I stopped at Knauz today and they had the S550 parked outside. It is Black/Black and kind of basic. It did have night vision on it though. I got to play with the car a bit and take some pictures that I will post later from home. On tuesday we are taking it out on the road to learn some of the features. The car is a HUGE improvment over the old S in every way. Even the trunk antena (sp?) didnt look so horrible. It is all truly amazing.

 

The jury's coming in with their verdict...many parts are edible. Less filling and tastes great.
Thanks for the report. I am really hoping that it is what I want. Let us hear from you again if you take her for a test drive, please.

 

Autohaus has a silver S550, I drove it on monday. It has parktronic, and the rearview monitor. The parktronic lights are in the display rather than on top of the dash, I wasn't sure the car had it until I parked. The rearview monitor was unimpressive. The picture was clear in the center but the sides were all distorted. It had lines in the display that are supposed to help guide you when parking. The electronics in the car were really far above anything out there.

 

Give it to us straight....how do the flares look up close. People are saying the car does not print well in pictures, but looks much better in person. Did the fender flares poke you in the eye or were they not that bad??

 

Pleeeeeease help out Jakpro on this point! He has a severe case of flareophobia and he's been breaking out in sweats and hives, suffering from lack of sleep, and has experienced shortness of breath and uncomfortable tingling sensations in anxiety over this issue.
We've all advised him to go see a doctor, or a new S-Class at a dealership, right away.

Just kiddin' with ya' Jakpro....

 

It's true.....I wonder why the violence toward the flares. Gotta be some childhood memory surfacing.

I need to go down and spend some quality time with the flares, to touch them, to feel what they feel. My stealer has a fresh flared S on the floor today....gonna go down for some healing time.

Honestly, bet they are not as bad in person.

 

Looked at the Knauz S550 ,too.
I admit,I did not like the pics or flares (on pics) but seeing the car in the flesh changed my opinion.
It really looks impressive,very substantial,looks larger then W220 by a significant margin and looks expensive.
The interior is on par with the previous S600 but with better switchgear.
Nice,quality fit and finish of leather and wood on dash and door panels,Alcantara roof would make it complete though.

 

Okay, well as far as the fender flares go, in person, I definently think they look good on the car. I think I said before and I'll say it again, I take back everything I said I hated about the car. I've seen it on the road a few times, and an MB rep lives in Winthrop Harbor which is where I live, and I see him driving Maybachs and SL600s and pretty much every other MB, and right now he has a Black/Black S550, seeing it on the road it looks amazing and catches my eye right away. Im a picky person, but the switch gear does not really feel all that cheap to me, the leather seats are comfortable and feel more luxerious than the previous nappa used. One thing absent pointed out that I noticed too is the headliner, I even told the salesman it looked kind of stupid, not out of place or cheap, just not something i would expect. So were supposed to take the car out next week and check it out on the road. My pics aren't the best but I was too busy checking things out to snap tons and make sure I took perfect ones. But enjoy, and I will have more pics from the test drive

 

I want one of these even if they can't make the door panels line up. Designo, please.

 

Really a damn fine job on the pictures Thanks.

 

Excellent pictures!

 

Great pictures and comments! Like you I agree on the fender flares...they look fine after seeing one yesterday.

 

I'm waiting for Jakpro to weigh-in on the flares.... I'm out in the boonies right now so I can't get to one -- but I can hardly wait. I am really hoping that the new S is going to fill my big luxury MBZ sedan slot.....

 

I'm with Clay on the flares. I think Jak must have had a close encounter with an RX7 in a previous life. I sat in one yesterday at a local dealership and I believe it is going to be an incerdible car, flares or no flares.

 

ILUV -

You used up some pixels there, didn't you ? Great pics !

I think we are all starting to "come around" as we see this new car in the flesh. It is truly an impressive vehicle, in person. I can't help but think that the Mercedes executives in Germany and New Jersey aren't laughing their collective asses off, watching us vascillate with our "don't like it - like it" banter. I think they know they have a winner here, and all it took was for us to get up close and personal with it. My ONLY concern now is, have they sufficiently addresed the prior model quality issues.

 

I think the quality issue will be a dead issue with the MB's now hitting the street. My 2006 430 was built in May '05 and it is perfect from what I can see. I did have a transmission thunk but it was a known issue and they fixed it flat out...could not be any smoother running than it is now.

MB is fully aware of what a lack of quality in any area could mean to their reputation and sales. The new boss is on track and will not tolerate any screw ups. The cost cutting will come in other areas and not with the products they are building.

 

I saw it today in Bowling Green, KY. I think the car looks great. The flares look fine. The dash is very different and will take some time to get use to.

 

Sorry the pics are so large guys, I didnt think to resize them at 3 in the morning or whenever it was i posted them. They are definently not my best work, I take pics at a Jaguar dealership for Ebay listings. Those pics were also taken in 2 megapixels, I dont usually shoot in the highest setting. But the car is great, on my way home from work tonite I stopped at Knauz again just to drive past it and stare.

 

Amen, Brother! And pass the ordering brochure!

 

Those are some good pics! I think the car looks best in black. It show off all the chrome acents. Does anyone no what all the buttons by the rearview mirror do?

 

Left to Right...Driver Reading/Rear Lighting/Ambient Light/TeleAid Emergency/Side mirror folding control? or puddle lights?/Passenger Reading. The three buttons on the mirror are for garage door/gate coding remotes.

 

what's with the double antenna fin on the rear shot ?
one on the trunk & one on the roof

 

The one on the trunk is for the SIRIUS sat radio. I understand that on the production models (these are early demo models) this will be integrated into the fin on the roof. It had well better be...no excuse for that not to be hidden in some way.

 

I saw one at a dealership and it had the fin on the trunk as well as the fin on the roof. I do not know if it was a pre-production model or not, but they were ugly.

 

Thanks Nevada Jack! Are going to purchase the new S?