NZ_Benz

You know what really grinds my gears about newer MB, there is no black interior WTF?!?!?!

RobFrank

Actually, I agree with you as to the amount of wood additions... I like the door trim, which I think is a bit too hard and sparse on the S550, but the dask work is a bit much...

Here are some picts of the interior woodwork I added to my W140/S500... rear light surrounds, ashtray buttons and B-pillar trim is all I wanted in back; Front I added the wood steering wheel and speaker overlays on the dash... I'm still out on those, personally... but the burl walnut I got was such a nice quality, it is nice!

Might be time to start a new thread on interior presence and trim?
?????

Rob
(new to the site, but love talking about our Benzes!)

NZ_Benz

Yea, I'm not sold on the speaker covers but I do like the rest particulary the wheel, I looked at geeting a wood/leather wheel from a 129 SL for my car but when they introduced the wood wheel in 95 they also changed how the wheel and the airbag mount so the two are not interchangable . With that MB badge did that wheel come from a grand edition?

RobFrank

Actually, I just added that! Bought a badge for one of the old 1980's non-airbag benzes at teh dealer for $6, filed down the existing star a bit, used epoxy in the center and black silicon sealant around the outer rim, and voila! My own "Grand Edition" (Which is where I got the idea) Probabaly the best upgrade I added.

Vader55

All S-class owners have something special in different ways no matter what year, I love them all.

YABADI

+1 from W109 to W221, I love them all

JAM

I drove my W140 for 4 years, and the W220 for 6 years and counting.... The W140 was an incredible machine. Very imposing when on the road. I still miss the W140, although I do like the modern look of the W220, in comparrison.

The W221 is still growing on me, which is why I have yet to take the plunge. I am gradually taking a liking to the interior. The only part that I cannot get past is the clock and the center console switch area. The exterior is gorgeous, and has much more presence than the W220.

tommyb2b

Hi I am new to mb world but I do go to benzworld somtimes. All I have to say is that time will tell. The w140 is a classic and always will be. I think the w221 stems from the roots of the 140 but time will tell if it can live up to the sclass name. Lets just hope it wont follow the same path as the should be recalled w220. But dam I want to get behind the wheel of one of those w221s!

Germancar1

Bingo! My exact thoughts. The W220 is the prettiest S of last few generations, but it doesn't stand out like the others did or like the W221 does now.

M

Germancar1

Don't know if you guys have seen this, but here is a nice little comparo between the W220 and W140 S500 models:

http://www.mercedesshop.com/s500.htm

The W220 really was a pretty radical shift in design if you really think about it. The only thing about the W220 is that they took too much quality out of it, but the engineering was epic.

I remember the first time I saw a W140 S500. I too couldn't believe how big the car was.

Interestingly, in the Jan issue of Automobile Magazine there is a short interview with the Bruno Sacco. He is the guy that headed MB design for 25 years up to 1999. They asked him which designs he liked/disliked and he said that the he didn't like the W140 because it ended up being 4 inches too tall. Interesting. I do know that shorter folks can't hand wash the W140's roof though. A real tank of a car it was.

Oh and lastly guys, you all do know what car is build atop the W140's platform right? Hint: It is even more massive and blunt and has those same tank qualities.

M

trimaster

I'll take "Maybach" for 500 Bob! lol

Are U the Merc1 over on Edmunds?

My vote for presence is the W140. I LOVE the design. That car still turns heads.

But the radical shift in design is what I like about Mercedes. I may not like ALL the designs, but it takes ***** to make tose drastic changes. Some are great, some aren't. (I love the CLS 500, but don't care much for the R Class.)But I'd rather be a trendsetter than a trend follower.

ghost

w140 !

Germancar1

You are correct! Maybach it is.

Yes it is I the one and only Merc1 from Edmunds and Germancarzone.

M

trimaster

I've read your posts over the years on Edmunds but never posted. Very good reading on the HELM Board. Congrats on staying so calm when talking to the Lexicans. True patience. I'm amazed by your knowledge of cars, particularly Mercedes. Much respect!


