Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78 · March 2018

driver100 said:

The GLK has kind of a 2009 MB design theme, which featured plenty of angles. Like the then-new E-class:
Fintail. Please recheck...that looks more like my 2015 E400 which I believe was the first year for that model. The 2009 looked more rounded...I believe. i like the clean simple lines...but not that chiseled look that I like.

@driver100 don’t mess with @fintail. He knows more about Mercedes than probably 2/3 of the people that work for them!

jmonroe · March 2018

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

xwesx said:
Y'all post so prodigiously on this thread, I simply cannot keep up. I managed only a couple pages per day for the week, and I ended up falling further behind be at least a hundred posts.

Interesting stuff, just not enough time to go through it!
If it was easy, anyone could do it.

jmonroe
Especially if JMonroe doesn't write his novel sized posts.

Isn't your deportation date fast approaching? :@

jmonroe

imidazol97 · March 2018

This has the elegance and clean, simple lines that I like.

fintail · March 2018

To be fair, @driver100 was technically correct, the W211 exists as a MY 2009 vehicle. However, it is a 2002 era design, with only a minor facelift for MY 2007.

I do have a thing for the brand. I've had 7 of them now, one for approaching 23 years, and have visited the AMG factory, Alabama factory, Sindelfingen three times, and MB Museum four times

tjc78 said:

@driver100 don’t mess with @fintail. He knows more about Mercedes than probably 2/3 of the people that work for them!

fintail · March 2018

That's effectively my current daily driver, just with larger wheels:

I like the angular lines of this more than the more rounded newer E-class, but I like the tech of the interior of the new one. The fake vents in the rear bumper are also something I maybe wouldn't have included.

imidazol97 said:
This has the elegance and clean, simple lines that I like.

driver100 · March 2018

tjc78 said:

driver100 said:

fintail said:
The GLK has kind of a 2009 MB design theme, which featured plenty of angles. Like the then-new E-class:

Fintail. Please recheck...that looks more like my 2015 E400 which I believe was the first year for that model. The 2009 looked more rounded...I believe.

i like the clean simple lines...but not that chiseled look that I like.

@driver100 don’t mess with @fintail. He knows more about Mercedes than probably 2/3 of the people that work for them!

I agree. I hesitated to point this out and I am still not sure about it...but, I had to report what I thought was right.
I know Fin is the encyclopedia for MBS

driver100 · March 2018

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

xwesx said:
Y'all post so prodigiously on this thread, I simply cannot keep up. I managed only a couple pages per day for the week, and I ended up falling further behind be at least a hundred posts.

Interesting stuff, just not enough time to go through it!
If it was easy, anyone could do it.

jmonroe
Especially if JMonroe doesn't write his novel sized posts.
Isn't your deportation date fast approaching? :@

jmonroe

lol....yeh, I am getting booted out on Wed April 4, just 1 1/2 weeks to go. It was a good year to be in Florida.

driver100 · March 2018

imidazol97 said:
This has the elegance and clean, simple lines that I like.

That is exactly like my 2015! I like that one the best too........I tried to get a 2016 but they were sold out. I don't like the styling of my 2017 as much, but it does have that amazing large GPS/Media screen and digital gauges.

driver100 · March 2018

fintail said:
To be fair, @driver100 was technically correct, the W211 exists as a MY 2009 vehicle. However, it is a 2002 era design, with only a minor facelift for MY 2007.

I do have a thing for the brand. I've had 7 of them now, one for approaching 23 years, and have visited the AMG factory, Alabama factory, Sindelfingen three times, and MB Museum four times

tjc78 said:

@driver100 don’t mess with @fintail. He knows more about Mercedes than probably 2/3 of the people that work for them!

WOW. I am always impressed with your knowledge on all things Mercedes Fintail. I have been to Sindelfingen factory and the museum in Stuttgart once and highly recommend them both.
I don't have any idea how you keep all those model numbers straight too, you are probably one of the few people who knows all the models by their code names.

driver100 · March 2018

fintail said:
That's effectively my current daily driver, just with larger wheels:

I like the angular lines of this more than the more rounded newer E-class, but I like the tech of the interior of the new one. The fake vents in the rear bumper are also something I maybe wouldn't have included.

imidazol97 said:
This has the elegance and clean, simple lines that I like.

