SL/R230: Gov't front bumper requirements for 2009, what about other Manufactures?
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
Gov't front bumper requirements for 2009, what about other Manufactures?
So MB had to make the new 2009 SL ugly because of gov't requirements what about the other manufactures??? Lambo's, Etc.???
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 911
Likes: 1
From: Wichita
2005 SL600, 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite
Rear and mid engine cars don't have the same problem as the front engine cars. In front engine cars, the hard engine is very close to the underside of the hood making the impact more damaging to the pedestrian. To get around this, manufacturers had to allow for more airspace between the hood and the engine. Most manufacturers have already complied, they just did a better job of disguising it than Mercedes. The SL is the most egregious example because they did a half-*** job, presumably in order to save costs. Had they changed the front quarter panels as well as the hood, the headlights could have a better shape and the front of the car would have looked much better.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,547
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles, CA
SL/M6
Rear and mid engine cars don't have the same problem as the front engine cars. In front engine cars, the hard engine is very close to the underside of the hood making the impact more damaging to the pedestrian. To get around this, manufacturers had to allow for more airspace between the hood and the engine. Most manufacturers have already complied, they just did a better job of disguising it than Mercedes. The SL is the most egregious example because they did a half-*** job, presumably in order to save costs. Had they changed the front quarter panels as well as the hood, the headlights could have a better shape and the front of the car would have looked much better.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,846
Likes: 291
From: Dallas TX
2013 650i Coupe, 2010 IS250 AWD, 1999 S500
The SL looks that way because the original design was done long before these laws were announced. The S/CL and newer models were designed with this in mind from the get-go. To say this the SL looks this way for cost reasons isn't nearly the whole story. Sure cost played a role, but the original design did also. On the S and CL you can't even tell the hoods are raised because they were designed that way from the start, the SL wasn't. You don't change every body panel for a facelift.
M
M
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
The SL looks that way because the original design was done long before these laws were announced. The S/CL and newer models were designed with this in mind from the get-go. To say this the SL looks this way for cost reasons isn't nearly the whole story. Sure cost played a role, but the original design did also. On the S and CL you can't even tell the hoods are raised because they were designed that way from the start, the SL wasn't. You don't change every body panel for a facelift.
M
M
Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
SLK55AMG
I don't know if that's really a fair statement, in Europe more than twice as many pedestrians and cyclists are killed in automobile accidents a year than in the states.
In the bigger scheme of things, there may be more important considerations than whether peanut or eye shaped headlights look better and if a car's front-end appears menacing enough.
In the bigger scheme of things, there may be more important considerations than whether peanut or eye shaped headlights look better and if a car's front-end appears menacing enough.
Trending Topics
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 911
Likes: 1
From: Wichita
2005 SL600, 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite
The SL looks that way because the original design was done long before these laws were announced. The S/CL and newer models were designed with this in mind from the get-go. To say this the SL looks this way for cost reasons isn't nearly the whole story. Sure cost played a role, but the original design did also. On the S and CL you can't even tell the hoods are raised because they were designed that way from the start, the SL wasn't. You don't change every body panel for a facelift.
M
M
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 950
Likes: 3
From: Maui, Hawaii
CLS63, GLK350
I am not sure I follow your logic. The whole purpose of the facelift was to bring the car into compliance with the EU pedestrian safety regulations, not to refresh the look. I argue that the facelifted SL looks this way primarily because of cost considerations. Just imagine if the front quarter panels were de-peanut-ized how much more freedom the designers would have had with the front end. Remember this photo-illustration of the SLC? This is just one possibility. They must have judged that the cost of changing the front quarter panels was prohibitively high.
