SL/R231: 2022 SL Road & Track
#1
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2022 SL Road & Track
I just saw this in a Road & Track article.... I'm still not a soft top guy... but I like the flared rear fenders........ https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...-2020-driving/
#3
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No more MB:(
Great looking car despite 2+2. Soft top likely kills it for me, it's tough to give up the hard top once you have one. They can call the soft top "regal" but the reality is it's nothing more than a necessary change to meet weight/fuel consumption requirements.
#4
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It is ironic that the soft top creates more room in the rear area that can now be configured into two tiny useless back seats......
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#6
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2015 E63S
I agree forget the rear seats.... who is actually asking for these? “Gee Martha, really wish we had those two useless crushing rear seats with no seatbelts like we had in our 1972 450sl” ???
#7
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Anyone think that looks a bit like the 2012 SLS?
Last edited by RoundTheBenz; 11-15-2019 at 11:13 AM.
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#9
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I truly believe that MB has done zero homework on looking into what SL owners love about their cars and hate about their cars. In short, they really don’t care and they will just do as they wish. It’s a low volume car, so why spend any money making something spectacular, when they can just get by with something less so. Giving the AMG GT the ridiculous rear seats and the cloth top is one thing, but doing the same to the next SL just screams out “CHEAP!” They could have given us an all new 2-seat SL, with all the modern electronics of an S Class, a truly world class audio system and our beloved retractable hardtop, but that would have been HARD and it would have cost a lot of MONEY, so they knuckled-under and will doll up an AMG GT and call it an SL.
There is a great line, spoken by Tom Hanks, in the movie “A League of Their Own,” when he is replying to a complaint that playing baseball is “too hard.” He says:
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”
To do a new SL right, would certainly be hard, but it sure would be GREAT! Oh well.
There is a great line, spoken by Tom Hanks, in the movie “A League of Their Own,” when he is replying to a complaint that playing baseball is “too hard.” He says:
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”
To do a new SL right, would certainly be hard, but it sure would be GREAT! Oh well.
#10
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IMO, if the performance of a current SL550 with ABC isn’t enough for anyone, then they don’t belong in an SL, they belong in an AMG GT or a Porsche. Just sayin.
#11
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2013 SL550 (Lux Sport), 2006 CL55 AMG (Muscle). S550 (Wife's Sedan)
I truly believe that MB has done zero homework on looking into what SL owners love about their cars and hate about their cars. In short, they really don’t care and they will just do as they wish. It’s a low volume car, so why spend any money making something spectacular, when they can just get by with something less so. Giving the AMG GT the ridiculous rear seats and the cloth top is one thing, but doing the same to the next SL just screams out “CHEAP!” They could have given us an all new 2-seat SL, with all the modern electronics of an S Class, a truly world class audio system and our beloved retractable hardtop, but that would have been HARD and it would have cost a lot of MONEY, so they knuckled-under and will doll up an AMG GT and call it an SL.
There is a great line, spoken by Tom Hanks, in the movie “A League of Their Own,” when he is replying to a complaint that playing baseball is “too hard.” He says:
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”
To do a new SL right, would certainly be hard, but it sure would be GREAT! Oh well.
There is a great line, spoken by Tom Hanks, in the movie “A League of Their Own,” when he is replying to a complaint that playing baseball is “too hard.” He says:
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”
To do a new SL right, would certainly be hard, but it sure would be GREAT! Oh well.
The Title of that song is....."It's Too Late"...
Be happy that you own a 231, because by now, you can bet that MB's plan for the 232 is 'set in stone', and is what it is, whether 'we' like it or not!...
Last edited by bob55; 11-15-2019 at 12:08 PM.
#12
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2015 S550 Coup, 2017 Golf R , 2018 BMW M2 (wifes)
Nobody is asking for them - but insurance rates will go down with the back seats for sure. And since they are ending the S class coupe- this is a mash up between the two
#13
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And yes, “mash up” is a great term for what MB is doing. I will reserve final judgement until the new car actually shows up, but based on what we hear, it certainly sounds mashed up.
#14
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AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
Well, this is an ancient render which has been making its rounds. MB's design language has already changed
Quick historical background...The SLS is the predecessor to the AMG GT (actually the underpinnings of the GT models are based on the SLS Black Series and thus to the next SL as that one is based on the next AMG GT platform. On the roadsters, the SLS is more or less identical with GT models (rear cabin, soft top design, trunk, etc.). Now that which isn't a great thing as visibility is terrible and the trunk has zero space.