I like that model more too...but, like you said, I do like the dash and interior on the new one. I was thinking, if we trade in the 2014 C250 in a few years....it will have 23000 miles on it when we leave, I would consider a 2015 E350. It has large windows and good vision, and isn't that much larger than a C, and it would be a safer car for Florida roads.

nyccarguy · March 2018

I'm a big fan of the E-Class from '09 - '15. Even though they have been replaced, they still look great. MB's lines are just so timeless in my eyes.

fintail · March 2018

They are depreciating ferociously right now, and will likely continue that. Mine is a lease, and I think residual will be something like 8K above market value at the end. As it is hard to negotiate, I'll probably end up moving on from the car and finding something else, not sure what will be yet. I'd consider buying another E, but I want another diesel, and I want very specific options and colors, so it won't be easy, might simply be impossible.

The facelift was for MY 2014, and 2014-16 are almost identical. For facelift USDM cars, E550 sedan is 2014 only, 2015+ gets folding mirrors, 2016 had supply issues with surround view, so you will find parktronic cars without it, whereas I believe all 2014-15 cars with parktronic have surround view. I believe they are extremely safe cars, and they have pretty good reliability per the leading MB owner forums.

driver100 said:

I like that model more too...but, like you said, I do like the dash and interior on the new one. I was thinking, if we trade in the 2014 C250 in a few years....it will have 23000 miles on it when we leave, I would consider a 2015 E350. It has large windows and good vision, and isn't that much larger than a C, and it would be a safer car for Florida roads.

fintail · March 2018

For MB fans, a Sindelfingen tour and museum visit is like a pilgrimage. I feel very fortunate that I have been able to do it, ans I hope to visit again. They are also very visitor-friendly.

Once you study it, the alphanumeric codes become easy. I am sure roadburner agrees for the BMW counterparts. When numerous generations of cars can have the same model badging, using the chassis codes an be important. A lot of diehard MB people can rattle off the codes just like me, but I think people not into it aren't going to bother.

driver100 said:

WOW. I am always impressed with your knowledge on all things Mercedes Fintail. I have been to Sindelfingen factory and the museum in Stuttgart once and highly recommend them both.
I don't have any idea how you keep all those model numbers straight too, you are probably one of the few people who knows all the models by their code names.

tbirdmarco · March 2018

No problems hear upstate ny for the week and. At older brothers

tbirdmarco · March 2018

Loved reading all above nice driver on loving m b

abacomike · March 2018

driver100 said:

Y'all post so prodigiously on this thread, I simply cannot keep up. I managed only a couple pages per day for the week, and I ended up falling further behind be at least a hundred posts. Interesting stuff, just not enough time to go through it!
If it was easy, anyone could do it. jmonroe
Especially if JMonroe doesn't write his novel sized posts.
Isn't your deportation date fast approaching? :@ jmonroe
lol....yeh, I am getting booted out on Wed April 4, just 1 1/2 weeks to go. It was a good year to be in Florida.

All the Canadians in my Condo building are packing up their cars for the trip home. They’ll be missed since all that’s left are crabby old people like me!

abacomike · March 2018

fintail said:

They are depreciating ferociously right now, and will likely continue that. Mine is a lease, and I think residual will be something like 8K above market value at the end. As it is hard to negotiate, I'll probably end up moving on from the car and finding something else, not sure what will be yet. I'd consider buying another E, but I want another diesel, and I want very specific options and colors, so it won't be easy, might simply be impossible. The facelift was for MY 2014, and 2014-16 are almost identical. For facelift USDM cars, E550 sedan is 2014 only, 2015+ gets folding mirrors, 2016 had supply issues with surround view, so you will find parktronic cars without it, whereas I believe all 2014-15 cars with parktronic have surround view. I believe they are extremely safe cars, and they have pretty good reliability per the leading MB owner forums.
I like that model more too...but, like you said, I do like the dash and interior on the new one. I was thinking, if we trade in the 2014 C250 in a few years....it will have 23000 miles on it when we leave, I would consider a 2015 E350. It has large windows and good vision, and isn't that much larger than a C, and it would be a safer car for Florida roads.

