you have valid point. Just because you know how to speak a foreign language, doesn't mean you can teach it. Just because you know a lot about an industry, doesn't mean you can manage the north east division of it etc. You need to know both. but i'd be more likely to heed the words of someone who had a lot of experience in the industry over some fresh college grad telling me about CRM and every other abbreviation they read out of their textbook.

:iagree: I've felt that way about Merc for years. Bimmers, too. Overweight, so how do we sell it as sporty? Put a ridiculously powerful engine in there. Same philosophy as muscle cars had. But still... Muscle cars shouldn't cost 100k and arrive on all-season rubber.

lol, the braking package on the $48k SLK300 Roadster:

SOLID rear discs, and single piston floating front calipers? 10.9" rear brakes? A Camry has more braking power than this thing.

I seriously do not get the allure of Mercedes Benz. Their cars are crap for performance unless they wear an AMG badge. No wonder they need so many driver aids.

the fact of the matter is, people who buy muscle cars don't LOVE the part where they write the check. i feel like people who spend 100k plus on a sedan, on some level, like that part.

i can totally see dropping a fat wad on an M3 or m5(not that i would). but spending more than that on a 750li, i just dont get it.

The problem is that managers hire other managers. And if the fresh college grad can CRM and PPS and "other fancy buzzword acronym", while the technical guy who cares about his folks actually "gets it", the manager manager might be swayed by the buzzwords, and while technical manager spends all his time making things actually work, the buzzword whore spends most of his day figuring out how to screw the other managers at his level and cozy up to his/her own boss. You know the saying, "f*ck up - move up"

BMW believes in good handling, weight distribution, and douchebaggery though. What does MB tout?

did you see the top gear where they talk about some special edition mercedes, and how the engine has a plaque that says hand built by so and so. then Clarkson does the math based on how many people they have building engines (which was somehow a known figure) and how many of that car they produce, that 'so and so' was producing some impossibly large amount of engines per year.

snobbery

Yes lol.

And "hand built" to your average high-end MB owner doesn't mean anything. Said owner has probably never even changed their own oil before, yet alone knows d*ck about building an engine. They probably bolt the valve covers on by hand and call that "hand built." :ugh2:

And the C-class gives another choice to stereotypical 3-series-driving trophy wives. :tup:

Merc owners don't need to know much about cars. Their husbands are responsible for the vehicles.

MB has always been a massive power company. Speed. Not necessarily handling but speed. Like I said, autobahn and 1/4 mile whores.

Ever seen a $100+k benz on slicks and skinnies... it's silllly.

not to turn this into an AT/MT debate, but i think the fact that they do not offer a manual transmission on a single mercedes vehicle shows the kind of market they are catering to. porsche bmw and audi all offer manual gearboxes. mercedes doesn't. I'm not saying that people who get automatics are grandma's by ANY means, if thats what you want, then fine, but you don't see many grandmas driving a stick. and since thats who mercedes is trying to sell to, why offer it?

do you remember what episode it was? i wan't to find it!

Yes, but 4900+ lb curb weight is no good for acceleration :(

Was it the one about the CL AMG Black? Clarkson ended up buying one of those.

It may have been an earlier one.

its all about power to weight ratio

Haha well only old people buy CL's so it doesn't matter.

Our CLK500 weighs in right around 3500lbs which isn't bad for your average luxo coupe.

Merc offers MT on their vehicles. They are just really rare. There is currently an SLK at my local carmax with one.

http://img-04.carmax.com/Images/2/04...5-c953315e.jpg

The CLK63 AMG Black Series is AMAZING.

lol a 4900 lb boat with 500 hp has barely more power-to-weight than a 2600 lb Civic with a turbo. Sad.

what year is that car?

What about the SL65 AMG Black. mmmmmm that thing is cool.

'07, and they have '08 models as well.

interesting. i've never seen a single live one.

Not surprising. Of the 833 Mercs on carmax right now, 10 of them are manuals.

I think the SLK is the only one that has a manual these days. I know you could get a C series with a manual but I don't think you can anymore.

this girl in my grade in HS got an sl500 as her first car. Then her family fell on hard times and they sold it. then the hard times ended 3 months later and they got her a new one. Drug Lord father much?

I like Mercedes and I would buy some of their models, but I would ONLY own them during the warranty period.

There is a lot you can DIY, even many of the repairs, but if you ever have to replace a sensor the computer MUST be preprogrammed at an authorized Mercedes center with their STAR sytem or whatever it is... they charge you a **** ton.

:iagree: It's all SLK and C on carmax. But they have an '08 C with a manual.

Anyway, we're way off topic now. And my backless chaps are chaffing.

Yep, SLK still comes with a manual. That must be expensive for MB to support just 1 model (SLK300).

:iagree: but you can say this about all German models. BMW, Audi, Porsche... I will never own one through warranty. wayyyyyyy too expensive to maintain. If I lived in Europe, that would be a different story.

:iagree: But it's probably a fairly modular design. I forget who they share a lot of these platforms with.

Used to be Chrysler. A Crossfire is still a fantastic way to afford an obsolete SLK. lol All they did was take all of the quality out of the interior. :bowrofl:

We had an issue on the 500 where the crank position sensor went out. I ordered a new one and installed it (PITA) but we were still having problems.

Anyways, ended up needing a different model # on the CPS and a reprogram so to the dealer it went. They charged $100 for the CPS and something like $550 for labor and the reprogram.

On any other car it would have been a $50-100 DIY fix.

:icon18:

I hate Mercedes ergonomics BTW. It's just random where those germans put things. :icon18:

didn't jeremy clarkson call the crossfire one of the worst cars he had ever driven?

back on topic, though, Honda...

I loathe their advertising.

I want to know why they and Toyota no longer make real performance vehicles. I'm sure it's their market strategy, and it probably works. But those badges used to inspire lust (s2k, nsx, supra, mr2). They now inspire :yawn:

No, no, no but Honda has the CR-Z now. It's a true SPORTS car :icon14: :icon14: :icon14:

It's much cheaper to build boring cars that people who don't give a **** about performance buy. They make more money that way.