Chucky300

Your Wife's bentley is absolutely stunning.............. My point exactly. Who on earth would want an S600 / S65 when you can tool around town in that rolling Manor.

NeverColdCall

I think a big part of my issue with the Bentley is that I'm moving to Newport Beach, CA in a few months and every third car on the road there is one of those. So my opinion is definitely subjective since I hate doing the expected thing and blending in with the crowd. No doubt though it's a stunning, beautiful car and I'd be more open to owning one were I not moving to a town that is full of them.

(In case you're wondering, yes, I actually see more Bentleys in NB, CA then S-Classes ... those and Range Rovers seem to be the popular cars there.)

Anywhere else, though, and that car's a head-turner, even here in Scottsdale AZ where I still see several of them on the road every day.

stardoc

Hehe, driving 5 minutes on Scottsdale Rd. will basically give you an entire preview of what new luxury models are out for the year.

IMHO: RR Phantom>Bentley FS>Maser. Quattroporte>Mercedes S class>the rest.

Interestingly enough in this month's Car and Driver mag, the S class came in 1st place in a comparo of the 3 German brands, Jaguar, and finally (which also happened to be its placement) Lexus LS.

athlon70

The Masser is a nice looking car, but underpowered and woeful build quality and everything elese.

Rattles, squeaks and the ride is like a billy cart.

stardoc

Underpowered? It has a 400hp Ferrari engine and a 0-60 time of 5 sec. flat. It is probably the best handling luxury car and would smoke all the above mentioned cars on a track.
Build quality is comparable to most other luxu. cars, as I can attest with my Coupe. Maybe you are referring to the 80's Quattroportes.

NeverColdCall

Yeah, no kidding. Everyone's trying to one-up everyone else around here. I even saw three Continentals in a row at Kierland one day ... it kinda cheapened them to tell you the truth. Made them look too common.

I just buy what I like. Whether or not the Bentley is better than the MB, which is mostly subjective anyway, for the price I'd go with an S65. That's what I like and I'm not out to buy anyone's approval.

I think what bothers me about reading the forum is how many MB lovers would buy the Bentley just for the prestige. Why? Buy what you like and be happy. Especially in a place like Scottsdale, home of 3 mortgages on every house and 20 maxed-out cards in every wallet ... LOL

mannnu81

if the flying spur is bentley than what is the rolls royce? bentley looks like they put much more attention to detail, and theyre pretty rare too

pmb600

I agree!

Although I like the Bentley too for different reasons, so in a perfect world it would be an S600 followed by a Continental GT in my garage.

CLFREAK

This statement sums up the true and sad reality that has plagued Mercedes since the advent of the down-market C-class - BRAND DILUTION . Bentley, fortunately, went "down-market" to also pick up more market share, but didn't ***** themselves out to the masses like Mercedes did with total disregard for Merc purists and loyalists. Too bad, because I think the S is the best-designed sedan on the market right now!

The end result of such will be the horrid residuals on the Mercs when compared to the Bentleys at the same time frames.

Buffer

My wife drives a 2006 Rolls Royce (two expensive for me). I took her to the Bentley dealer and we drove the Flying Spur. It's a quick car but doesn't have the torque of the S600. My wife hated the car. She refers to it as the car with the "chicken wire" grill. I'm sure there is a mountain of criticism about the styling of her car. Doesn't matter to me cause I rarely get to drive it.

cayennerider

I agree with CLFreak. When my mother was looking for replacements for her CL55 we (my dad and I) took her to the Benz stealership and the Bentley stealership after narrowing it between the S600 and the CFS. She fell in love with the exclusivity with the Bentley and knew within a few months the S-Class will be all over the area. She went with the CFS.

02S430

you are right they are scummy, if traffic has you in the cross walk waiting to turn the taxi behind wont let you turn in, once traffic moves in front of you they cut you off and dont let you in unless you push ur way in and that means your inches from each other

Chucky300

Yup!! I know EXACTLY what you mean. ALso - they drive SLOW when they should be going fast, and drive FAST and unsafe when they should be driving more sedate. They really are scoundrels and vultures. They would sooner HIT your car and possibly hurt you rather than lose a $5 fare they see on the street ahead. They always drive down 5th avenue on the white seperating line so no one can really pass them because they will switch over and over and over to assure that they will not let anyone ahead of them.