Hey, fintail, what's your opinion of the S Class I Drive - I’d be interested in your assessment.

tjc78 · March 2018

@fintail
Its funny here we all have all cars we know really well

@roadburner is our BMW expert
@andres3; Audi
@explorerx4; Ford
@andre1969, Chrysler

I am certainly the resident Panther expert... kind of a guilty pleasure. Grew up with them and will always love all the varients.

iluvmysephia1 · March 2018

All the Canadians in my Condo building are packing up their cars for the trip home. They’ll be missed since all that’s left are crabby old people like me!

Ahh, Mike, you might get crabby now and then, but I gotta say, the fortune you have from time ta time would make anyone crabby. I'm glad you dig your car and condo and Florida and it sounds like you have a very talented grandson at baseball, too. That's very cool, huh? Good Sunday morning to you - early as it might be.

As a Sleep Tech. I'm up overnight 3 nights a week, and every so often it spills over to one of my nights off.

abacomike · March 2018

tjc78 said:

@fintail
Its funny here we all have all cars we know really well

@roadburner is our BMW expert
@andres3; Audi
@explorerx4; Ford
@andre1969, Chrysler

I am certainly the resident Panther expert... kind of a guilty pleasure. Grew up with them and will always love all the varients.

After owning and leasing 15 Mercedes Benz vehicles over the past 30 years and 30+ GM vehicle’s over my lifetime, with a spattering of 6 BMW’s, 3 Audi’s, 1 Infiniti, and 5 Lexus’s, I have become a maven when it comes to cars I want to stay away from.

I have have had two BMW lemons, two Audi lemons, one Mercedes lemon and four GM lemons during my lifetime but have noticed a general improvement in the quality of automobiles over the past 10 years - with Takata airbag defects not included.

driver100 · March 2018

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

xwesx said:
Y'all post so prodigiously on this thread, I simply cannot keep up. I managed only a couple pages per day for the week, and I ended up falling further behind be at least a hundred posts.

Interesting stuff, just not enough time to go through it!
If it was easy, anyone could do it.

jmonroe
Especially if JMonroe doesn't write his novel sized posts.
Isn't your deportation date fast approaching? :@

jmonroe
lol....yeh, I am getting booted out on Wed April 4, just 1 1/2 weeks to go. It was a good year to be in Florida.

All the Canadians in my Condo building are packing up their cars for the trip home. They’ll be missed since all that’s left are crabby old people like me!

Same in our complex. We have 76 units, about 30 are snowbirds - mostly from Michigan and Ohio, about 6 are Canadians. The people who stay all year say it is like a ghost town when we go home.

Canadians are allowed to be in the US for up to 182 days...6 months. Canadian Snowbird Assoc is trying to get it stretched to 7 months for seniors...many in US congress are onside, as it means more money coming into USA, especially for Florida and Arizona. It is a long slow process getting these laws changed.

tjc78 · March 2018

I’ve had a fair number of cars in my short driving time and can truly say I’ve only had one lemon (98 Olds 88) and one that was pretty troublesome (93 Taurus LX 3.8). Other than that the vast majority were very good cars.

driver100 · March 2018

tjc78 said:
@fintail
Its funny here we all have all cars we know really well

@roadburner is our BMW expert
@andres3; Audi
@explorerx4; Ford
@andre1969, Chrysler

I am certainly the resident Panther expert... kind of a guilty pleasure. Grew up with them and will always love all the varients.

