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Old Feb 11, 2009 | 02:15 PM
  #376  
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Deconstructing tuscanraider of the lost debate

Originally Posted by Improviz
But Japanese are the most reliable. So why don't you want one if reliability is your paramount concern?

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
never said reliability was paramount...did I? i just said MB doesn't have it.
Actually, you said that Cadillac has better engineering and quality than Mercedes, both of which are belied by actual repair histories submitted by actual owners.

So, as I said: as usual, you're spewing uninformed nonsense, and cannot back it up.

Moving on:

Originally Posted by Improviz
1) you costantly attack Benz owners for their perceived "superiority", yet you yourself owned an entry-level C Class. Why did you limit your choice to a BMW or a Mercedes when you can get much more practical, non-Japanese cars for the money?

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
I try not to support the japs. Cad didn't have the CTS sport package when i bought.
So you're saying you're what, a racist? Nice.

But aside from this, it begs another question. You constantly ridicule people here for buying a "prestige" brand, and yet you seem to confine yourself to "prestige" brands such as BMW, Mercedes, and Cadillac.

So why then do you ridicule others for purchasing Mercedes when you yourself only consider such brands? Clearly there were other American cars available when you bought (supposedly) your C Class; why did you limit your search parameters to these brands, only to turn around and ridicule others for doing the same thing?

You needn't answer, it's quite obvious that you're as hypocritical as the day is long.

Originally Posted by Improviz
2) why won't you buy Japanese? Clearly it is not due to quality concerns, so why is it won't drive one ? This seems particularly odd in light of to your overriding concerns about reliability, given that Japanese cars are typically the most reliable brands in survey after survey...could PRESTIGE be an issie? Enquiring minds want to know!
Originally Posted by tuscanraider
see above
Racism above.

Originally Posted by Improviz
3) you claim that Benzes "aren't special". So why did you buy one, given that you seem to think it has no differentiation from a garden-variety Ford Focus? Why didn't you buy a Ford Focus given that it is just as special as a C Class? Why didn't you buy an Audi or BMW given that, as you put it, their 'fit and finish are infinitely better than Benz"? Don't you consider fit and finish when you purchase cars, or look at competitors to compare?
Originally Posted by tuscanraider
It's common knowledge in the industry in this segment, Audi is tops on cabin design and finish. Go sit in one, you'll be enlightened. Do we really need to re-hash the handling and performance of the 3-series. C'mon its better than MB. Drive one.
Cabin design != fit and finish. And if this is common knowledge, again: why didn't you buy one? Audis were available when you supposedly bought your Benz; why didn't you get an Audi? And why did you, who ridicule those of us who own cars in the luxury segment confine your search only to cars in the luxury segment?

There is real cognitive dissonance here, friend....even if you don't admit it, it's pretty plain to see. It's just patently ridiculous of you to make snide remarks about people choosing to drive a luxury brand when you, yourself, chose from among luxury brands.

Originally Posted by Improviz
Or is it you're just spewing out uninformed rubbish to try and annoy people?
Originally Posted by tuscanraider
i got the C because there are entirely too many 3 series around. i think thats the 3rd time i posted that....capice? RIF dude...Reading is Fundamental.
Yes, it is. So why not re-read my question, and your answer, and tell me where it is exactly that you answered it? I asked you why you chose a C Class over a Ford Focus: no answer. I asked you why you didn't choose an Audi: no answer. I asked you why, if you feel that Mercedes' "fit and finish" are infinitely worse than BMW and Audi, you didn't buy a BMW or an Audi: no answer. I asked you if you consider fit and finish when you buy a car: no answer. I asked you why you didn't consider other brands aside these three, given that you seem to think it's ridiculous for people to buy "prestige" brands: no answer.

Originally Posted by Improviz
To wit, my last question:
4) can you quantify how Audi or BMW have "superior engineering" to Mercedes?
No answer, as expected.

So basically you on one hand confine your automobile searches to prestige/luxury brands, yet ridicule those of us who do the same, and who riidicule the reliability of Mercedes for being bad, yet loudly proclaim Caddy engineering to be better, despite their being worse than Mercedes in reliability surveys of actual owners. And to top it off, you assail the reliability of Mercedes' cars while stating that reliability is not an issue for you.

As I said: this is obviously not about any of these issues. Sour grapes, projection, and class resentment are obviously the prime factors here.