The GT models are selling much better than the SL's although the roadster sales are soft just like the SLS roadster sales were. Coupes sell better. I do believe that the reason is the poor sound deadening and missing practicality of other Mercedes convertibles that surprise Mercedes customers when they get in the car and take it for a spin. Hard sell when it comes to creature comforts.
Of course I like our GTC for that very reason but am looking forward to what AMG produces next...
Quick historical background...The SLS is the predecessor to the AMG GT (actually the underpinnings of the GT models are based on the SLS Black Series and thus to the next SL as that one is based on the next AMG GT platform. On the roadsters, the SLS is more or less identical with GT models (rear cabin, soft top design, trunk, etc.). Now that which isn't a great thing as visibility is terrible and the trunk has zero space.
The GT models are selling much better than the SL's although the roadster sales are soft just like the SLS roadster sales were. Coupes sell better. I do believe that the reason is the poor sound deadening and missing practicality of other Mercedes convertibles that surprise Mercedes customers when they get in the car and take it for a spin. Hard sell when it comes to creature comforts.
Of course I like our GTC for that very reason but am looking forward to what AMG produces next...
Last edited by Wolfman; 11-15-2019 at 07:51 PM.
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much better in so many ways over the S Class Cab, not to even mention the E Class Cab. I was driving my SL with the top down the other day, doing about 60mph and was just amazed, once again, at the lack of wind turbulence in the cabin and I had the windows
down and the deflector was not deployed. There is no way you will get that in any 4-seat cabriolet.
Last edited by Streamliner; 11-15-2019 at 08:41 PM.
#17
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The E Class Cabriolet is a very nice car, but it is not in the same league as the SL. Actually, in my opinion, neither is the S Class Cabriolet, but many would argue that point. The R231 SL's, even as the dinosaurs that they are, are truly amazing cars and IMO, just so
much better in so many ways over the S Class Cab, not to even mention the E Class Cab. I was driving my SL with the top down the other day, doing about 60mph and was just amazed, once again, at the lack of wind turbulence in the cabin and I had the windows
down and the deflector was not deployed. There is no way you will get that in any 4-seat cabriolet.
much better in so many ways over the S Class Cab, not to even mention the E Class Cab. I was driving my SL with the top down the other day, doing about 60mph and was just amazed, once again, at the lack of wind turbulence in the cabin and I had the windows
down and the deflector was not deployed. There is no way you will get that in any 4-seat cabriolet.
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#18
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No more MB:(
Originally Posted by usc96
Sadly the SL's interior technology (or lack thereof) hits you in the face with how dated it is. Plus, what's up with the fake air vents on the sides in front of both doors? For $120,000, nothing should be FAKE.
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Last edited by Streamliner; 11-16-2019 at 10:39 AM.
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#20
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Great looking car!!
My 2016 550 has the same color combination. My 2005 SL 500 (black on red) is also a great color combo. Like you, I have worked had and can afford almost anything I want, but I in the end, nothing can surpass the SL (at least for me)
My 2016 550 has the same color combination. My 2005 SL 500 (black on red) is also a great color combo. Like you, I have worked had and can afford almost anything I want, but I in the end, nothing can surpass the SL (at least for me)
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2012 CLS63
I just saw this in a Road & Track article.... I'm still not a soft top guy... but I like the flared rear fenders........ https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...-2020-driving/
#22
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The back end of this rendering still looks kind of smashed, the front end still looks good, there are too many seats, and the top is just flat-out cheap. The tech in any car that lasts longer than 3 years will get dated...that's a given. But the tech in the 231 is just fine. The sound systems aren't old...they're just designed oddly. The only tech that the car is "lacking" is a touch screen, and touch screens are a royal PITA. Looking through the inevitable finger grease build-up is just nasty...not to mention the fact that using a touch screen in a moving car is downright dangerous. They're no safer to use while driving that texting while driving. One of the reasons that I'm interested in a current 231 is that the center screen is not a touch screen. I wouldn't mind if they installed the newer straight six in the 231, but there's nothing really wrong with the V6 as it is. And, oh yeah, get off my lawn, too...
#23
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I agree with the “no” touch screen. For me the SL is all about the drive and the last thing I want is more touch screens that take away from my driving experience. My daily driver, a Ford F-250 Diesel, has all the modern touch screen technology and more and I prefer the SL the way it is in the 231. I know some may argue that younger folks want all the new bells and whistles but I don’t know any that can afford a 120k automobile. I believe MB has forgotten who their audience is for the SL....
#24
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You’ve certainly got that right. There are more than enough hard, fast and wild machines in the MB AMG stable. The new SL should be something completely different, embracing everything good about the current car and vanquishing all of its shortcomings.
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