Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press wrote this today. His reviews are to the point and refer to the vehicles not metaphors and creative writing exercises like many other reviewers seem to do these days.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../-1/BUSINESS07

Here is the lead in paragraphs:

Lexus isn't in the game, Cadillac can only dream of competing and it's a good lap ahead of BMW.

With the slimmed-down and stylish 2007 S550, Mercedes-Benz's top-of-the-line S-class reasserts itself as the car to beat among the world's finest luxury sedans.

The only possible competition is the rare $150,000-plus ultra-luxury Bentley Continental Flying Spur, and the S-class tops even the Bentley on legroom, despite being nearly 3 inches shorter.

The S-class sedans have been Mercedes' flagship for more than 50 years, defining the brand's highest achievements and aspirations.

Mercedes has seldom needed a new S to be a hit more than it does today. The brand's reputation has suffered from recalls, poor reliability and electronic glitches in recent years.

At the same time, upstart competitors like Lexus and Volkswagen and Cadillac's reinvigorated model line have edged onto Mercedes' turf. BMW and Audi have raised their games, too, using new levels of style and cutting-edge features to close the gap with their traditional archrival.

From its athletic and graceful shape to its large and luxurious interior, the S550 rebuffs their advance.

The all-new Lexus LS460 that goes on sale later this year is the only cloud on the horizon for Mercedes. The S500 tops the sketchy specifications available on the curvy new Lexus, however. The Benz has a more powerful engine, a longer wheelbase and longer, lower body than the preliminary numbers Toyota has revealed for its upcoming luxury sedan.

 

Was there ever any doubt!? Have you seen the new sales figures released today? MB is "out of control!"

 

I have not seen the May figures J...give me a url.

 

MBUSA Reports Highest Ever May Sales Figures
Posted on June 1, 2006 at 12:15 PM CST

As a new month blossoms, so begins the magical flurry of press releases covering everyone's favorite - sales figures. This month is no exception, and to kick things off we have the May sales figures for our very own Mercedes-Benz USA.

As the story's title has already indicated, MBUSA performed admirably, reporting its highest May on record with a total of 21,621 new vehicles sold, an increase of 21.4% over May of 2005. This figure brings MBUSA's year-to-date sales total up to 94,133 new vehicles, an increase of 17.1% over the first five months of 2005.

Individually, MBUSA's passenger car segment noted sales of 15,282 units, an increase of 6.4% over May of 2005. Unsurprisingly, the strongest sales in the segment came courtesy of the newly-updated Mercedes S-Class, which increased sales 84.5% over last May with 2,526 units sold. Other models making headlines include the SL and SLK-Class, which noted a combined sales increase of 37.1% over 2005 with 2,283 units sold.

As for MBUSA's light truck segment, sales of the M-, R-, GL-, and G-Class continued to gain momentum, noting a combined monthly sales increase of 84.5% over May of 2005 and a YTD sales increase of 105.3% over 2005. In this group, sales of the recently-introduced GL-Class were particularly strong, with 2,545 units of the seven-passenger SUV being sold in its first full month on the market.

Separately, MBUSA noted sales of 4,150 vehicles in May through its Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, bringing annual sales for the unit up to 18,656 vehicles, an increase of 7.8% over May of 2005.

For more info as well as individual model statistics, keep reading for the full press release.

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Jun06/0...s_Figures.html

 

Couple of points journalists don't seem to grasp.....in volumes above, say, 3K cars/yr into US, no mfr is as dominant as MB in having the repeat buyer base to easily sell $100K+ cars, like S/SL/CL55/65/600....notice how BMW stays away from the higher-margin, higher-prestige $100K+ price range and offers rather cheap 2 yr leases and free mtce to move its metal, even its long-delayed, easy-to-find M5....

Also, amusing that today's high-tech S550 stickers for a few $K less than the robo-cop ?'91 S-Class, which was intro'd in the midst of a recession 15yrs ago.....and consider what a 2-3 yr, $0 down lease costed on an S-Class 15 yrs ago vs today, given how cheap interest rates are today....

We live in great times to enjoy new, high-tech cars at remarkably cheap costs, w/2-3 yr leases vs guys of 15-odd yrs ago....