syswei

Below is a video of the Bose prototype referred to above by Car & Driver:


We don't really know what the Audi will do, though. If it also does active curve tilting, it sounds as though (from C&D indicating a possible lift to one side of 3.1 inches) it might allow for more tilting than MBC.

ChuckinTucson

I can't comment on Tesla as a car, but I can comment on their logistics department and their factory owned retail concept. If you go to a lot of Tesla stores (almost called them dealerships), most are not built on a large piece of land. There are exceptions, such as the ones in Buena Park, Roseville and Dublin (all in California). The one on Grand Ave in Chicago is laughably small, as is the one in Brooklyn. Because of this, Tesla has a lot of rented drop yards around the country, be it parking lots of abandoned factories, rail heads, etc. where they store the cars until there's room at the stores. The downside of this is that cars are handled more than once (sometimes 3-4 times) before they are eventually sold/leased to the retail customer increasing the chance of transport damage. There also doesn't seem to be a method to their madness as to where the cars are shipped once they leave the factory. I have seen them ship cars to a storage lot in Alabama, only to have the same cars shipped from there back to a store in San Diego.

syswei

If you haven't already heard, it seems that you'll be paying $5k less than you thought when you ordered, assuming you haven't taken delivery yet...article

Streamliner

Lovin: S.T.T.C.Y.M.!

LovinMercedes

Won't be long now. September 6th at 10:00AM.

LovinMercedes

Picking up my Model S tomorrow, so tonight the wife and I emptied out the Mercedes Benz. I was surprised how that hit me. I really didn't expect that. If I am being completely open, it was sad for me. After being with a brand for 30 plus years, you develop relationships with people, and frankly, cars, and I am just surprised how I reacted.

They say with every ending there is a new beginning, and here comes another opportunity for more fun and enjoyment.

I'll be there at 10:00AM and hopefully can start my next journey with this brand. Hope it is as rewarding. I can't imagine I won't own another Mercedes Benz, maybe sooner rather than later.

More to come...

Streamliner

Well, as much as I'd like to see you change your mind--and there is STILL time--I'm sure you will enjoy your new car. Teslas are such common sights here in Newport and folks must be buying them for some reasons other than the fact they don't use gasoline. Best of luck my friend.

syswei

For a luxury guy as you seem to be, I'd argue that a Tesla's near-silent acceleration has a certain luxuriousness to it (personally I find flooring it more enjoyable and luxurious than flooring my S550), as does semi-autonomous driving capability that is clearly better than at least the 2014-17 S-Class Disctronic Plus.

w203ck

I decided to purchase a new Model X earlier this year for my wife and it has been a brilliant car so far.... I still would not compare the Tesla to my Mercedes as luxury still does not come close.

I am currently in the process of trading in my S550e on a S560 and still nothing compares to the way the W222 drives, looks and handles.

syswei

This comes down to personal preferences. For me, if I were the only driver of the S550 and the Model S, I'd be spending about equal time in each. The Tesla has significant deficiencies, but also has features that to me balance out those deficiencies.

LovinMercedes

I am now officially a Tesla owner. Yes, it was quite an experience as this is the first time in 30 years I have not personally driven a Mercedes Benz.

I got up early, not with the best night’s sleep, and frankly, could have happily been at the showroom by 6:00 AM for my 10:00 AM delivery appointment, but of course, I couldn’t do that.

My wife was nice enough to cut me some fruit, which I could hardly eat. I felt like I was back in high school and anxious about some test I was going to take. I was nervous because I had heard of the issues with the quality on Tesla’s, and I promised myself, if my car was not going to be delivered to me with the same level of perfection as my Mercedes, then why would I spend $150,000 for that. Well, that was what my brain was telling me, my heart would be a different story as I was determined to drive something different this year. I wasn’t looking forward to that battle between the two.