BOT, I'm still pleasently surprised that the W140 is still on the same level as new cars of today. I sat in many of the new luxury cars at this years auto show & nothing really blew me away. (I did like that Audi A8 tho...)

With that said, the W140 was truly ahead of it's time.

NZ_Benz

Yea the A8 is an amazing car.

Germancar1

Thanks. Oh if you've been following that board then you know wassup. The Lexus fans there are an amazing bunch. It is a dark time for them now. C&D just put the S over their new LS in the worst way possible and a lot of the reviews of the LS have been lukewarm so they're real quiet right now and/or have left.

Yeah the W140 was quite a car, larger than life is what I kept thinking during the years it was produced. The only thing like it now is the Maybach.

M

NZ_Benz

Yea the W140 was not that popular for that reason I think as soon as the 220 was introduced they managed to double the sales.

Germancar1

Yeah that is interesting isn't it. I think too it was the climate in which the W140 was introduced. IT was a time in which such a larger than life car seemed to be too much of a display of wealth for a person to display. Then again it did have an leftover 80's style to it so it could have appeared dated to some buyers too.

M

NZ_Benz

Interesting you should say that because the W140 was introduced in 1991, BMW, Jag and audi intruduced their new luxary lineups (7 series, XJ, A8 etc) all in 94 and 95, the W140 got caught in that time when the 1990's still thought it was the 80's. That and when the 220 came out it shaved about 10 grand off the price of the W140, which btw was also about 10k cheaper than the first W140, so those cars were really a massive chunk of dollars back then, get this to buy my 300SEL in NZ in 93 was about the same as the average house for that year around 260k NZ.

Germancar1

Oh yes, price was an issue too I think. The outgoing 560SEL which was top of the line S-Class in 1991 was like 75K, but the base 1992 300SE was like 69-70K and the 560SEL's replacement, the 500SEL was somewhere in the 90-95K range I think. Not sure exactly but I remember the price difference being huge. Then there was the 600SEL which took Mercedes over, way over the 100K mark for the first time I can remember up to that point.

M

NZ_Benz

Yea and just think about that kind of money in the early 1990's, it's still alot now.

Germancar1

Yep, thats true.

M

trimaster

Lexus vs. Mercedes

LOl yeah, I've been following it. Funny isn't it? Lexus was to be the best thing since the invention of the wheel...lol They must be EXTREMELY disappointed with those reviews. But of course they'll go back to the sales numbers...

Great car, but not everyone feels the same way about it as they do. They still have a ways to go before they are the #1 luxury car maker.

Germancar1

Oh yes, they've whining, *****ing and complaining every since the comparo broke cover. I've never seen a bigger bunch of cry babies in my life. Now when Car and Driver put the LS400 and LS430 over everyone before the magazine was brilliant and trustworthy, now they're not to be trusted and they've become idiots. This is why I have little to no repsect for most of them now, they're to hypocritical. They can't accept anything bad about Lexus. Some of them in particular are as clueless about cars as they biased about Lexus. Of course the LS has been trashed so much time around some of the more ridiculous ones have left the board because they can't say anything that will get around their precious C&D putting the LS at the bottom of the class.

M

trimaster

I noticed. & now it's a biased report. Was it biased all those other years when Lexus was #1? Of course not.

Like you & I think Tagman said, it all comes down to price. Lexus should've kept that car 15-20k cheaper than Mercedes. If they did they might have placed 2nd or maybe even 1st. Great car, but overpriced. If you're gonna make a car that expensive, it better have some ooomph! It can't be called boring or soulless!!

Now that it's close to the same price more people will opt for Mercedes IMO. Why? Because of the title of this thread: PRESENCE. Curb appeal. Lexus was about being a cheaper alternative to Mercedes. Cheaper, but boring. Now that they are closer (much closer) in price and the reliability problems seem to have been solved (hopefully) might as well get the Mercedes...