Probably Mike has had the most cars and the most varied fleet, and JMonroe is the resident expert on wannabes, and don't forget oldfarmer for CL specials.

tjc78 · March 2018

I had a wanna be too! Same color and year as J’s first one.

houdini1 · March 2018

I have owned 2 MB's over the years. A 1990 190E that primarily my wife drove. It was OK and drove like a much bigger car. My fav was a 1978 240D that was awesome. It would have felt under powered to most, but it was fine for the mostly hiway driving that I did. Would hit 90 with ease and cruise beautifully at 80, while getting over 30 mpg. Solid as a rock. Never a problem or a squeak or rattle. Miles ahead of other cars of that day. Nearly bought a 2011 E Class diesel a few years ago, really liked it, but dealer was trying to rob me on trade in so had to walk.

tbirdmarco · March 2018

Left me it lol lol I am the Ford and Nissan man

tbirdmarco · March 2018

Keep to

abacomike · March 2018

The Spring Breakers have flooded South Florida in the past 2 weeks and even more coming every day. The weather has been stupendously perfect the past 3 weeks with highs in the low 80's and lows in the low to mid 60's, on average. Clear skies and no rain. There will be thousands of college and high school kids heading north in a few days/weeks, depending on their schedules, with major sunburns and/or tans. It is delightful. I was out this morning for breakfast and the temp was 70 when I left for breakfast and 72 as I returned. Can't ask for better weather.

roadburner · March 2018

@oldfarmer50: Just an FYI regarding your comments about the lack of lumbar support in the X3; I’ll admit that the base seats aren’t great, but they probably do have power lumbar support(the X3s that we sold to Enterprise had them). On the left side of the driver’s bottom seat cushion their will be a circular button; push the top or bottom to move the support up or down and push the sides to increase or decrease the amount of support. The lumbar air cushions may bleed down a bit after a few hours to keep the cushions from being under high pressure for an extended period.

oldfarmer50 · March 2018

roadburner said:
@oldfarmer50: Just an FYI regarding your comments about the lack of lumbar support in the X3; I’ll admit that the base seats aren’t great, but they probably do have power lumbar support(the X3s that we sold to Enterprise had them). On the left side of the driver’s bottom seat cushion their will be a circular button; push the top or bottom to move the support up or down and push the sides to increase or decrease the amount of support. The lumbar air cushions may bleed down a bit after a few hours to keep the cushions from being under high pressure for an extended period.

Yes I know. My Ford has the same thing. No matter how I adjusted them the support seemed to hit too high on my back. FWIW my Mustang isn't the greatest either. The best seats were in my old Lincoln. Figures they would build for old men's backs.

cdnpinhead · March 2018

Markcincinnati was the hands-down Audi authority for many years around here, but he's gone the way of Richard, sadly. Another guy I miss had by far the best handle ever, BloV8er -- he was a Cadillac person. Shipo knew a lot about BMWs. There have been a lot of interesting people pass through here.

graphicguy · March 2018

cdnpinhead said:
Markcincinnati was the hands-down Audi authority for many years around here, but he's gone the way of Richard, sadly. Another guy I miss had by far the best handle ever, BloV8er -- he was a Cadillac person. Shipo knew a lot about BMWs. There have been a lot of interesting people pass through here.

Wow....now there are some folks I had forgotten about. Miss their expertise and posts!

ab348 · March 2018

fintail said:
I'd like evidence that a given speed limit is optimal, but I won't hold my breath, as we all know there is a revenue component to many, even if those who are directly or indirectly connected to the game won't admit it.

To this point, I was watching a TV news report on that prodigious speeder I posted the article about earlier. The (clueless) reporter did a standup segment quoting a local police spokesperson as saying the speed limits are set according to road conditions and to allow drivers to react to unexpected conditions, navigate curves, ensure adequate stopping distances, etc. The only problem I have with that is that in regard to this particular road, it really has not changed in my entire memory. In fact I remember being taken to a little pond adjacent to this road by my Dad when I was a little kid, in the early '60s, one winter's day when he decided to try to teach me to skate on the frozen surface (we found I had bad ankles even then so it didn't work out). The road is still identical, the traffic is still pretty much the same (light), and the speed limits have not changed. The only thing that has changed are the capabilities of the vehicles. Now, if the speed limits were set back in the 1950s to be safe for a pickup truck of the time to navigate that road, I have to think they are excessively low considering the capabilities of vehicles today. Really, the only thing that is still the same would be driving capability. That is probably the most important thing to take into account when setting a speed limit.

carnaught · March 2018

https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/c7/2vuhrk0feurn.jpg

graphicguy said:

cdnpinhead said:
Markcincinnati was the hands-down Audi authority for many years around here, but he's gone the way of Richard, sadly. Another guy I miss had by far the best handle ever, BloV8er -- he was a Cadillac person. Shipo knew a lot about BMWs. There have been a lot of interesting people pass through here.
Wow....now there are some folks I had forgotten about. Miss their expertise and posts!

