I know I know..........it just struck me as hilarious! no worries mate!

 

I'm all taped up!

I should put that in my Sig.

 

I was actually LMAO as I was writting it. Just had to say it...

 

+1 and that's how i drive most of the time. not that i care but i just wonder how much more gas i burn every tank .

 

LOL

 

You guys have a ticklish comedy bone I see.

 

it's the subtle things in life you know??
doesn't matter the age......just the sharpness of the blade......
or some ish like that

 

This may be a long post because I find myself having several different thoughts on this subject.

First, let me say, I spent 14 years drving in Germany (3 tours in the USAF). All of which was in my young adult life. As a result, I got used to driving with the "pedal to the metal" due to lack of speed limits, especially on the autobahns. As a result, I am now 65 and I still like to go fast. As I have mentioned in earlier threads, I have a V1 in all four of my cars and couldn't live without them. One of them has a personalized license plate, "FSTLN." It is on a Corvette.

As for the Corvette. I have done some minor performance work to it (420HP, or 356RWHP with 362 ft. lbs. of torque). It has a 6 speed manual. It is very fast and torquey! However, it is not the fastest Vette around. It's a little like the ole west...regardless of how fast a gunslinger was, there was always someone a little faster. So it is with HP in cars. There is always one that's faster. Hell, I know some guys who have over 600 HP in their Vettes and drive them to work daily. In my opinion, that's ridiculous. But different strokes for different folks.

As most of you know, performance mods can become addictive. The amount of HP you create is directly related to the size of your checking account. However, there is always someone with a bigger checking account. It become a vicious circle. It doesn't matter if it is Corvettes or Mercedes, more money will always make it go faster.

Why did I buy a E350? Well, I have owned a total of 7 other Mercedes and I know their capabilities, albeit my wife drove most of them. I personally wanted a sporty luxury car with some pep for myself this time. This was September when I went looking, basically, leftover 2011s. When I get the "green light" from the wife, I have to act fast before she thinks about too long. That's a personal matter, I know that, but after 43 years of marriage, it still works. Anyway, my dealer had no 550's on the lot, which may have been an option, but they had this Capri Blue Sport E350 with exactly the options I was looking for. I drove it and the first impression was unbelievable that a V6 could perform like that. No American car with a V6 ever performed like that. I knew immediately, the acceleration and performance of this car would work for me.

Now, after adding the Sprint Booster, the engine responds magnificently. I am still learning to finess the accelerator on take offs to prevent "jack rabbit" starts. Does it perform like my Vette? No, and I never expected it to. However, it does exceed my expectations for a "sporty, luxury, high end automobile." I am a happy camper. I guess you could say, I can have my cake and eat it too!

Oh yes, "KA," I am very impressed to hear a guy under thirty with a philosophy such as yours. It's not always about HP, sometimes it's about a unique driving experience, and for the money, the E350 provides that in spades!

I always enjoyed the Corvette forum for over 12 years. During that time, I guessed I just lurked and read more than I posted. However, on this forum, you guys keep pulling me into these threads. I guess I am actually more of a Mercedes guy than a Corvette guy, at heart. As I have said in earlier posts, I do like all things German! I sincerely wish each of you a fantastic week.

 

I guess I just don't get the humor.... considering that I sometimes tell people that it's "tape" when they ask what's on my roof (or B-Pillars, or reflectors, or rear lights, or front bumper.... ) myself.... never got a laugh out of it.

Maybe I find it ironic the attempted slight comes from a 40 year old guy with ghetto wheel spacers to make his wheels look wider than they really are? Eh? This thing on?

Great post as usual, OJ. Totally agreed.

 

Really KA? getto wheel spacers? It doesn't make the wheel look wider then it is, it makes it look like I have the correct offset of the wheel which MB should have done from the factory. There are other guys on here that have spacers also, so you are insulting them as well. Now lets talk about putting black tape on your roof of a $57,000 car, thats just horrible. And there is nobody so far that I know of on this forum that has it. Maybe you should have forked up the money for a real pano roof, instead of one that you can't see out of. I bet you owned a honda with a loud exhaust at one time in your life also, thats about as bad as the tape.

 

Calm down "old man".

 

What do you actually mean here in this comment about how bad the Lexus is and what a POS it is. In the post asking about 17" or 18" wheels, you comment how well the Lexus glides over bumps and how smooth it is compared to your E. How can you write that when you say on this post, That the Lexus your driving feels unsafe. Which is it?? I think you only commented about what I wrote to start an argument like usual. Keep it up so others understand how you operate. Eveyone should go check out what KA wrote about the Lexus on the other post. Its pretty funny.

