I got word today from Keil (CME4BENZ) that my S55 is in production as of January 24. Hopefully, it'll be on the boat by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week. So close...

Got an update today that production finished yesterday and a VIN number has been assigned. Awaiting shipment now. Another step closer.

According to the W&W site, it's on the boat and should be at the VPC by the middle of the month. Looks like I may get it before the end of the month!

Im so excited for you. Send me some pics when u get it!!!!

Well, it's just a boring Silver/Charcoal with standard AMG rims but I'll post them anyway. One thing I will be sure to post is a shot of the bird's eye view on the nav display. I think the S and CL '04 nav systems were the first in the MB line to have this feature. I asked for someone to post pics of it a couple months back but no one did so I will for anyone who's interested.

It's off the boat and at the VPC. Not too much longer now.

How do you get all these sit reps on your car I have an E55 on order and was told they would know its here when they see it being unloaded. Are you involved in insider trading?

It is all in your realtionship with the dealership and salesperson.

A good salesman like Keil can check the NetStar system and tell you everything about a car that has started production.

I've got to smile and chuckle over your enthusiasm and excitement over the arrival of your car. Congratulations on the purchase and hopefully many fun miles of driving. I've had my S55 for 7 months and have loved every minute of it. It is the best of both worlds of luxury and performance. From taking friends out to a leisurely dinner to blowing off a supercharged Mustang GT it is a great car to own.

This is certainly true. Keil has provided me with lots of information. Additionally, I encouraged him to keep me updated and I tried to keep informed by learning a bit about the build status codes from this site:

http://www.c32life.com/faq.htm#Q3

Are you kidding? I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas. I've certainly been told by my wife many times how ridiculously excited and obsessed I can be about getting a new toy. As for the car choice itself, it was the perfect mix of speed, power and space (I have one child and my wife is due again this Summer). I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Well, my new toy has arrived ("The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys"). I'll post pics when I get a chance but it may not be for a week or so. For those interested in the MP3 playback features of the 2004 S and CL class systems, I've already done some testing (some was done before delivery in dealership showroom cars) and posted my findings in a related thread here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=3

For those who don't want to wade through the technical mumbo jumbo, it boils down to the fact that the system CAN read MP3 DVD-Rs in the front slot. So, I've been able to get the system to load and playback a DVD-R with as many as 1000 MP3s on it which is quite a few more than what you can get on a CD-R. This feature is undocumented and probably not officially supported so it does have some limitations. See the thread for more details.