Also Merc1, hpowders, Tagman and Len (LNFX, may he R.I.P.)...

driver100 · March 2018

tbirdmarco said:
Left me it lol lol I am the Ford and Nissan man

T-Bird Man.

jmonroe · March 2018

tjc78 said:
I had a wanna be too! Same color and year as J’s first one.

Yeah, but yours was just a wanna not a real legitimate wannabe. IIRC yours was an anemic V6, right?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · March 2018

Ignore

fintail · March 2018

I am pretty sure many local limits, especially yellow signs, are benchmarked on a 1953 double decker bus on an icy road with a drunk behind the wheel. Some of the 25 zones are especially hilarious - I can double it in my non-sportscar diesel MB on runflats and not be near the limit. Sadly, the Corolla crowd treats it like there is an armed sniper enforcing the limit just beyond the sign.

The enforcement industry can claim the limits are about conditions and safety etc, but conveniently are never made to ante up any proof. As you say, many of these limits haven't changed since my grandfather was younger than me.

ab348 said:

To this point, I was watching a TV news report on that prodigious speeder I posted the article about earlier. The (clueless) reporter did a standup segment quoting a local police spokesperson as saying the speed limits are set according to road conditions and to allow drivers to react to unexpected conditions, navigate curves, ensure adequate stopping distances, etc. The only problem I have with that is that in regard to this particular road, it really has not changed in my entire memory. In fact I remember being taken to a little pond adjacent to this road by my Dad when I was a little kid, in the early '60s, one winter's day when he decided to try to teach me to skate on the frozen surface (we found I had bad ankles even then so it didn't work out). The road is still identical, the traffic is still pretty much the same (light), and the speed limits have not changed. The only thing that has changed are the capabilities of the vehicles. Now, if the speed limits were set back in the 1950s to be safe for a pickup truck of the time to navigate that road, I have to think they are excessively low considering the capabilities of vehicles today. Really, the only thing that is still the same would be driving capability. That is probably the most important thing to take into account when setting a speed limit.

fintail · March 2018

That 240D was probably perfect back in the days of dopey 55 limits and malaise cars. Built like a vault, amazing mileage for the era, and high speeds weren't a big issue.

US west-coasters are somewhat lucky when it comes to MB dealers - lots of them out here, especially in CA, so there is competition. The Seattle metro area even has 4 now, which doesn't hurt.

houdini1 said:
I have owned 2 MB's over the years. A 1990 190E that primarily my wife drove. It was OK and drove like a much bigger car. My fav was a 1978 240D that was awesome. It would have felt under powered to most, but it was fine for the mostly hiway driving that I did. Would hit 90 with ease and cruise beautifully at 80, while getting over 30 mpg. Solid as a rock. Never a problem or a squeak or rattle. Miles ahead of other cars of that day. Nearly bought a 2011 E Class diesel a few years ago, really liked it, but dealer was trying to rob me on trade in so had to walk.

fintail · March 2018

I have yet to experience a MB lemon. I've had a couple of high maintenance AMGs, but they weren't falling apart, they just have expensive parts, and were not built during the best era. My fintail is well past 50 years old now and still running fine - as an unrestored car one could say it needs a lot of things, but it runs and drives without drama. All of my modern E leases have been virtually flawless - the Bluetec and prior E350 gas were flawless, the car before only had an issue with the comfort access steering setting that the dealer fixed, and a weird creak in the rear deck that all of these cars can have, due to a design flaw.

Really, thinking back, my family was lucky enough to avoid lemons, even during the sometimes reviled 80s era. My mom's Tempo made it to 190K miles before it left the family - that has to be a record. My dad's T&C puked a transmission at under a year old, but a lot of them did that, and it was fine after. Maybe the most annoying was a 3.8 Taurus that lost a head gasket at 80K. My mom jumped ship to Toyota after that, and hasn't looked back.

abacomike said:

After owning and leasing 15 Mercedes Benz vehicles over the past 30 years and 30+ GM vehicle’s over my lifetime, with a spattering of 6 BMW’s, 3 Audi’s, 1 Infiniti, and 5 Lexus’s, I have become a maven when it comes to cars I want to stay away from.

