K-A

Man, I want that S400 Hybrid. Great timing too as it looks like Gas Prices are starting to skyrocket again....

Red Marko

So, I would assume...

Goodbye Lexus LS 600h L. Who in the right mind would buy Lexus anymore.

SL2003driver

This is a great vehicle to drive between your 12,000 sq. ft. house and the airport where you keep your private jet.

K-A

Lexus:

I sat in an LS at the L.A Auto Show, and I honest to goodness was shocked at how chintzy much of it felt. Sure it was coddling in its way, but didn't compare to any M-B above a C-Class IMO.

Funny to me how the GS is a full 3 years newer than the W211, and 2 newer than the 5-er, while both outsell it handily (W211 even being on its last production year).

patrick_y

Statistically; the most educated people in the United States drive Saab, Volvo, and Audi cars.

About a decade ago, Saab's premium model drivers were more highly educated and generated greater household income than Mercedes S-Class drivers. I'm not sure if this is still the case today.

Additionally, the average S-Class driver is really just an average. The range is tremendous. For instance, in Southern California, the average S-Class driver has a household income much lower than other parts of California or the United States.

patrick_y

The Lexus LS 600h is a dismal failure. The petrol engine model drinks less petrol than the hybrid electric model. Since when did that make sense?

Beautiful red car you have there. Is it a 500K? If you're ever in Pebble Beach for the auctions, shoot me an email. Not a lot of 500K lovers on this forum.

SL2003driver

Statistically they might be more educated but based on the cars they buy they are not very smart

Red Marko

Nice call, it is 1935 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster.
In my eyes, THE most beautifull car Mercedes ever built. The lines are breathtaking. The design is simply...timeless
Far surpassing famous 300SL Gullwing, (considered by many the most beautiful).

And you are right, not too many know the car.
As far as I know only 26 were produced.
Take a look:






BTW, I don't own it.

K-A

Wow, brilliant car. That view from the cockpit is something else.

Red Marko

You are quite correct, the whole car is a "study in a flow...".
Whoever does not see the abslutety perfect executon of smoothness in body work is ... blind.
Striking and sexy to the n-th degree.
Don't forget, the car is 17 feet long and proportioned ... perfectly.
I will say it again, sexy is understatement here

WSH

Define education and intelligence

Suspect most Stanford/Wharton/Harvard undergrad alums (some smart guys do Stanford engineering grad school; other grad schools (engg or B-schools) tend to be for morons) who have a decent career and have bucks have near-zero interest in any cars or in driving

Most highly educated and allegedly intelligent guys live in NYC or Silicon Valley, not LA

At least in SV, of guys w/bucks who are car guys (admittedly a minority) most seem to opt to commute via some new AMG S/CL/SL, not F/P, let alone these other laughable car brands (AKA man-purses)

WSH

markopolo, much respect your views, but for me any car is judged in terms of its engineering innovation and execution

Stylistic stuff is interesting and far more relevant for stuff like clothing or shoes or purses that lack a major safety or dynamic component

But for cars, IMO, styling is deeply intertwined w/engineering excellence; IMO, greatest car ever is '09 CL65, until '10 CL65 arrives....I view any car as an obsolescent, disposable tech device, and styling is superseded by brilliant engineering...much of why I get new MBs (or Blkberries) every 6-12mos...unlikely to ever change, as long as smart engineers keep innovating and debugging

JohnH4260

Please give examples of "man-purse" rides...

K-A

I think it's safe to say that many people have different appreciations to what beauty in automotive form is to them.

Engineering is very important and all to me, and Safety is a must, but design, flow, timelessness, and coherent design beauty is what grabs me when it comes to cars. I personally couldn't really love my car unless its look didn't strike me, and if I didn't think that it's something that I could appreciate for years and years if I wanted to.

I'm one of those weirdos that studies the lines of a car endlessly, and tries to gauge whether it's a "design fad" kind of look (i.e will be dated fast), or a true marve that will always hold its own.

SL2003driver

Agree that is one of the reasons I bought the Aston Martin sports car.

vonbeeler

AGREED. Form over function for me. I have to need the car by its looks first, then other considerations.

JohnH4260

Mercedes-Benz CL-Class AMG Converted into a Convertible
Is there any car out there that the folks from California-based NCE won't whack the roof off? Probably not. If it has four wheels and a fixed roof and you can afford it, the California-based company won't have any problem at all to transform it into a convertible. After the Dodge Challenger, Toyota Prius, Cadillac CTS and God knows how many other vehicles, NCE has now chopped the top off a Mercedes-Benz CL-Class AMG coupe. No word if it's the $150k CL63 AMG or the $200k+ CL65 AMG, but either way, the owner of the car must have a lot of 'ping-pongs' (and way too much play money) to dare such a conversion.

K-A

Agreed.



