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2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Not much going on here in R231, so here is a photo.....
Things seem to be a bit dead here on the R231 forum, so I thought I would post this photo taken yesterday as I drove my Mars Red SL550--top down of course--south on Pacific Coast Highway, heading out of Newport Beach towards Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. It was a glorious, spring day. Cheers!
Last edited by Streamliner; May 22, 2017 at 02:56 PM.
Here on the Texas Gulf Coast the heat and humidity will soon get to the point that top down driving in 95F+ temperatures will only be for the brave hearted! Our best driving is between October and May most years. Picture taken in the driveway of our 1928 weekend house on Galveston Island where it rarely gets to freezing most years.....
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Love those old wooden homes. Lots of character. Nice car, too!
Living in CA, we get some great weather, but we also pay a high price for it, in the way of insane taxes. I much prefer Texas for pretty much EVERYTHING, except for the weather. And since all the kids & grandkids live here, well, I guess we're staying.
Last edited by Streamliner; May 23, 2017 at 08:44 AM.
The fact this house has survived 5 major Hurricanes is amazing and the 2x4's, 2x6's and 2x8's in the walls, attic and roof are actually to size, not the cut down versions we get at the lumber yard today.
The one nice thing about the SL in its design is that during hot or cold weather you can roll the windows and wind screen up and maintain a relatively cool or warm environment even with the top down inside the cabin. I owned a Z3 years ago and it was like a wind tunnel all the time......
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by Utopia Texas
The fact this house has survived 5 major Hurricanes is amazing and the 2x4's, 2x6's and 2x8's in the walls, attic and roof are actually to size, not the cut down versions we get at the lumber yard today.
The one nice thing about the SL in its design is that during hot or cold weather you can roll the windows and wind screen up and maintain a relatively cool or warm environment even with the top down inside the cabin. I owned a Z3 years ago and it was like a wind tunnel all the time......
I was a die-hard lover of my 2004 SL500. I ordered it new and sold it last year, with only about 22K miles on it. It was just getting too old and I heard horror stories about potential hydraulic problems, so I let it go. Then, when I got my 2013, I was truly amazed at how much BETTER the car was. The push button wind screen is great. The Air Scarf is wonderful. The interior is so much nicer, and the car is a ROCKET! As I understand it, they are not selling like they used to. Oh well, those of us who have one, know the magic!
Probably a couple of reasons the SL is selling slower these days.
For one there are very few folks that can afford a 100k plus 2 seater car. The SL is for fun and pleasure riding and not very practical compared to less expensive cars on the market. Trying to raise 2-3 children these days with a house payment and other related expenses leaves little extra money for anything else. A question asked on this forum in the past showed many SL owners retired and in their 60's to 70's age wise.
In the near past Mercedes has made some really questionable decisions on the SL that makes one raise a eyebrow and it affects sales. One was using a bland stereo system linked together with fiber optic cables that made upgrades really tough and expensive. My current Ford F-150 pickup truck has a factory installed Sony stereo system that sounds far superior to either system in both SL's I have owned. This is sad for the Mercedes Marc.
On the current model for those with surround sound we find that the rear speakers only work with DVD Audio disks that average $45-$50 each and are not available from the vast majority of musical artists. Again, a hassle for the owner to have fixed. Most of us that can afford a 100k+ plus car should not have to go through the agrevation to have things adapted and repaired on brand new cars right off the assembly line. This is just my opinion.
Last edited by Utopia Texas; May 24, 2017 at 08:52 AM.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by Utopia Texas
Probably a couple of reasons the SL is selling slower these days.
For one there are very few folks that can afford a 100k plus 2 seater car. The SL is for fun and pleasure riding and not very practical compared to less expensive cars on the market. Trying to raise 2-3 children these days with a house payment and other related expenses leaves little extra money for anything else. A question asked on this forum in the past showed many SL owners retired and in their 60's to 70's age wise.
In the near past Mercedes has made some really questionable decisions on the SL that makes one raise a eyebrow and it affects sales. One was using a bland stereo system linked together with fiber optic cables that made upgrades really tough and expensive. My current Ford F-150 pickup truck has a factory installed Sony stereo system that sounds far superior to either system in both SL's I have owned. This is sad for the Mercedes Marc.
