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Comments

  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    Lemme guess, smoking a cigar?
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    edited January 2013
    Gotta be careful opening windows, you never know if they'll go back up! :D

    IS oddball: so they pay for refinement and isolation, then pay more to take those away?
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    edited January 2013
    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.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    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.
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    edited January 2013
    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.
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    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.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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.
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    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.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • lemkolemko Philadelphia, PAPosts: 15,302
    ...black Chrysler 200 at Hellerman and Bingham in NE Philly this morning.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    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.
  • stickguystickguy Posts: 30,349
    I do like the seats on those. Must be the 2-tone look.

    2018 Hyundai Elantra Sport (mine), and 2013 Acura RDX AWD (wife's)

  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    I also like 2 tone seats, haven't checked out an SE, though. Sedan = no care.
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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?
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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.
  • odie6lodie6l Hershey, PaPosts: 1,173
    edited January 2013
    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
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    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.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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.
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    Sometimes it seems silly to keep it - but I can't think to part with it.

    I hear you Fin.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    I regret selling my 93 Miata. It would never have lost much more value anyway.
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    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.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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.
  • berriberri Posts: 9,158
    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!
  • bhill2bhill2 Posts: 1,913
    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.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    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...
  • lemkolemko Philadelphia, PAPosts: 15,302
    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.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    Nah, remember the incentives weren't that big. Would have to be less than the (perceived) value of the car.
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    edited January 2013
    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.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Posts: 72,587
    Killed a lot of donor/parts cars.
  • fintailfintail Posts: 46,296
    I was thinking there was a period when parts could be harvested before sent to scrap. So maybe the good stuff got saved anyway.
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