The new W212 E-Class is a perfect example in this for me personally. Engineering wise, it is a natural step up from the W211 and is an engineering masterpiece apparently, however to me, stylistically, refinement, and the like are all a step down. I drool over owning a piece of engineering brilliance, but I can't get myself to switch from what I have currently, as the the pro's of the new ones technicalities, don't outweigh the pros of the W211's style, and elegance, to me personally.

vonbeeler

Another recent example is the CL. When the 1st CL came out I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Initially I could just stare at it in amazement. When the revision came out in 07 it became just another pretty car. Nothing really inspired me about it at all. Didn't have the wow factor that the original design had. So don't really care about all the tech cause design is a just OK.

Red Marko

WSH, the respect I give you back
Judged on car's innovation and execution merits (in 1935) the car had an array of impressive features, the most important being four-wheel independent suspension. Upfront were twin parallel wishbones and the rear had swing arms. Synchromesh was standard for three of four forward speeds in the transmission and top gear catered to high speed autobahn travel (to its' times).
The main highlight of the engine was its gear driven, Rootes-type supercharger (or Kompressor) that could spool up on demand to increase the power from 115bhp to 180bhp.


I agree to the point. We simply can not compare those two. One being beauty with function (present CL) compared to Pure Sculpture and Beauty within (540 Roadster)

I don't think the Blacberry/disposable/obsolescent tech device comparison applies here.

Afterall, at the latest auction (1988), this car fetched over 5 mil. dollars(US).
One of the most sought after supercars

This car can't be driven (it would be a crime to drive an ART). It has to be looked at and admired.

Art is life and life is an art.

K-A

I agree. "Inspiring" designs are hard to come by these days, a lot of people are molding the same sheet metals and dimensions as the next guy. I remember like 5-10 years ago I would get blown away by the great designs that were coming out, especially by M-B who kept knocking them out of the park IMO, not so much to me personally lately. I dunno.

SL2003driver

I'm a looks first performance/reliablity next guy. The problem with MB since the early 2000's is the statement by most owners that I would not want to own one that was not under warranty. The Lexus guys are not saying that. I like the Lexus design of the LS and IS but the new LX looks like . Wish someone would built something that you can depend on and not feel you needed a warranty.

softgenious

The W221 has been great so far but it is still early.

JohnH4260

Mercedes-Benz Debuts S-Class ESF Safety Concept
An inordinate number of the safety features that we now find commonplace in roadgoing automobiles made their debut in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. So where better to look for the next generation of safety technology? You guessed it.

To that end, Mercedes is slated to unveil a concept S-Class to showcase the safety features it is working on next. The ESF 2009 Concept is based on the S400 Hybrid – as if to show that "green" and "safe" can co-exist – and it comes packed with a bunch of new airbags. There's a new curtain airbag in between the seats (you know, so you don't butt heads), airbags in the seatbelts themselves, and perhaps the most innovative feature, a giant airbag underneath the vehicle that inflates in the case of an imminent crash, adding friction to help the car decelerate and lifting the front of the car a bit to compensate for brake dive. That last part worries us a little, as it strikes us that it could hinder any attempt to steer away from the crash, but for the time being we'll trust that Mercedes knows what it's doing. There are also seat bolsters that can move the occupants a couple of inches away from the doors in case of a side impact, metal beams that can actually inflate – thereby cutting weight and saving space on impact beams – and reflective tires.

With the airbag count rising rapidly, a potential crash is looking more expensive by the day, but Mercedes seems to revel in the "how can you put a price on safety?" approach. Stay tuned for more information, and check out the images in the gallery below in the meantime.

JohnH4260

German Automakers See Improvements
While global sales in May are down from a year ago, the slump is not as severe as in previous months, according to BMW, Audi and Daimler.

While U.S. sales remain depressed, the three said demand had rebounded in some countries, suggesting sales could continue to improve in the year ahead.

BMW saw an 18 percent decline to 109,042 vehicles, while Daimler's Mercedes-Benz cars dropped 12 percent to 97,300 vehicles and Audi reported a 6 percent drop to 82,800 vehicles.

“We were able to increase our market share in the premium segment in major markets such as the U.S. and Japan over the previous month,” Ian Robertson, a BMW board member responsible for sales and marketing, said in the company's report. “I am cautiously optimistic that our global sales figures will continue to improve over the course of the year.”

While the company experienced May declines in its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands and its motorcycles, the new generation of the Z4, on the market since May 9, has seen a robust 2,365 deliveries worldwide. Also, the 7 Series sedan, the company's biggest sedan, sold nearly 3,400 units in May — a 1.5 percent increase. And the X6, a SUV-car crossover built in its Greer plant, sold 3,625 units worldwide, a 109 percent improvement over May a year ago.

Audi said that despite its 6 percent drop in total sales, it is seeing leaps in demand in the Asia-Pacific region, with China racking up big gains. While Audi sales in the United States fell more than 12 percent, the company added 2 percentage points to market share.

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz cars division said its 12 percent decline in May sales belied an improvement in Germany and other regions. The company's sales in Germany improved 11 percent for the month, delivering 25,600 vehicles.

Daimler said the Mercedes-Benz cars division posted record sales in China, up nearly 60 percent for the month to 5,200 units.