Keep shoveling, this is funny.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 02:29 PM
  #377  
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[quote

I sat in a new CTS-V a few weeks ago and the interior was definitely more luxurious than the C63 I test drove last month. I'm not brand-loyal so having owned a previous generation CTS-V is not why I am stating this. Go sit in one yourself and you'll be impressed (unless you have already made up your mind of what you think without even seeing one).[/quote]


I hated the old CTS-V. I dont like the interior of the C63 either. The CTS-V is much better interior wise. Its nice looking also but with GM in the hole I personally would stay away from it. I would much rather pick up a second hand Corvette for about $20,000 and drop a supercharger into it. Or just do what my neighbor did when he was choosing the CTS-V or Corvette. He picked up a second hand Z06 for $30,000 and put some upgrades on it now it makes 800bhp on his Dyno.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 02:43 PM
  #378  
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Originally Posted by SeattleBum
I've been searching everywhere to find the report that says the new CTS is one of the least reliable upscale cars out there. Everything I keep seeing is that it is ranked well above most European cars. It won C&D's Car of the Year award in '08. Can't be all that bad... BTW, remember that the current CTS came out in 2008. The previous CTS isn't even in the same league.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...ndablecar.aspx

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com...-Midsize-Cars/
Well now, let's see...the second link you provided gave no reliability data for the CTS, and the second uses JD Power, which is a) funded by the auto industry, and b) was done using survey data for 2005 MY automobiles, wherein all defects were given equal weight (i.e., wind noise is just as bad as a blown engine/tranny); weighted surveys, which assign more weight to items that cost more $$$ to fix, are better, as they allow a more realistic assessment of ownership costs. I would suggest you try here for a 2009 weighted survey based upon ALL MY cars from 1999 to present:

http://www.consumerreports.org/

There, you will find data by manufacturer which backs up what I wrote earlier; if you find a discrepancy, please post it.

For the Cadillac CTS, they have data for 2003 thru 2008. By year, the car's overall reliability rating is as follows (w = worse than average, mw = much worse than average, and a = average):
2003 = w
2004 = a
2005 = w
2006 = mw
2007 = w
2008 = w

And the CTS is one of the more reliable cars in their lineup.

So again: my point was NOT that MB is The Gold Standard of reliability (as noted, I've already criticized them for poor reliability elsewhere in this forum), but rather that for tuscanraider to hold Caddy up as some sort of pinnacle of engineering compared to Mercedes, given their poor reliability record, is pretty laughable.

Originally Posted by SeattleBum
I sat in a new CTS-V a few weeks ago and the interior was definitely more luxurious than the C63 I test drove last month. I'm not brand-loyal so having owned a previous generation CTS-V is not why I am stating this. Go sit in one yourself and you'll be impressed (unless you have already made up your mind of what you think without even seeing one).
I already stated that I think the CTS has a better interior than the C Class and that I test drove one late last year. I also stated that these have zip to do with reliability, and they still don't.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 03:15 PM
  #379  
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Originally Posted by Improviz
Actually, you said that Cadillac has better engineering and quality than Mercedes, both of which are belied by actual repair histories submitted by actual owners.

So, as I said: as usual, you're spewing uninformed nonsense, and cannot back it up.

Moving on:



So you're saying you're what, a racist? Nice.

But aside from this, it begs another question. You constantly ridicule people here for buying a "prestige" brand, and yet you seem to confine yourself to "prestige" brands such as BMW, Mercedes, and Cadillac.

So why then do you ridicule others for purchasing Mercedes when you yourself only consider such brands? Clearly there were other American cars available when you bought (supposedly) your C Class; why did you limit your search parameters to these brands, only to turn around and ridicule others for doing the same thing?

You needn't answer, it's quite obvious that you're as hypocritical as the day is long.



Racism above.



Cabin design != fit and finish. And if this is common knowledge, again: why didn't you buy one? Audis were available when you supposedly bought your Benz; why didn't you get an Audi? And why did you, who ridicule those of us who own cars in the luxury segment confine your search only to cars in the luxury segment?

There is real cognitive dissonance here, friend....even if you don't admit it, it's pretty plain to see. It's just patently ridiculous of you to make snide remarks about people choosing to drive a luxury brand when you, yourself, chose from among luxury brands.



Yes, it is. So why not re-read my question, and your answer, and tell me where it is exactly that you answered it? I asked you why you chose a C Class over a Ford Focus: no answer. I asked you why you didn't choose an Audi: no answer. I asked you why, if you feel that Mercedes' "fit and finish" are infinitely worse than BMW and Audi, you didn't buy a BMW or an Audi: no answer. I asked you if you consider fit and finish when you buy a car: no answer. I asked you why you didn't consider other brands aside these three, given that you seem to think it's ridiculous for people to buy "prestige" brands: no answer.