 

I'm sure this has more to do with just wheels, but right now I'm driving around a Lexus ES, and aside from a terribly disconnected and overly artificial ride that would make a hyperactive nut sleepy and make a 70's Caddy jealous with the wobble, it's a nice relief as to how I don't have to cringe and set myself up for shock when I see bumps in the road. The E's suspension is very comfy itself, but it just doesn't soak up harsh elements. Maybe it's due to the 18's? I dunno, but I do know that one thing I love about this Lexus, is how well it (and its 17's) glide over rough patches that would have my E terrified.
__________________
Here is what KA wrote... lol

 

You can take the tin foil hat off.

The ES is a painfully dull and disconnected ride. The steering wobbles, last night in the rain I had to do 40 on the Highway (yes, 40), 'cause I was terrified at how some puddles would "take the car". The interior feels passionless and relatively cheap, no lit glows at night around the dash and door areas so it's a pretty dark environment for a Luxury Car, the buttons and switches and overall feel is fairly flimsy and non substantial, the fit and finish isn't very impressive. The seating position is awful for someone of my height (6'4), as I can't get too "into the car", my head is sticking in the Pano roof opening, and the windshield is mostly under my line of sight. The styling is painfully dull and un-sexy and "Granny intended" that I kind of have to look over my shoulders to hope no one I know sees me in it (maybe I'm too vain when it comes to cars). I'm just not impressed with it.

However, it's smooth as butter, glides over bumps, and if you don't give a damn about the emotional aspects of car ownership or a connection with your car, and aren't too tall, it's a great driver, sure. And hey, passion and aesthetic are subjective to the person at hand, so some could certainly feel passion from it I guess (I just couldn't comprehend it).

 

where is that popcorn eating emocon?

 

Robb: You have a V8, isn't your car immensely faster than any GS available right now? Not to mention, the 2012's will blow any out of the water?

Also, please refrain from the bratty "if you're 45 or older" garb. Most buyers in this segment give a crap about HP, that's why BMW just lowered their HP and put a 4 banger in the 528i, and why the W212 is the highest selling car in its segment by a huge margin.
Ka,above

Dude,,, Really? I thought I offended you or others with my comment of 45 and older, and I appologized for it. And your not even 30. Then you say this,old man comment. Keep going, or not just insulting me in your posts, but now others also. Like I said, you just love to start arguments. Your about as cool as your tape.

 

I personally think that the new e's are great cars in most respects. Well made and rock solid, beautiful design, great colors and finishes, great engines and trannies(including the older 268hp v6 which has been maligned by some on this forum but I thought was a powerful enough torquey engine that you could step on if you needed to), nice solid comfortable interiors. Maybe the single best regular production Mercedes ever. I would agree with you about airmatic. This is my first car with it and I have never loved it. It doesn't have enough give over rough roads and thuds when you hit even a small pothole. High risk for bent rims and blowouts if you live in an area with crap roads like I do in the NY metro area. I went so far as to change to 17 inch rims and sacrifice handling to avoid more blowouts(I had a double heading into the Lincoln Tunnel a year ago). None of the cars in this segment are perfect, but the Mercedes are the ones I trust the most at this time. Audi has a terrible service history as do many BMW's. The Lexus has nice interiors and good reliability but drive like crap and are soulless. So I'll keep my e550 for now and live with a suspension I don't love but the overall package is the best IMO. And P.S., it's Valentines day. Kiss and make up with K-A, he's a stalworth of the forum. Regards. Ned.

 

Firstly, it was a cheap jab (joke) due to your and Hype's exaggerated laugh fest over a factual statement as to me having "tape" on my roof. If you want to bring the convo down to that level, maybe I'll just play along.

Secondly, your lambasting the V6 motor as something akin to a snail is illogical and untrue, yet you go on and on in this Thread as if the E is nothing more than an Horsepower statistic, and use a cheap "45+" comment as if all young people need exuberant HP so they can drive like d-bags on the roads. 270 HP is more than enough to be a nuance. Talking about it "losing to an Infiniti"? Really? Since when are M-B's gauged by Magazine Tests? If they were, then we're all badge ***** morons because we spend more money on "lesser" cars.