I have have had two BMW lemons, two Audi lemons, one Mercedes lemon and four GM lemons during my lifetime but have noticed a general improvement in the quality of automobiles over the past 10 years - with Takata airbag defects not included.

fintail · March 2018

A fun toy, but I would want to keep an eye on it when behind the wheel. I don't have faith in these growing autonomous systems yet, and too many potential legal pitfalls. If you crash with it, better be sure to know a good lawyer.

I have yet to own a MB with driver's assist/distronic, but I rented an A8 in Germany with many functions. It was fun, but I wanted to keep a close eye on it.

abacomike said:

Hey, fintail, what's your opinion of the S Class I Drive - I’d be interested in your assessment.

driver100 · March 2018

"fintail">

I am pretty sure many local limits, especially yellow signs, are benchmarked on a 1953 double decker bus on an icy road with a drunk behind the wheel. Some of the 25 zones are especially hilarious - I can double it in my non-sportscar diesel MB on runflats and not be near the limit. Sadly, the Corolla crowd treats it like there is an armed sniper enforcing the limit just beyond the sign

.

lol about the 1953 double decker bus. Yellow signs are just cautionary...not a speed limit. They are made with the lowest common denominator in mind......as a warning say for a bus or truck driver. In a lot of cases you could double your speed in a responsive car.....but, sometimes the warning sign is accurate, especially under slippery conditions.

fintail · March 2018

Oh yeah, I know that, but some drivers of 4 wheeled pylons don't seem to get it. I pity the fool who merges onto a highway on a yellow signed on-ramp around here behind the usual suspects - they see a 25/35 yellow sign, and are terrified to exceed it in even ideal conditions.

There is one yellow sign ramp that I don't double, where the engineering braintrust placed an expansion joint near the apex of a curve - it creates a harsh jolt, and just feels bad. For an area with such little snow and ice, the roads here are far from smooth. I suspect alignment shops here do a land office business.

driver100 said:

lol about the 1953 double decker bus. Yellow signs are just cautionary...not a speed limit. They are made with the lowest common denominator in mind......as a warning say for a bus or truck driver. In a lot of cases you could double your speed in a responsive car.....but, sometimes the warning sign is accurate, especially under slippery conditions.

explorerx4 · March 2018

Don't forget about Mr_Shftright who has a lot of knowledge about many vehicles.

driver100 · March 2018

The first time we bought a Mercedes, we had a 1995 Volvo that kept stalling.....3 dealers couldn't fix it, and the head office honcho couldn't figure it out. While it was in the shop for about the 8th time, my wife went across to the Mercedes dealer and test drove a Mercedes - this was in 1998. She said, my next car has to be a Mercedes, even if it is a used one. Fortunately, they brought out a new lower priced C Class for 1999 and we stretched the budget, our combined income was probably about $50000 that year. The Mercedes was about $32000 IIRC and they let us hand in the Volvo 1 year early on the lease - what a lemon. I renewed the lease on my 1995 Jeep for $240 a month.

I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering if we were going to make it...at least we had decent cars.

Life is like most things in life, sometimes you have to think positive and just go for it.

While we were waiting for the 1999 MB to come in they loaned us a 10 year old loaner. It was impressive, felt so heavy, steering felt precise, door closed like a bank vault...it was a real eye opener for me. I couldn't imagine a car could be that well built.

1989 loaner

fintail · March 2018

Pictured car is a W124, usually sold in NA as a 300E, but a few variants exist. Model years 1986-95, the car in the pic is a 1990-93 version. They require maintenance, but are regarded by some as the last "old fashioned" MB in terms of material quality and interior design. There are still tons of them on the road.

