which affords a great view of downtown Stuttgart. It's reqached by elevator from inside the RR station. Access is free.

GearHead

Hi TRAbnz

Thanks for sharing. If possible, can you inquire whether MB is planning to bring over CLK350 since the E350 has been released

Thanks and have a great trip

TPAbnz

Delivery day at the factory was quite a bit of fun. On arrival at the front door, a porter appears to take your luggage (and later load it into the car when you leave). Paperwork is next as they check you in. Among other documents, you receive the original Manufacturers Statement of Origin that shows you are the original purchaser directly from Daimler-Chrysler . I imagine one never sees this purchasing from the dealer.

There was some time to visit the MB gift shop before our tour began. There were lots of accessories (even men’s shoes at $1,000+) that are not available in the States. I kept things under control and bought a travel clock (in aluminum made to look like a 300SL dash clock), brushed stainless valve stem covers (my wife wanted to place bets on how long they’ll last back home in a parking lot before being boosted!), and a small die cast model of the car in Platinum Blue. New and old models were on display all around the visitors’ center.

The tour was next and I was surprised that it included walks on the various production floors. Production that day was a mix of E Class and CLS. Some of the interesting robotics were a giant arm (about 8' foot tall) that looks over the empty body and then goes in to engrave the VIV at various places (including under the front passenger’s seat). Perhaps the most interesting robot was the one that grabbed an entire dashboard (Command and everything installed except the steering wheel), presents the dash to another robot scanner, the glide the assembly through the driver’s door, then bolts it to the frame.

There seemed to be far more assembly workers doing hand work than I saw during a visit to Ford in Detroit. Everything seemed to be checked and rechecked as the cars went down the assembly line. I was told that MB keeps all assembly records for 15 years and traces which team or worker is responsible for failures. Warranty component failures are ultimately charged back to the part manufacturer. Assembly or workman errors are tallied for each of the production teams. Their pay isn’t docked but various team incentives are affected by poor results!

At the end of assembly, various team leaders give the car one last lookover before signing off on their work. Impressive.

Some interesting points: an E Class takes about 4 days to build; black, silver and gray (along with their variations account for 90% of all models; the Sindelfingen plant makes about 450,000 cars per year which includes the E, S, CL, CLS, and C Class cars; and about half of passenger engine production is diesel (diesel was the cheapest option at the pump BTW, about $5.20 per gallon).

Out of the hundreds of cars I saw being produced, not one of them was white. I was told that white used to be very popular in Europe during the 80's but is no longer favored since it is too close in color to taxis. The tour guide told me that it is so unpopular (and impossible at re-sale) that MB requires a 65% down payment before they will accept an order for one in Germany. I told the guide that I almost ordered white/ash and thought that it looked super on the E Class. He then said that white is one of the most popular colors for MB’s in Asia and the US. I felt vindicated on my preference for white cars!

After the tour MB provides lunch up to about a $100 limit (which was impossible to reach). It was superb.

After another round of paper signing, it was time to see the car. Needless to say, we were really excited and thrilled to see it in person. Since it was our anniversary, they had a large bow on it! Also, it was my first in-person view of the new console (which worked out fine). The tech told me that the new console is only made for the North American market and she thought it was a poor choice because of the lack of storage. She would not tell me any scoop as to when the 350 will be introduced (other than to say the company line of improvements are always being made). The German E-Class on the display in the visitor’s center had the slide in shelf in the glove box and the split door console. I’d like to order the shelf to separate the manuals but I have to wonder how much deleting the shelf, and other items, really saves.

Once things were explained, it was off to the shipping agent to arrange for transport home and pick up from the hotel in Munich. As other posters warned, I too got lost trying to find Harms shipping. Harms said that even the navigation system can’t find them!

It was then off to our first hotel stop in Bavaria which turned out to be pretty stressful. Daylight was so short (sunrise about 8:00AM and sunset about 4:15PM) that we were caught in nightfall AND fog. As we got within 5 miles of our hotel on a mountain top, the navigation system told us to prepare to turn left and then turn. Unfortunately, A left turn was off the road and the edge of the mountain! It took about 1.5 hours to find the hotel. On the way out, the command system gave erroneous instructions at this same point.

The gleaming new car eventually showed winter wear by the time we reached Austria and the Alps.

All in all, the car averaged 33.4 mpg, which isn’t bad considering the mountains, speeds over 100 mph, and city driving. Even at 100, some cars (like an S500 and an E500 I recall) flew by in the left lane and disappeared. And some disappointments cropped up too. Within the first 100 miles, the windshield washer stopped working and the auto headlights started to flash off and on (a message appeared to take the car to a workshop to have the sensor inspected). The drivers dash vent made a loud whistling noise when set to a different temp/fan than the passengers. I also thought that heated seats were included in the premium dynamic seat package but they apparently were not. Also, the car does not have the nifty brushed metal logo strip on top of the engine cover (shown by MB here, click on the engine thumbnail):

http://www.mbusa.com/brand/container...e=sedan&menu=4.

Does anyone have this?

But before long, it was time to say goodbye to our CDI at the hotel. Harms sent a porter to pick it up for truck transport to Bremerhaven and shipping to Jacksonville.

Mercedes does a fantastic job with the European delivery if you have the time. The savings were significant too – about 10.5% off US sticker.

Now the wait for our car!

ATS

Great story.. I felt like I was there.

Congrats on your new car, now get that salt off your car, lol..

konigstiger

Glad to hear you had a great time, informative ED critique. As far as the CLS interior wood finish I was told that when you order here in the states you’re given a choice between matt or lacquer finish – no additional cost. And you’re absolutely correct, the CLS does lack in rear seat room. Surprised that so many vehicles come off the assembly line with annoyances (I dare not say defects) with the checks and balances system you described. That said the very best of luck with your new CDI.

pa28pilot

Are you by chance referring to the Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe? My dealer mentioned that it was really easy to drive right past the entrance to that one.

TPAbnz

OMG, you'll be divorced if you follow the MB directions. BE CAREFUL going to this hotel. Get GOOD directiojns. Command AND MB directions are screwed up. How was your trip to Harms?

TPAbnz

OOOps, my wife wanted to add that you should look for the WALMART supercenteter on tour approach to the mountain. Great wine, food, bottled waters, etc.! We share your angst if you get lost but are sure you'll make it OK. Have fun.

pa28pilot

Well we're celebrating our anniversary too, so I suppose it's as good a time as any. :v

Haven't gone to Harms yet. we're getting ready to go this morning. Thanks a lot for the warning. I don't know what to think about the idea of the navigatrix (what we call our Alpine NAV system in the W123, because she's so demanding) telling us to drive off the side of a mountain...

I have a set of directions from Mappy (like Mapquest, but spiffier and for Europe). It says take the U24 to left on L84 to the B500 to Schwarzwaldhochstrasse.

I will find a human being somewhere to ask.

northbenz

Thanks for the account. I think I know exactly the spot where the Nav system led you astray. We got to a point on the road where the Nav said we were aleady there. I sensed from having been at the Schloss hotel on prior occasions that the hotel was above us and all we had to do was go backtrack until we found a branch of the road heading upward.