When MANY of us buy a Benz, we are not buying HP, or cone-dancing, we're buying the opposite. If M-B put 19's as standard on the car, they may just lose their very hallmark: Comfort (18's have already sacrificed that in a way). More HP is irrelevant to me, but sure, I'll take it if it's there. It absolutely has no relevance to my purchase decision, though, and that goes for most E buyers! How do I know? Because I paid a lot more for an E than for cars with more HP! Also, because the E350 is the Sales King in its segment! Also, guess what?! The 2012 E with 300+HP is selling similar to, and actually slightly less than the 268 HP E350! What does this mean? That the car is gauged the same by the majority of buyers, regardless of HP.

Reason this annoys me is because, although you DO have a valid argument, it's just ONE argument. Making it seem like the E-Class is lesser than a Kia Optima because of a measly and irrelevant HP statistic means you're missing the plot.


Well said as always, Ned.

 

I still don't like that damn lexus!

 

Well KA, I can put down the motor, because like I said in my previous post, I owned a 08 350 with that motor. That was in 08, and back then it was down on hp compared to others in its class. Now finally and how many years later they have a new motor and are still down on hp compared to others. That was my point.... My other point was that our navigation, command center, and screen size and definition is boring. This is my opinion like I said before if you would re-read. Maybe many people don't buy a car for Hp, but when it comes to brakes, electronics, suspension(coming from you), and performance, MB is a little behind. I buy a car for it all, safety, electronics, comfort, Hp/performance, style,etc,etc. Thats why I went for the 550 this time around because it had a little more Hp, and I wanted the airmatic suspension for the ride. If I could change one thing on my car it would be the nav screen size and ability to do more tasks. That would be it for me. Name one that You would change.

 

I don't either, I just said it wasn't that bad. You wouldn't catch me dead in a Lexus. Only car I would pick over mine is a E63 like yours. Love that car...

 

I get that, and they're justified complaints. To me, the final product of the E350, considering my wants and needs from it are met more-so than anything else near its price range (hence my buying it). I would be happy with upgrades on all those things you mentioned, but they probably wouldn't enhance my happiness with my car, as I never feel "let down" by any of them. I actually would be a lot happier with an enhanced Command Screen compared to more HP, as I wouldn't use the extra HP but would always see the screen. However, I'm not a bit "Tech junkie" when it comes to cars, which is probably another reason why the E met my needs over, say, the BMW F10.

All in all, I think the E is a superior car to many of these cars. The Magazine Statistics don't phase me, as they do little to nothing when I'm driving the car around town, or when I'm checking it out at a Dealer, etc. If it ever does, though, I'll definitely be the the first to flip the switch against my car and want to get into something else.

M-B is like Apple. They never beat their competitors on paper, but they charge a premium, and people buy them. Forget "Fanboy" mumbo jumbo.... it's the care and technic put into the product, *how it operates and makes you feel*, and the quality put into them. A lot of times, when a manufacturer looks best on paper, the final product just doesn't have that underlying quality. This is one reason I've always went with M-B and Apple in these cases. I never read the comparison Reviews, because I know after getting acquainted by them, it feels "right". They don't seem to give a damn about beating the competition in specs, but guess what? Braking, HP, etc. doesn't matter so much, because M-B always proves that their cars save the most lives (according to data at hand).

 

Well,, look at that, we can agree on something. Even though I would change some things, I am still driving a MB. I know I brought up that other cars have more Hp and better electronics, but I am a MB driver and happy about it. I've owned 5, and can honestly say that one time out of all the cars, my car was in the shop for something. That says alot and thats why I stick with them. The screen is my biggest complaint, because like you said that is what I see when I'm in my car mostly. I just expect the best when I'm in my car. Thats it.....

 

the only time I even use my screen is when I'm looking for a certain CD.....
it's literally off all the time...........
I didn't even set up the voice rec in my amg......it's just too stupid! I live without the features everyday......it's engine and brakes for me! and cd player too

 

Yeah I don't get wrapped up in the tech stuff in the car either. It's just not about that to me, but I do like some of the cool stuff that I do find necessary. I'm basically a simpleton when it comes to cars, and I think it's a good thing. It's gotta look good and be a good place to sit in, first and foremost. It has to inspire me and make me feel like I can own it "forever" and it'll always be fresh (timeless, classic inspired, etc.), be safe, have some amenities, etc. Getting so caught up in the "race" of wanting this or that gadget/HP/etc. ruins the fun for me, as I can't ever enjoy a car for too long. It's more of an emotional bond with me, which I guess is another reason that Magazine tests or statistics mean little.