I beg to differ



I and many others believe that Mercedes-Benz’s image has been tarnished. The same for Porsche applies for Porsche. Once you make a mistake or a series of mistakes like Porsche or MB it does tarnish your image, it destroys heritage, which takes years to build up. I am not suggesting that a single person has destroyed MB’s image, but certainly a collective group has, many of the likes of people on this board.


Um I am not sure what you are actually trying to say here, “propaganda” is generally a term reserved for organised manifestations of untrue or exaggerated information – I don’t see ANY politicians making INVOLUNTARY statements about how good their Mercedes Benz is, nor would Mercedes Benz promote that fact.

I will remind YOU that in 1992 the world was in recession – which would affect the sales of any luxury cars and therefore put a manufacturing company in the red if it did not have the capital behind it. Mercedes merged with Chrysler years later – and the merger WAS NOT to introduce itself more into US markets. Mercedes has changed its advertising strategy everywhere, not just in the US in the late 1990’s -

First of all let me state that I am not British. I am originally from Germany but now live in Switzerland (to those of you that want to start up the Hitler jokes go ahead and make my day, nothing I haven’t heard before). Mercedes Benz did seek to reduce production costs by introducing cheaper componentry – but this was after the merger with Chrysler and it is believed the Chrysler pen pushers forced this step to be taken to make more money on the cars – not really to introduce the cars to a lower market demographic (in which case cheaper units would be used on that particular model, there would be no sense in lowering the quality of every car)


I was not implying that I command respect simply by driving a Mercedes, I was saying how the image of the newer cars is hated in the eyes of many others yet the older cars are still appreciated. You have missed the point completely. I do not appreciate your accusations of me driving as if I “own the road”, that was not what was meant by my comment at all. I was getting to the point that in an older Mercedes people pay you the common respects any polite motorist would like reciprocated compared to driving a newer Mercedes where people purposely overtake, block your way and give you glances.
BTW you claim you aren’t American yet you defend the sorts I am attacking with vigour, I suspect you are. I do not withdraw my Buffoons comment.

 

ok, ill withdraw my "king of the road comment" as i now understood what you really meant (when i heard the "sir" thing...i just laughed my assoff).
i am spanish and had an english education. 18 years of british education (i'm now 24)... you really get to know the british
the only thing that bothered me was that comment against americans, even though im not at all american, it still is very off topic to insult each other's country just because of what one thinks but i agree with you about the rest (it really does make a difference seeing a 1960 SLC than the more popular new e-class on the road than your right but what might happen 20 or 30 years down the road?? how will this generation's new models be considered?no one knows,,,

btw. any hitler comment or likewise is not funny at all and i would personally be very offended if i were german and someone brought up that comment.
i also still think german car manufacturers will still have a strong and unchangeable image. its jsut the 100 years of benz and 50 of porsche and BMW that dont fade away... no matter how much any of these screw up, they willnever be considered as of equal category as a cheaper brand (say, daewoo or hyundai)

 

When a thread is locked by a moderator that doesnt mean start a new thread about the same thing. If you want to talk to each other then PM each other or email.

 

finally someone got that bmw name in there

 

I hate to get in the middle of this, so I won't make this long at all. All I have to say, n_gillis, is drive your Mercedes to the front of my house, get out of the car, and see how much respect I give you and/or your dad. Let me tell you, SON, you have to give respect to get it. Or, how about this, you and your daddy get in your Benz and drive through South Central Los Angeles and see how many people call you "sir".

 

Why would I want to come to YOUR house to see how you respect me. Infact you would be showing me that the point I have tried to convey has been valid - some of you Americans have no respect and the Mercedes name has been tarnished

BTW I am a 45 year old man, so I will thank you not to call me SON sonny jim

 

Maybe you didn't read the part where I said you have to give respect to people in order to get it. When you approach people with an attitude like yours, you will get no respect. Hence the use of the word "SON" in my post. There are people all over the world with arrogance and Europe certainly has some of them too, so don't knock our country around too much. Not all Europeans are like that and not all Americans are either.

 

hey n gillis,

it sounds like you have sour grapes.
your mad that a lot of people can afford a MB.
and since they can you feel it cheapens the brand.
MB makes a lot of different models...inexpensive to
very expensive.
they also sell a lot of cars worldwide to every kind and type of individual.
and surely not everyone is going to have the class and breeding that you have.
as for MB owning Chyrsler....how this affects MB products i have no idea.

my advice...
work harder...
earn more money...
buy a new MB...
and be happy....

 

The DaimlerChrysler merger is responsible for MB's quality drop??? Utter rubbish! The DCX merger happened in Q4 1998. Do you REALLY think any headway could've been made with regards to quality of materials and design in that short a period??? DCX probably didn't begin to 'feel' like a unified company until mid-2000 if not later and it's widely known that it was more a buyout of Chrysler than anything else. That 'merger of equals' talk was a complete fabrication. The shots are called out of Germany.

No, MB's drop in quality happened before that. IMO, the W126 was the last "solid" Mercedes. Even the W140 suffered quality issues after 1996 when materials were cheapened in an effort to cut costs.

As for Americans and our tastes... apparently the world market has taken rather well to our SUVs and soft roaders. As the old saying goes, money talks and bull*hit walks. Apparently people the world 'round like them and are voting with their wallets. If that offends your sensibilities, I suggest you find the nearest convenient time machine and go back to days when an offroader was a Range Rover or Jeep, trucks were only for work, and MB's were truly built like bankvaults.