transferred

A8 W12

I just cannot relate to the Rover-like looks of the FS

SL600 V12

Yeap. Taxi drivers are pieces of crap. The only thing worse than a taxi driver is an airport shuttle driver.

SL600 V12

Oh yeah, and I'd rather have the Bentley. I mean, if you're going to go that large a purchase, you might as well go exclusive. Bentley's badge just says something that the Mercedes Star pretty much never will.

Not to mention that the overall car is a work of art in comparison. Even the most expensive S-Class is a mildly refaced version of a $65,000 car with a different engine.

NeverColdCall

Ok but then you're buying something solely for prestige instead of buying what you like , and that is a serious red flag of insecurity.

Nothing wrong with buying a Bentley if you truly love it, but I hate seeing someone have it just as a status symbol. I love my S-Class, am proud of it, yet in Scottsdale I'm surrounded by phonies who are driving them without a clue and with no love of the car, but just for the status. I think it's sad that people live their lives always worried about impressing others.

SL600 V12

Who said that? The Bentley badge represents appointment, attention to detail, and build quality that has been pretty much unmatched by Mercedes, and even Maybach for the most part. That is precisely what is liked in the high end luxury car market.

Quite. But sometimes there's a reason why certain things have their status, and Bentleys have definitely earned it. Whether or not the driver can appreciate it has little to do with the quality of the product.

However, at the same time, the badge itself can mean something. As someone else stated before, the Mercedes badge has gotten all mushed together because of the sale of products that despite serving markets with vastly different demands, look very similar and are sold under the same badge. Part of what makes a good product just that, is having a defined identity and purpose, and Bentley definitely hits that target. In my experience, this also helps to prevent manufacturers from giving into the temptations of parts bin engineering as well. Ultimately, a luxury vehicle satisfies little more than human emotional desires, so this aspect cannot be completely ignored.

Germancar1

Interesting reading here. I find it funny though that some put the Bentley ahead of the Mercedes because of its name saying that it is a "Bentely" when this "Bentely" is nothing more than a seriously re-worked VW Pheaton. These Bentleys, the Contini and Flying Brick are for those who don't know what a Bentley really is, for better or worse a real Bentley is the antique of an Arnage. How in the world can a car be based on a giant VW be seen as pure or more prestigious than the best S-Class (which is a pure Mercedes that shares nothing with any other brand on earth) of the modern era.

True a S65 is a high powered and luxed up version of the same chassis that supports the S320 CDI, S350, S450 etc, but the Bentley comes from a VW and it has the interior switchgear to prove it! Bentleys aren't about AWD, they aren't about sharing engines with VW sedans and SUVs either. How in the world does this make the FS exclusive? It doesn't. The Arnage is the exclusive one, but a plain jain S550 is about 20 years more advanced.

That said, these "Bentleys" do eclipse the Mercedes in interior materials and quality if not their bespokeness.

My problem with these new Bentleys is that they look awful, especially the Coupe and Convertible, they're awful and have the same VW look as everything else in the VW empire, only with Bentley grilles added.

Bentley chopped the price of admission down by about 75K and poof sales go through the roof, but the brand has been cheapened in the process so what else is new. Everyone wants volume now I guess.

M

PA55AMG

Talk about a badge getting diluted-- I went look at a new Jaguar XJR this week. They had the same color X type sitting right next to it, and I had to look twice to see which was the XJ. The XJR is a nice car, but it's a drag that Jag makes a rebodied Ford Mondeo that looks virtually identicle, other than size.

I like the Flying Spur as well, but I also can't get past the obvious VW/AUDI connection. In addition, we have a Bentley dealer in my home town, but the owner wants to retire and the next dealer is 200 miles away. I know sonebody will probably buy the franchise and reopen somewhere in the area, but what if they didn't? (we do have local VW/AUDI dealers though, I guess they could fix it)

NeverColdCall

My point exactly! I have the utmost respect for the real Bentleys but these cars are Pheatons with English interiors (the instrument cluster and console stack are identical in both cars!). If you shoot over to a RR/Bentley forum you'll find that Bentley aficionados *hate* those cars!!

Where I live, the Conti and FS are becoming just as common on the road as S-Classes and 7-Series - now that there are lots on the used market, people are getting them on pre-owned leases for the same cost as a new S550. It really cheapens the brand.

CakeDaddy

The Spur is hand built, but so are the AMGs, correct?

shadowgriffen

MB will forever be ahead and on top of the game.

No matter how boring, how dull, or even ackward (SLR) people will still flock, will still marvel and ooooh and ahhhh at any vehicle with a three point star.

I still have Valet peeps aproach my car when droping off my boss at expensive restaurants, while the new accord owners are left to look for meters or alternative parking.

I can see how the winged B would make someone feel like god on earth, but it just does not have that Eagles, hotel california she-drives-the-Mercedes-Benz feel to it, you know what I mean??

MB

pmb600

No only the AMG engines are hand built. The rest of the car is mass produced like all the others.

John Major

What do you do now?

John Major

DROOOOOL!!!!!! I can't wait til I can afford that. Or an S65. People down here are buying those like crazy!! (atlanta)