Ali_E55

i like the assumptions of others that they think oil money is going to our pocket.

we work as all others do. ordnary people as others. but thank god we have great rulers and president who care about his people.

our personal income doesnt differ alot from other countries.


University graduate earns less than US100k per year.

03'55AMG

I for one am not afraid for change, actually I'm sure all of us aren't, its just that it looks like they actually paid attn to the front, then a little less on the rear fenders, then on the back its as if they tried to make ugly the new sexy, and they pulled it off on the W211 55Ks and 63s, but this? just a very sad thing to see from Mercedes, especially with the looks of the new SLKs. I don't know if I'll ever come around to this design, but maybe some will.

CharlyE500

The front and side are good but the rear is really ugly. The exhaust is really ugly.

RonnieRenaldi

The look from straight front is nice!

Ali_E55

if you ask for the sport package, the tail tips are diffrent. two big ones = 1 big on each side. and i am seeing some fat deep concave wheels are going to be ordered

saam55

Ali congratulation, I think you choosed the best 4 doors car .
I love this car .. Amazing looks ..
What about your e55 ?

220S

Nobody's afraid of change. But some of us take a stand behind their own aesthetic values and don't just bend over backwards to whatever comes along. New is good but the design is still problematic.


The main concern for me are those rear fenders. Just like Clarkson was getting at with his witty remarks (and better said then I can.) It makes no design sense and the 'historical connection' is lost on everybody. You have modern creases all over the car and then all of a sudden these retro looking curvy flanks that appear like they came off an entirely different car. It's just totally odd.

stevebez

+1 ... also whats with that awefull gearshift? Its the size of a mellon... rest of the car is nice ... drive train potential to mod and could be legendary ... the side sticker says it all to me but its a but like a busty pretty girl with a big behind... tempting but will depreciate fast... and so not marrying material.

Ali_E55

thanks man

im thinking of keeping it untill i get the CLS and i want to try between it and my E55, just out of fun.


then i will sell it and install my KC kit on the new CLS. lol

DucatiNut

As for the comment about not liking change.... well this is probably the only comment someone can make when they don't see or understand what the others are talking about.
Try this simple test:
Place your hand over the front half of the car to conceal the front fender swoop line that runs backwards: The back of the car has a definite look all its own and isn't too bad (OK subject to opinion of course but bare with me here). Tail lights and rear shape seems to have some theme going on and it flows. If you do this and forget what the front of the car looks like you kind of expect the front to dive down to the nose.
Now place your hand over the back of the car and consider the front (from the front door forward). Same comments apply here in that it seems to work OK.

The problem arises when you combine the two views. The two styles clash at the intersection point of the side creases and one view competes with the other, not compliments the other. Can't people see this????

Rust bucket

The car just looks terrible.

X2Board

That can grow on me, and I never have to look at the back from the driver's seat

stevebez

Anyone notice the carbon ceramic brakes? .... I feel a retrofit coming on .....

ESIX3POWER

No one has mentioned this yet but how bout those mirrors being placed on the doors! ala Lexus.. The mirrors should not be protruding from the damn doors.. That looks awful..

Tjdehya

I saw it too and I also noticed that its on the new 2012 SLK. IMO... Very ugly! But the rest of the car is gorgeous so I didnt mention it because it may be a non factor when I see the car in person.

I Like Soup

Goodness, not a very worthy successor to the beautiful CLS. I was really gobsmacked when the first CLS came out. This one, not so much. The side view is just terrible. Granted, I'm sure things will look better in person and grow on us, but still, that side view is just toooo busy and erratic. Plus, I guess I'm afraid of change so that seals the deal.

K-A

Indeed, it looks horrible and not elegant at all. Worst placement of any current Benz. However, it was done for regulation purposes (the Designers didn't choose for it to be this way). EU cars need to have certain blind-spot visibility, and with the CLS's small windows, they were forced to awkwardly place them on the door. EU regulations are also the reason for the super blunt face, and the kind of unrefined shutline of the hood into the bumper (BMW's all suffer from this as well).