Makes me wish I had the ability to pull them over and arrest them. They are pigs...

Nevada Jack

In the late 40's, early 50's it was the same thing in NY...and the techniques then were the same as needed today. Get your front wheels in front of them and keep them there...

02S430

dont even get me started with 34th and 35th St between 5th and madison, bad enough theres no right or left turns, they wont let you over.

Chucky300

What about how the pick up a passenger and triple park to do that, when there is only 4 lanes Going down 2nd avenue at 52nd street. They stop IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!!!!!!

One time i was pulled over by a cop because I made an illegal left, and i told him (After i gave him my badge) that i would RIP UP any ticket he gave me right before his eyes, if he did not first go to that taxi cab triple parked and give him a ticket. The cop called me a little @$$hole and told me to move along, move along.

NeverColdCall

LOL!! That's what's great about NYC. Here in Scottsdale AZ everyone is so stiff and bland and no personality or backbone like that.

Chucky300

just for the record, if i didnt have badges and stuff - theres no way in HELL that i'd talk that way to a cop. Id be locked up for all eternity, and become BOBO's BIT**
Truth is - those taxi cabs get away with anything. They are SICK! you know what? Im sure 02S430 heard about this....... maybe 2 years ago - one cabi was SOOOOOO determined to beat another cab to get a fare, that he plowed into a family on 72nd and 3rd, killing the mother and daughter by pinning them into a building........ They turned out to be multi millionares just going for walk around the block around holiday time. I am not judging all the taxi drivers based on that one time, however, i will testify to you all that NY Taxi drivers are the most unsafe i have seen. ANyone that lives in nyc will back me up !

stardoc

There's a reason why its called "SNOTTSDALE." Arizona's Silicone Valley.

02S430

i agree, i have a friend that i used to work with before i was done with school, hes a taxi driver now, and he says you pay 80 bucks to rent a cab for the day(gotta have a taxi license) and the rest of what you make is all yours. so i see why they drive the way they do. i agree they are determind, one day my partner was driving the ambulance and one cut right infront of us and stop short less then 2 car lenghts at about 25 mph right infront of the cops and they didnt do anything bout it.

Chucky300

Hehe. $80 to rent it for the day. That is why they rush to get every fare they can. At $7 average per ride...They need about 10 or 11 fares to break even. (take into consideration tips)

Not an easy job - however, they better learn to be safer.

Uygar

I had chance to see both cars. First of all S series is the future of automotive. What we see in S, we will see that as standard in ten years time. Despite these innovations it is lack of image. In whole world S class is just an ordinary mercedes. I say ordinary because you could see that in everywhere, also Mercedes does not have that unique soul like Bentley. However flying spur is based on vw phaeton but it is a totally different car. Flying spur is totally hand made in Germany. Yes; it cannot promise the same advanced technology like S class but it always promises vulga character for you. Flying spur will differentiate you in everyway. Bentley has a very unique soul from its roots. The Bentley Boys; before World War I, bentley boys were legend with their life style and their victories in races. Also you could find British design concept leather and wood in Bentley. In Bentley's they cut the wood symmetrical that interior has a symmetrical woods in both sides. It is clear that Mercedes is technology; if you buy a fully loaded car, it could do anything for you. However Bentley could not apply brake if there is emergency brake in front (BAS Plus system) but it could accommodate in very sophisticated atmosphere in everyway. By the way s600 has enourmous torque and it ruins the weight balance. Due to enourmous torque gear box is getting heavier and creates weight over front for that reason it does not have ideal weight balance. Top Gear Magazine said this..

vraa

We sure need weight balance in a luxo-cruiser

Uygar

weight balance plays important role in full throttle especially. When we look at the CL65 amg, you could see that it makes tyre smoke instead of going straight when you push really hard. It was shown on BBC Top Gear, CL65 made lots lots lots of smoke but could not achieve a high level in lap. Log on to http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear and look at power laps. If anyone gives me a S600 as a gift, I would love to drive it

pmb600

All Bentleys are actually still hand built in Crewe, England. It is actually their 60th anniversary of assembly there and they released a special Diamond Edition to commemorate the anniversary. I saw a lovely Midnight Blue one on display in the Short Hills Mall yesterday. The W12 engine and the tranny I believe do come assembled from Germany since it is based on the VW/Audi W12.