I spotted a NEW (insert make/model) today!

ateixeira

Lemme guess, smoking a cigar?

fintail

I couldn't see very well. Either someone was trying to air out something, or Italian electronics were having fun :shades:

Last night, saw a late model Lexus IS (host of LEDs), not an F, but it had some kind of big exhaust on it, and frankly, didn't sound the best. I don't understand.

ateixeira

Gotta be careful opening windows, you never know if they'll go back up!

IS oddball: so they pay for refinement and isolation, then pay more to take those away?

fintail

I worry in my cars, as rear window regulators in MB seem to be a problem issue going back decades. I remember back when I was in school, riding in a friend's 83 Monte Carlo, and joking "this window isn't going to roll up" when I rolled down the huge passenger door window. 10 minutes later - it failed to respond. I swear I didn't actually break it.

I think the IS might be one of the 3% who buy them who see it as sporty. Different world.

Visited an out of town MB dealer today - much larger selection than the one nearest me. Notable was an S400 hybrid, loaded 86K C63, and a couple of E wagons that were pretty loaded (P2, pano) - but no leather. A 68K car with vinyl interior, love it. There's a new silver color for the C that I like, almost a bluish hint to it. Also saw a couple new Fusions.

ateixeira

Vinyl wouldn't bother me, but I'm not in the 68k budget range.

Love the panos. Hyundai has a nice one on the Elantra GT.

Which S class sells best? Bet it's a mid level V8.

fintail

If I am blowing 70K, I want leather. Although to be honest, if I didn't know it was tex to begin with, I could probably be fooled, and so could 95% of the population, I'd wager.

Pano is something we can thank MB for - the W211 really got that fad rolling.

No doubt S550 sells best - more availability. And the typical S buyer is traditional - the hybrid will be too weird, and the diesel too unconventional. For me, the diesel would be a no-brainer.

bhill2

And the typical S buyer is traditional - the hybrid will be too weird, and the diesel too unconventional.

Jeez, I am old enough to remember the '70s and early '80s when most of the Mercedes sold here were diesel.

fintail

I think that ideal ended in the US for the 1986 model year, when MB finally gained really competent V8s for the S/SEC/SL, and the then excellent I6 in the new W124 E-class.

bhill2

I think that ideal ended in the US for the 1986 model year, when MB finally gained really competent V8s for the S/SEC/SL

I beg your pardon, sir, I own a '85 380SE that I feel is quite competent. OK, I'm having sport with you. But the engine has gone 260K miles with no major mishaps so I accord it some respect.

lemko

...black Chrysler 200 at Hellerman and Bingham in NE Philly this morning.

ateixeira

With the rims and the grounded to the ground style.

Around here very few Camrys are the SE model. I see a lot more hybrids, for instance.

stickguy

I do like the seats on those. Must be the 2-tone look.

ateixeira

I also like 2 tone seats, haven't checked out an SE, though. Sedan = no care.

fintail

Your car is just fine, but in terms of output, the 86+ V8s were better, closer to Euro spec cars. The 86+ cars killed the private import business too, by finally giving US consumers what they wanted.

Your car also avoids the issues of earlier 3.8 cars - timing chains esp. It will probably last forever, nobody builds cars like the W126 anymore. You've had that car for eons, right?

fintail

Many Hertz rentals in my area are SEs.

Saw a new style SL this morning, a Lexus GS being test driven by a tech, 2x new Accords, new Altima.

odie6l

I'm not going to list any of the ones I saw down and around the Philly Auto Show on MLK Day.

We've had a ton of new Accords running all over the place. I've seen a couple Darts and at least 2 Raptors. The one that shocked me was seeing a MB G550 today while driving into work. Since it looks like an older Land Rover anyway I couldn't tell it was a newer one or not. It's just odd seeing it. The other is I've been seeing the new Subaru XV's popping up everywhere. Very nice looking.

Odie

bhill2

You've had that car for eons, right?

Indeed I have. I bought it in 1991 with 70K miles on it and have never looked back. Your point about the output is well taken. I believe that the 300SE was actually faster. But what can I say; at this point it is a beloved pet, not to mention a powerful nostalgia machine, what with all of the memories.

fintail

Cared for, that car will outlive everyone here. I know what you mean by the nostalgia, I have had the fintail just a few years less than you've had your beast. Sometimes it seems silly to keep it - but I can't think to part with it.

bhill2

Sometimes it seems silly to keep it - but I can't think to part with it.

I hear you Fin.

ateixeira

I regret selling my 93 Miata. It would never have lost much more value anyway.

bhill2

Yes indeed, my 380SE is all done depreciating. It's even relatively cheap to license at this point. I do keep getting gentle reminders that the California DMV offers rewards to people who junk older cars, but that ain't going to happen.

fintail

My car probably hit its depreciation floor around the time I was born. Of course, it hasn't appreciated much - but that's not the point. And with year of manufacture plates and classic insurance, those costs are nothing.

Cash for Clunkers claimed numerous W126, I just hope they were heaps.

berri

Both of you guys need to not worry about anything being silly. It's about what you like when it comes to hobbies and fun, not a cost benefit analysis. If a time comes to part with it, your gut will know. So just enjoy what you have now and keep us all posted on your experiences. Trust me, when you get into my age range you get a much broader understanding and appreciation of what really matters in life!

bhill2

Cash for Clunkers claimed numerous W126, I just hope they were heaps.

When a car was turned in under the Cash for Clunkers program they put a silica concoction into the crankcase and ran the engine until it seized. I wouldn't do something that messed up to the worst of cars, much less a Mercedes, and much much less my Mercedes.

fintail

I like to think the old MB claimed in that experiment were at least stripped of useful parts and went on to keep other cars going. But knowing the feds...

lemko

Knowing the feds, it was probably a pristine W126 that would put cars in the Concours d'Elegance to shame. Good God, killing a car like that is like euthanizing a beloved and perfectly healthy pet. I've had bad dreams about something happening to my 1989 Cadillac Brougham and waking up with tears in my eyes. Deliberately murdering a beautiful car with that concoction would probably give me a heart attack.

ateixeira

Nah, remember the incentives weren't that big. Would have to be less than the (perceived) value of the car.

fintail

I think the credit would be like $3500 or $4500. Those values for the guzzlers that would have qualified would keep out the best cars - although maybe some fairly decent ones would have been included, esp if trade in values were used. It's a shame to lose old quality material like that, but at the same time, those turning in the cars probably hadn't cared for them in a long time, and deferred maintenance can easily exceed the value of the car. I still see plenty on the road, anyway - so not all was lost.

ateixeira

Killed a lot of donor/parts cars.

fintail

I was thinking there was a period when parts could be harvested before sent to scrap. So maybe the good stuff got saved anyway.