I can't tell if I love it or don't love it. I will say, I think the rear looks practially beautiful, save for the VERY abrupt and questionably unrefined chrome bar on the trunk lid, as it just unfinished-ly ends without any grace. The W212 for example, has a chrome bar that is far more gracefully employed. I also think the rear is a drastic improvement from the current CLS's only real terrible-point, which is its own unsexy rear.

Where my beef lies here is in that terrible side crease. I happen to think the rear fender haunch is well done here, and looks nice, but the crease that starts haphazardly at a random point in it, and is too angular and crisp in contrast to said luscious haunch, just makes no sense. It goes UPWARD, completely jarring the side view, and going against the wedge shape of the car, and the rest of the cars lines (including the one right under it, at the bottom of the doors). Also, the door handles are "leaning back", instead of forward, which also goes against the wedge shape. In the side profile, I'm basically seeing a wedge shaped car, with a line and door handles that go anti-wedge.

I understand what M-B is trying to do. They want to harken a Classic look, i.e that "leaned back luxury" look of old Rolls Royces, classic Boulevard Cruisers, etc. But it just seems the antithesis of a "4-Door Coupe", which is a brand new, very modern style on its own. Also, they're obviously trying to add some variety, and do something different, as all their cars (and all cars) have the more coherent downward "moving" slashes. But good>different, every time.

I do like how the windows are slightly larger than the previous version. The car overall looks more "Sedan" than "Coupe" to me now. Interior looks superb.

All in all, I think the car will have a very strong presence on the road, in that "rolling art form/sculpture" way. For all the good and bad reasons. You have to literally get used to it and digest it in order to possibly understand and/or fall in love with it, or confirm its odd flawed-ness to your eyes, if you are a detail oriented appreciator of design. Otherwise, the "ooh" and "ahh" factor will just win you over right away, if you're a design simpleton like so many of us are.

So far, judging by what's out right now, and coming out in the near future, realistically speaking, the CLS seems to be the top contender to possibly lure me in from the car that I have, were it to have enough of a positive real life effect on me.

draz.amg

sick interior and liking those calipers
definitely a step up from the previous model

NCE500

IMO it looks a little busy from most angles, and looses the timeless elegance of the current CLS. That being said, it looks light years better than W212, I could live this CLS.

If the new TT motor proves to be the powerhouse we hope for, I'm in for an off- lease example in a year or two.

c32AMG-DTM

Other than the odd, reptilian taillights, I think the rest looks pretty decent. IMHO, there were weird, unexpected styling cues with the prior CLS. Relative to that one, it's hard for me to not view this as an overall major improvement - especially when one considers the engine, tranny, brakes, and interior.

c32AMG-DTM

OT... University graduates here are fortunate to be finding any "real" employment in general, let alone enough compensation to avoid taking up residence in their parents' basement. FWIW, many of 'em would kill for a six-figure income fresh out of college.

Not judging, or arguing... just sayin'.

bigben320e

You don't come around to things. You learn to accept it, but your first thought was the best and honest one.

Exactly, front is nice. Rear is fugly, those exhausts are damn ugly. The shifter is a clunky block, that is not smooth or refined at all.

The engine is awesome, those carbon fiber brakes are tops, but the exterior is what people see and that kind of sucks. It's like this guys:

You have a smart, funny, money making woman, that knows how to please. However, she has a Medusa face. It just ruins that package deal.

+1, don't bend your thoughts to just agree. If you think it sucks, just say...it sucks.

+1, it is your honesty.

Change is good, but some changes are crucial mistakes. Some people will buy this CLS, but a lot of the previous owners and ones in love with the current body style won't be feeling it much. We shall see.

K-A

If you guys think that this is "change", wait until you see what M-B just revealed will be their future design direction:










Merc showcases future direction - Autocar.co.uk

Ali_E55

UAE citizens total old folks, woman, eenagers, children are 800k. and there is 40k un employeed, 10k graduate un employed.


so its everywhere.

djrabbi

is it me or the rear looks like a maxima/sonata combined? front looks mostly like the C-Class.....way too many lines but the interior.....breath taking!