No answer, as expected.

So basically you on one hand confine your automobile searches to prestige/luxury brands, yet ridicule those of us who do the same, and who riidicule the reliability of Mercedes for being bad, yet loudly proclaim Caddy engineering to be better, despite their being worse than Mercedes in reliability surveys of actual owners. And to top it off, you assail the reliability of Mercedes' cars while stating that reliability is not an issue for you.

As I said: this is obviously not about any of these issues. Sour grapes, projection, and class resentment are obviously the prime factors here.

Keep shoveling, this is funny.
You're somewhat dense, so if things need more explaining I'm here to help. I often times need to work with inferior minds (upper management) so I have the blessing of patience. So I'll caveman it for you.


I said Audi & BMW have better engineering. Need I reiterate AGAIN why i didn't get BMW? In retrospect you're right i SHOULD have gotten an A4.

Why not a Ford Focus? Because i was looking at Sport Sedans. Get it? Ford Focus no in that category....Ford Focus is commuter car... unga bunga....sport sedan = BMW, MB, Audi, Lex, Inifint....the older base model CTS's were trash, and i told ya I'm not buying from the land of the rising sun.

Seriously dude, if you're a lawyer that's funny. I wouldn't advise anyone to hire counsel to represent themselves vs. you. It's not needed.... a GED and a JC Penney suit is about your equal. Or perhaps they should just roll up in a Benzo and you'd be as mesmerized as a 1yr old watching baby Einstein.

Last edited by tuscanraider; Feb 11, 2009 at 03:35 PM.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 03:40 PM
  #380  
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Originally Posted by Improviz
Well now, let's see...the second link you provided gave no reliability data for the CTS, and the second uses JD Power, which is a) funded by the auto industry, and b) was done using survey data for 2005 MY automobiles, wherein all defects were given equal weight (i.e., wind noise is just as bad as a blown engine/tranny); weighted surveys, which assign more weight to items that cost more $$$ to fix, are better, as they allow a more realistic assessment of ownership costs. I would suggest you try here for a 2009 weighted survey based upon ALL MY cars from 1999 to present:

http://www.consumerreports.org/

There, you will find data by manufacturer which backs up what I wrote earlier; if you find a discrepancy, please post it.

For the Cadillac CTS, they have data for 2003 thru 2008. By year, the car's overall reliability rating is as follows (w = worse than average, mw = much worse than average, and a = average):
2003 = w
2004 = a
2005 = w
2006 = mw
2007 = w
2008 = w

And the CTS is one of the more reliable cars in their lineup.

So again: my point was NOT that MB is The Gold Standard of reliability (as noted, I've already criticized them for poor reliability elsewhere in this forum), but rather that for tuscanraider to hold Caddy up as some sort of pinnacle of engineering compared to Mercedes, given their poor reliability record, is pretty laughable.



I already stated that I think the CTS has a better interior than the C Class and that I test drove one late last year. I also stated that these have zip to do with reliability, and they still don't.

I don't have access to the CR data so I'll just have to take your word for it.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 03:52 PM
  #381  
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Oh Boy.....this is going nowhere fast.

Old Feb 11, 2009 | 05:00 PM
  #382  
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This Thread is getting GAY and Fast! No disrespect to gays!
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 05:17 PM
  #383  
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EFF YOU JACKIE
I see the boys are at it again. Hey here's a thought. WHO GIVES A *****! If you want a caddy, buy one have fun, if you want a Benz, buy one, have fun. I currently own Both BENZ and BMW and have had Audi's, porsche, ferrari, ford, jeep, etc, etc. Um.. I lost my point, kind of like this thread...

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Old Feb 11, 2009 | 06:01 PM
  #384  
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Originally Posted by ldangeli
I see the boys are at it again. Hey here's a thought. WHO GIVES A *****! If you want a caddy, buy one have fun, if you want a Benz, buy one, have fun. I currently own Both BENZ and BMW and have had Audi's, porsche, ferrari, ford, jeep, etc, etc. Um.. I lost my point, kind of like this thread...

Well aren't you the baller.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 09:45 PM
  #385  
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Aww, looks like I hurt wittle baby's feewings....

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
You're somewhat dense, so if things need more explaining I'm here to help.
Nice...getting killed on your lame hypocritical arguments, you turn to the age-old "you're proving my arguments to be wrong and stupid, so I'lll just call you names" technique. Won't work: you're providing me with waaay too much ammo.