That C would be a W202. I had a W202 way back in the last decade, the V8 AMG (C43) variant:

driver100 said:
The first time we bought a Mercedes, we had a 1995 Volvo that kept stalling.....3 dealers couldn't fix it, and the head office honcho couldn't figure it out. While it was in the shop for about the 8th time, my wife went across to the Mercedes dealer and test drove a Mercedes - this was in 1998. She said, my next car has to be a Mercedes, even if it is a used one. Fortunately, they brought out a new lower priced C Class for 1999 and we stretched the budget, our combined income was probably about $50000 that year. The Mercedes was about $32000 IIRC and they let us hand in the Volvo 1 year early on the lease - what a lemon. I renewed the lease on my 1995 Jeep for $240 a month.

I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering if we were going to make it...at least we had decent cars.

Life is like most things in life, sometimes you have to think positive and just go for it.

While we were waiting for the 1999 MB to come in they loaned us a 10 year old loaner. It was impressive, felt so heavy, steering felt precise, door closed like a bank vault...it was a real eye opener for me. I couldn't imagine a car could be that well built.

1989 loaner

houdini1 · March 2018

fintail said:
That 240D was probably perfect back in the days of dopey 55 limits and malaise cars. Built like a vault, amazing mileage for the era, and high speeds weren't a big issue.

US west-coasters are somewhat lucky when it comes to MB dealers - lots of them out here, especially in CA, so there is competition. The Seattle metro area even has 4 now, which doesn't hurt.

houdini1 said:
I have owned 2 MB's over the years. A 1990 190E that primarily my wife drove. It was OK and drove like a much bigger car. My fav was a 1978 240D that was awesome. It would have felt under powered to most, but it was fine for the mostly hiway driving that I did. Would hit 90 with ease and cruise beautifully at 80, while getting over 30 mpg. Solid as a rock. Never a problem or a squeak or rattle. Miles ahead of other cars of that day. Nearly bought a 2011 E Class diesel a few years ago, really liked it, but dealer was trying to rob me on trade in so had to walk.

Thankfully, by the time of my 240D the double nickel speed limit was long gone. But I still remember around 74 or 75, took a business trip with my boss driving. Okla. City to Woodward Ok. and back. Probably around 300 miles round trip. My boss was in his 60's and drove at 55 the entire trip on almost deserted hiways. I was in agony. No laptops or smart phones in those days, you just had to sit and take it.

isellhondas · March 2018

driver100 said:
How about a new VW Arteon....starting from $37000;

I know....looks like a Buick!

That color is getting popular...I may get more used to it.

Why It Matters: The Arteon is to the car side of VW’s showrooms what the Atlas is to the truck side: a new flagship responsible for accelerating the brand’s return to relevance.

Platform: VW’s ubiquitous MQB transverse-powertrain components, set up for sedan use.

Powertrain: A turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter inline-four packing 270 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque (substantial increases over the outgoing CC’s turbocharged 2.0-liter) with an Aisin eight-speed automatic transaxle sending output to the front wheels. VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive will likely be optional.

VW Arteon

Arteon ?? Coming up with new names must be tough! Ugly gold too!

tjc78 · March 2018

jmonroe said:

tjc78 said:
I had a wanna be too! Same color and year as J’s first one.
Yeah, but yours was just a wanna not a real legitimate wannabe. IIRC yours was an anemic V6, right?

jmonroe

Yep! Only 290 hp, I should have had my man card taken away!

tjc78 · March 2018

isellhondas said:

driver100 said:
How about a new VW Arteon....starting from $37000;

I know....looks like a Buick!

That color is getting popular...I may get more used to it.

Why It Matters: The Arteon is to the car side of VW’s showrooms what the Atlas is to the truck side: a new flagship responsible for accelerating the brand’s return to relevance.

Platform: VW’s ubiquitous MQB transverse-powertrain components, set up for sedan use.

Powertrain: A turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter inline-four packing 270 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque (substantial increases over the outgoing CC’s turbocharged 2.0-liter) with an Aisin eight-speed automatic transaxle sending output to the front wheels. VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive will likely be optional.

VW Arteon
Arteon ?? Coming up with new names must be tough! Ugly gold too!

That gold is a thing now... BMW has a commercial showing one of their models in that color. It’s 1977 again... next we will trading in our stainless steel appliances!

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