I got there around 9:50 AM, only to notice that where three huge pieces of wood, may 18 feet tall, in the front of the building, where once there was glass. I couldn’t image what happened, but apparently, someone actually drove through the front entrance yesterday. Thankfully, no one was hurt. As we are all discussing this I am saying to myself, enough of this small talk, where the heck is my car. I eventually just said excuse me, and went on the journey to find my new car.

I had been there before, so I knew exactly where to look, and where the red bow would be on my car. I had seen this, at least a few times. By now it was past 10:00AM and when I opened the door where I knew my car would be, UGH… no car. I didn’t know whether to panic or not, couldn’t understand why my car was not there, it was well after 10:00, so I went to find my assigned Delivery Specialist.

My Delivery Specialist told me they were just putting some finishing touches on my car, and it would be driven down shortly. He offered drinks and proceeded to go over the paperwork for me to sign. I politely declined to sign, and told him I needed to see the car first. My brain was winning out so far. My heart just wanted to sign the paper work and just get my damn car. I could tell the Delivery Specialist didn’t really know what to do, as I felt by his demeanor that maybe most people sign the paperwork right away, or even before they might see their car. My brain was saying no way.

By now it’s past 10:30 AM and my Delivery Specialist goes to the main large garage door and opens it up to make way for my car to come downstairs from service. When he opened the garage door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I huge big ugly truck blocking the entrance; no driver, and nowhere to be found. My Delivery Specialist and my Sales Advisor, proceed to go up and down the street to find the driver to no avail. Eventually he shows up and moves his truck. Can’t believe he blocked the driveway and then left.

Now we have a clear path, and still no car. It’s too exhausting by now, so I leave the area, go get a class of water, and sit down in the waiting area. They then proceed to close the large doors between the delivery area and the waiting area, only leaving a crack.

By now, it’s coming upon 11:00 AM and all of sudden, through the crack, I see this shiny black car being backed up onto the large floor mats. My car had made its entrance.

I got up and rushed to open the doors, as I watched my car back up onto the mats. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The black sparkled like the sky did, the day of the eclipse, and the white, stark interior stood out boldly, and really beautiful. My Delivery Specialist showed up with the paperwork again, and I politely said, not yet, I need to go over my car.

I spent the next 15 plus minutes going over my car entirely, looking at all the things people have experienced on this website. I wasn’t going to miss anything.

The bottom line, she was perfect. Not a single flaw, not a single issue anywhere. Tesla had done it. I then smiled at my Delivery Specialist and said, I am ready to sign the papers.

I then saw two guys dressed in mechanics uniform come down to ask me if I was happy, and if there was anything I needed. I thought that was really great. I could tell they were proud of the work they had done on the car, and I told them how happy I was. They had delivered me a car as detailed, beautiful and perfect as any car I had ever gotten.

We went over the car’s systems, not in too much detail. He kept asking me if I wanted more time but frankly, I just wanted to get on the road, and drive my new baby.

Yesterday, was a day filled with huge emotion over this change from 30 years, and it could not have gone better. For those that were expecting a post more in line with the operation of the car, it’s interior, etc., as compared to my MB, I apologize. I will soon get to that after several days of driving.

I spent most of yesterday, just setting things up, organizing my personal items, and learning about the car. I drove her about 40 miles and it was everything my test drive was. I knew I loved how this car drove when I did the overnight test, and this was even better, because it was mine.

I live in the city in a large high-rise. I have three parking spaces, one filled with our SUV, my wife’s space and then my space. My space had my Model S, which I wouldn’t just let them park yet.

They asked me what to do with the Mercedes Benz. I told them I didn’t care, just put it somewhere, as it's leaving tomorrow. The attendant looked at me funny. I couldn't believe I had said that.

Streamliner

First of all, did we find out why someone drove through the window? Perhaps a disgruntled Tesla owner who had finally LOST IT??? Probably not, but it has been known to happen.

Secondly, congratulations on your new car. May you have many thousands of miles of safe, enjoyable driving.

