well, thnx for your kind thoughts.

i agonized over this acquisition, but after a chat with a long-time automotive counselor[the shop foreman at the local benz dealer], i elected to complete the transaction.

as i think i said in my last post, the exterior color is ruby. the interior is black nappa leather.

i would have preferred white or silver, but there were aspects to this car that compelled me to ignore my preferences. it was a one-owner car. purchased in december 1996[as a 1997 model] by an 87 year old plutocrat and his 69 year old wife. it spent all of its life in the relatively benign[no snow, no saltwater] climate of san antonio, texas.

with its first owner, it amassed a grand total of 20, 330 miles. the interior appeared as if uninhabited. it has one minor ding that you have to illuminate just so so as to reveal it.

the dealer starmarked it and priced it at 37,900. on the advice of my m-b dealer shop foreman, who told me that i would be an idiot not to acquire it, i have acquired it.

my shop foreman friend relates that after 1995, evap core problems became less of a feature of operating one of these cars...he says that benz finally improved the quality of the evap unit.

the last thing that i have to say about the w140c is that it is such an overkill when compared to my 560sec. surely this series was the product of a teutonic response to the lexus.

in many respects, i would have preferred that benz had improved the w126c, i.e., more soundproofing, more torque and hp rather than inject such steroids and come up with the w140c.

having said that, the w140's in their improved, bullet-proofed years, as a matter of automotive history, will be considered the zenith of automotive design and construction. their like may never be seen again. i think of this car as the psychic descendant of the m100's.

i am an old lotus aficionado. what i liked about the w126's is how they captured what i liked about my lotus'es in vehicles that did not have to be rebuilt upon every outing. unfortunately for benz, toyota discerned that the us market preferred cadillacs to lotuses. the w140 series was the benz effort to erase their previous mentality so as to get back into the us luxury game that lexus had stolen away.

funny thing, though. after having driven this 140 for 250 miles, i can say that benz still didn't get it. the lexus product that was its target was quieter, traversed road irregularities with more silent aplomb. and did it all with less mass.

based on my collection, this may sound heretical, but benz has forced me to conclude that the japanese have defeated them. i remain confused as to why it is that lexus product goes over road irregularities more quietly than do benz products. especially s class benz products.

oh, excuse me, my e320cab is quieter over road irregularities than any other benz i own. why would that be do you think?