On the current model for those with surround sound we find that the rear speakers only work with DVD Audio disks that average $45-$50 each and are not available from the vast majority of musical artists. Again, a hassle for the owner to have fixed. Most of us that can afford a 100k+ plus car should not have to go through the agrevation to have things adapted and repaired on brand new cars right off the assembly line. This is just my opinion.
I agree and disagree--what's new?
The SL has never been a young person's car. If a young guy has the bucks, it's almost always been a Porsche. That said, I got my first one, a used, 1972 350SL when I was 28, so there are exceptions--but that car was preceded by many Corvettes and several Porsches.
I agree about the music quality. Definitely not up to par these days. I wonder if it's worth it to get the B&O system, or does have the same shortcomings?
Along the lines of questionable decisions, look at the interior color choices. Amongst them are Porcelain & Black, Platinum White & Black and Deep White & Black. THREE white interior color choices, very subtle in their differences, but you can't get an all saddle tan or an all red interior. Makes no sense to me. And, as much as I love the car, there are exterior design areas that could have been done so much better.
And now, with the upcoming new SL, which is rumored to come in 2019 as a 2020, we lose the magnificent retractable hard top and will gain two, completely useless rear seats. Since AMG is building it, I assume it will head more in the direction of the AMG GT and not in the direction of the Bentley Continental, where it should be going. Did they legalize marijuana in Germany?
Maybe the crew in Germany is celebrating Oktoberfest 12 months of the year now at least until Christian religions are abolished and so too alcohol served by low cleavage waitresses!
The SL has never been a young person's car. If a young guy has the bucks, it's almost always been a Porsche. That said, I got my first one, a used, 1972 350SL when I was 28, so there are exceptions--but that car was preceded by many Corvettes and several Porsches.
I agree about the music quality. Definitely not up to par these days. I wonder if it's worth it to get the B&O system, or does have the same shortcomings?
Along the lines of questionable decisions, look at the interior color choices. Amongst them are Porcelain & Black, Platinum White & Black and Deep White & Black. THREE white interior color choices, very subtle in their differences, but you can't get an all saddle tan or an all red interior. Makes no sense to me. And, as much as I love the car, there are exterior design areas that could have been done so much better.
And now, with the upcoming new SL, which is rumored to come in 2019 as a 2020, we lose the magnificent retractable hard top and will gain two, completely useless rear seats. Since AMG is building it, I assume it will head more in the direction of the AMG GT and not in the direction of the Bentley Continental, where it should be going. Did they legalize marijuana in Germany?
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I agree with most of what you said, but you can definitely get Red and Brown leather interiors on the SL. At least here in Canada, you can!
Unless you meant, ALL red or ALL brown. Aka not just the seats, but the dash and carpets and all of that, which to be honest I think would look awful. Whenever I see a Porsche 911 with the full red interior, I want to throw up. On the other hand, the Red/Black interiors are the most beautiful in my opinion (I may be a bit biased, see signature). Carpets and dashboard should always be black with a red interior, when you have too much red it cheapens it, again just my opinion.
Makes one wonder if Mercedes ever has any focus groups including Americans in the mix. I do understand how rigid German's can be accepting new ideas. My wife's family are all from German decent!
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by SlammedM3
I agree with most of what you said, but you can definitely get Red and Brown leather interiors on the SL. At least here in Canada, you can!
Unless you meant, ALL red or ALL brown. Aka not just the seats, but the dash and carpets and all of that, which to be honest I think would look awful. Whenever I see a Porsche 911 with the full red interior, I want to throw up. On the other hand, the Red/Black interiors are the most beautiful in my opinion (I may be a bit biased, see signature). Carpets and dashboard should always be black with a red interior, when you have too much red it cheapens it, again just my opinion.
Really? Here are two of my all time favorite interiors. The red is Porsche, the tan is Bentley. How's your stomach doing?
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
Originally Posted by Utopia Texas
Makes one wonder if Mercedes ever has any focus groups including Americans in the mix. I do understand how rigid German's can be accepting new ideas. My wife's family are all from German decent!
For many years, I was the exclusive U.S. Importer/Distributor for a very well known German brand of merchandise. I love the Germans dearly, but when you look in the dictionary under "pigheaded," there is a photo of a guy in lederhosen!
Here on the Texas Gulf Coast the heat and humidity will soon get to the point that top down driving in 95F+ temperatures will only be for the brave hearted! Our best driving is between October and May most years. Picture taken in the driveway of our 1928 weekend house on Galveston Island where it rarely gets to freezing most years.....
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
