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Mercedes-Benz, don't we all just love this iconic marque? When we look at the models available for a specific class, then, is what we see the only models made by Mercedes-Benz. Or do our national franchise decide what models we like and what models we do not like?
I have been on the USA configurator for the E-class estate and it might well be old age but the only vehicle I could find was the 'All terrain'??? What about the AMG-Line, Avantgarde, 4Matic, the E-class hybrids both petrol and diesel? Indeed what about all the diesel variants as Mercedes has gone back to the silky smooth straight 6 turbo-charged diesel. I think you are offered the proper AMG estate but I confess, I failed to check on that variant.
Mercedes-Benz USA and our national franchise decide what we like, and what we do not like and no two countries are the same. Before this latest facelift, in the UK we could have black 'plastic' interior or black 'plastic' interior although Mercedes prefer to call this 'plastic' as man-made leather. I wonder if we will ever see cows with this new 'skin'? After a dodgy start with the facelift 213 where the UK could only have the black leather interior, they have repented and offered black, grey and beige but NO Nappa options. Regarding the trim, the USA trumps us yet again as in the UK we can have the black trim, or the black trim. Yup a $70,000 car and you have no choice of trim whatsover. Mercedes-Benz UK told me this was decided after extensive market research????? I believe them no cow manure. My guess would be that these so-called market researchers were asking folks that had just parted with their wad of dollar bills if they were happy with their car and its features. "Do you like that stunning black interior of your car sir?" Does anyone believe the buyer would say it is rubbish?
I do not understand why road legal options and features are not available world-wide? If you want nappa leather interior then why not select that option? It is just a tick in a box which gets fed into a computer.
I believe that beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder and to me this new 213 facelift does not do anything for me. The grille for me makes the front of the car look sad. When I was looking at this thread I saw a beautiful E-class estate car was it described as an 'Executive'? Whatever it was called it had a stunning chrome grille that really screamed 'Mercedes-Benz' a beautiful car and clearly this owner loves their car.
Right, less waffle and more action.
I was more than a little displeased with what Mercedes-Benz UK were offering regarding options and features for the E-class and rather than sit on a fence and whinge, we figuratively got on our bikes and order an E-class through a main dealer in Belgium.
The UK told us we could only have the diesel hybrid estate, no choice regarding the petrol-powered variant. I am a HUGE fan of diesel-powered Mercedes vehicles but I hate being told what I can have and cannot have and YES the petrol hybrid estate is available in Belgium. Nappa leather interior with burred walnut trim neither of which is available in the UK. Another feature we wanted is the garage door opening option and yup, tis available in Belgium but not the UK We had huge fun getting features that we were told were 'No longer available for the E-class' What tosh, what lies and shame on Mercedes NOT available in the UK, but yes this is our car and note the steering wheel is on the correct side of the car Just me having fun. You can see the UK estate and how sad it looks and does my vehicle have some input from both the S-class and the Maybach. NOTE how our car has the bonnet gun-sight
'We are told our car is being collected from the Belgium main dealer today and if this happens then we should have the vehicle on maybe Monday
Mercedes-Benz USA and our national franchise decide what we like, and what we do not like and no two countries are the same.
It is called politics and is working 2 ways.
When I buy Mercedes cars for money savings and seek diesels, the diesels highly admired by European cabbies never made it to America.
That is due to MB USA politics to keep the brand with luxury image, when European citizens take them as taxi cabs.
So I am on the fence. On one side I was drooling over cheap 40 mpg wagons I could see in Europe, but on other I don't think I would like to drive car taken for a taxi.
I have only seen *ONE* other 'luxury', 90%+ of the already pretty rare wagons are 'sport'. ditto on the sedans, 9 out of 10, maybe more than that, have the sport package.
03-11-2009, 11:31 AM
New E Class commercial - I am a Hippie!
We had huge fun getting features that we were told were 'No longer available for the E-class' What tosh, what lies and shame on Mercedes