Looking forward to your long term reviews, so please don't forget about your old friends here.

syswei

CONGRATS once again, LovinMercedes!

lsdreem

I don't know anyone who has had a tesla, decide to get another one after their lease was up or time to get a new car. That tells me how great a car it really isn't. The people who tend to get excited about a tesla are typically ones who are still driving 10+ yr old cars that don't have all the modern features.

w203ck

I guess so... I personally love both and would not have spent $220k on both if I didn't.

I put a lot of miles on my car and for the overall experience the Mercedes just does it better. Obviously I don't get to drive the Tesla as much as I would like to but we have done a 890mi trip to GA already and it just wasn't the same as the trip we had done multiple times before in the W222.

The Tesla is one heck of a car regardless of anything, I chose almost all the options when I bought it and Autopilot is one feature which is a life saver in NYC traffic, far better than Distronic

LovinMercedes - Congratulations on your new Tesla. Looks fantastic in all black!

syswei

Speak for yourself. There is a family in our town that owns FOUR Teslas. But that's merely anecdotal. Below is the result of a survey of the owners of 300,000 cars:



source

syswei

On a highway trip that long, I think I'd prefer the S550 also. DIstronic Plus works adequately on interstates, and the ICE doesn't have the refueling hassles. OTOH my wife's commute to NYC is 70mi roundtrip, and she MUCH prefers the Tesla for that...she calls it "relaxing".

syswei

Not at all! It was an MB owner who was disgruntled that he didn't own a Tesla! The lesson: Buy a Tesla before YOU in a fit of jealous rage do this to YOUR Mercedes!

quantira2

Same can be said for tesla owners

syswei

below is a better shot:





...kind of shows how athletic a Tesla can be...flying through the air to crush the enemy.

quantira2

hahaha, that was funny

UrBusted

What's your impressions on the Model S as a car "replacing" your S Class LovinMercedes? I see a few owners here with both, but as a replacement vehicle your view may be a bit different.

Streamliner

Allright, it's been a couple of weeks now and inquiring minds want to know how you feel about your new Tesla. Come on Lovin, spill the beans!

LovinMercedes

I am really liking my car so far. It is very different from my Mercedes S class. Not ready for a full review of the differences yet, but I can tell you I don't think they are comparable cars. They both do very different things, and they both do them very well. It is however, noticeable that one is a 10 year old company, and one is almost a 100 year old company. What does this mean, well, it is like the Tesla has XM Radio, but it doesn't have the album artwork from the broadcasts. In a Mercedes, that would seem inexcusable, but somehow in the Tesla, it's kind of understood they just haven't gotten to that yet.

I am not sure about the other models, but my P100D is like a super sports car on steroids. It is very fast and with the 21inch wheels, it really feels connected to the ground. I enjoy driving this car, and it is completely different from what I was getting from my Mercedes, which was a cushioned luxury ride. Clearly on 21's, it’s not cushioned, but it is still very smooth and nice, and drives much more like a sports car, than a luxury 4 door sedan. I was looking for something different and this car is certainly it. As a 4 door sports car, it does the job very well. The inside, obviously is not as plush, the seats are not as comfy, but all in all, it is more than nice, and they certainly have done a very good job on this "minimalistic" approach. It works.

More to come as I use all of the different aspects of this car and try to compare it to my Mercedes; like the AutoPilot which seems more advanced in the Tesla, yet certainly not smooth, and certainly not reliable yet.

I guess the real question comes in asking if I have thus far regretted my decision. That answer is no, and so far, the experience has been good.

syswei

Glad to hear you like the car. If you haven't already, try Slacker (assuming it is available on your car)...you get artwork both in front of the steering wheel and on the big screen if you want, and even the free version I use allows you to build 'stations' around a song or artist, skip songs, etc. The song library is somewhat thin, but all in all, I like it better than XMradio in my W222. (XM wasn't an option when we bought our Tesla). Some info on setup is here.

And in general I like the sound quality of the audio system in our Tesla over the the non-3D Burmeister in my W222. Would be curious if you agree, though I guess you are no longer to a side by side test.