bigh123

Hi All,

One of my surprises when I picked up my 2013 e350 was that the chrome grille is plastic. I understand they need to keep costs down to make a profit and other similar high end cars also have plastic chrome grilles. They should at least have it as an option to buy.

Are any high production luxury cars still made with metallic chrome grilles? Does the S class or others have chrome grilles? How much does it cost anyway to the price of the car to put chrome in?

It looks like some car makers are willing to put them on cars sold in China:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...179910560.html

BM2BZ

the money that some of the guys have in china, they can make the car out of 24k solid gold/platinum but still think that's not "high-end" enough .

bigh123

It's a bubble that will end in trail of tears for most.

hyperion667

haha, I hear what you're saying.........it wouldn't be a bad option....

norcal_cyclist

It's also a safety consideration for pedestrians. Most if not all the underpinnings in the front end are plastic too.

hyperion667

now that is actually interesting......hmmmmm.......
I still don't want to get hit by one, but I guess plastic is better.....
I think an OEM grill from the dealer is 500 and something....

norcal_cyclist

Yeah it'll still suck but it's better than being hit by a Tahoe because the seats are ooooh sooooo comfy the driver fell asleep.

MinnBobber

Yes, that and real chrome is very dirty to produce. MB wants to be as eco friendly as possible. I heard that Europe rates cars on "birth to death" rating of resources used (to build, to run, to dispose of after it's used up) and E class has better rating than Prius. So, another reason you get plasti-chrome.

MB vehicles are so green, the new ML doesn't even have an exhaust pipe showing so it must not have any emissions

Even with the plasti-chrome, the E front end is the hottest one out there!!

alanme123

Cant help but laugh

BenzV12

I agree

We did replace that grill in our Fleetwood with the chrome one as well . E&G Classic makes chrome grills and it is very heavy too lol
I believe W126s were the last to have come with the chrome grill

El Cid

Is it plastic or stainless steel? Many of the heavily chromed cars from the 50's and later actually used stainless steel.

Mbenz260e

Pre-facelift W124s have them, not sure about post.

I was disappointed as well but perhaps its a fuel savings thing too for better economy? As long as it doesn't start to look bad down the road I am OK with it I guess...

Live Oak

OK, then, is the hood ornament "MB star" made of metal or plastic?

BenzV12

I believe it's metal but older hood emblems that has Mercedes-Benz script on the bezel feels heavier when you hold it
In other words, it feels not as strong as the older ones but I like new styling because let's say W212 grill has a Mercedes-Benz round script that adorns it and star logo on the hood

bigh123

It would be nice if the hood emblem was a litter thicker around the star and stem.

bigh123

I would take stainless steel or chrome. Anyone every find a metallic grille aftermarket for w212?