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
I often times need to work with inferior minds (upper management) so I have the blessing of patience. So I'll caveman it for you.
Well, you're obviously a low-level employee, judging by your taste in cars...is this at the local Dairy Queen, I take it?

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
I said Audi & BMW have better engineering.
You can say the moon is blue too, but this doesn't make it so. You are not The Final Word on Car Manufacturers' Engineering capabilities, and in fact are not an engineer in all likelihood, so what you think about their capabilities, or lack thereof, is nothing more than an uninformed, subjective opinion, unless you can quantify it somehow with something slightly more concrete than the excuse proferred by the monkeys in "The Jungle Book", namely "It's true because we say it is!".

I've challenged you several times to stubstantiate this bogus claim, and you've demurred, meaning that you can't, and you know you can't. Thus, you've been proven to be a blowhard and a liar.

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
Need I reiterate AGAIN why i didn't get BMW?
No, and you've also made your anti-Japanese racism quite clear as well. Of course, you have YET to explain why it is that you, who constantly accuse members of this forum of some smug sense of superiority for daring to drive Mercedes Benzes, confined your search ONLY to Mercedes and its competitors.

Why? To fulfill some smug sense of superiority?

You've stated that Mercedes "isn't special". So fine, you bought a car which "isn't special", which has "infinitely worse fit and finish than Audi and BMW", etc etc etc....which means that either you're a fool, a liar, or both. I vote both.

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
In retrospect you're right i SHOULD have gotten an A4.
Because of its "superior engineering", which you've yet to establish.

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
Why not a Ford Focus? Because i was looking at Sport Sedans. Get it? Ford Focus no in that category....Ford Focus is commuter car...
Lol, you truly are ignorant. Ever hear of this? That, my ignorant PITA, is what you call one o' them thar 'merican sport sedans! And it just so happens to be....drumroll, please...it's coming:

A FORD FOCUS!!!

An SVT Focus, to be sure; in its hatchback two-door form, it won this non-sport hatchback shootout at edmunds.com, which they interestingly titled "Sport Hatchback Comparison Test". They seemed to be very impressed with its handling, stopping distances, track performance, etc...

But what does edmunds.com know about cars? And what does car & driver know, for that matter? They thought it was pretty sporty as well. As did those know-nothings at Motor Trend when they tested the Ford Focus SVT sedan.

Gawd, this is like taking candy from a baby, figuratively *and* literally.

Moving on, let's see now: so you, who spend all of this time assailing people for driving Mercedes and not American cars, wanted a "sport sedan".

Which is why you bought a C230, which does 0-60 in what, about the same time as the non-sporty Ford Focus SVT? I guess you have a different definition of "sport" than most of us...I mean, did you not happen to know of the C320? Sheesh...

But how do you, oh Oracle of Orifices, define a "sport sedan"; please, enlighten us:

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
unga bunga....sport sedan = BMW, MB, Audi, Lex, Inifint....the older base model CTS's were trash, and i told ya I'm not buying from the land of the rising sun.
Because you're a racist, you've made that clear. Nice to know we have slope heads like you polluting our forum...perhaps you should try googling for the Ku Klux Klan forum and spend time there.

But in looking over your list, one thing stands out rather glaringly, particularly in the context of this thread and your activities in it: you're basically saying that the American manufacturers do not, and did not, make sport sedans (even Focuses, I guess)? That their crop of cars was not acceptable for you?

Funny, that's pretty much the same point many in this thread have made. So basically you on one hand jump down Mercedes owners' throat for buying Mercedes and imply that American cars are oh so much better, then turn around and provide a list of what you consider to be "sport sedans", and lo and behold: not a single solitary American car is on your list!!

Pretty funny...I didn't even have to pwn you, you did it for me. Thanks.

Originally Posted by tuscanraider
Seriously dude, if you're a lawyer that's funny. I wouldn't advise anyone to hire counsel to represent themselves vs. you. It's not needed.... a GED and a JC Penney suit is about your equal. Or perhaps they should just roll up in a Benzo and you'd be as mesmerized as a 1yr old watching baby Einstein.
Aww, there there....now don't get all butt hurt at me for exposing your hypocrisy, junior....you make it all too easy.

Last edited by Improviz; Feb 11, 2009 at 10:00 PM.
Old Feb 11, 2009 | 11:14 PM
  #386  
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Alright, enough with the bickering folks. Tuscanraider, it is probably time to move along to the CTS forum and get over your feelings for MB.

Improviz, you need to shift your focus to the W211 forum, or Sarah Conner's kids.

This thread is closed.

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