I'm embarassed that I was posting new car stuff on the Tech Help forum. I didn't even notice this forum. My apologies to Bill and everyone.

I picked up my C240 Six Speed today. I put about 145 miles on it getting home. A bunch of it was stop light to stop light and a bunch was cruising and passing on wide 70 MPH speed limit two lane.

I did not hear any noises whatsoever while I was driving the car, it is very quiet, and my console did not rattle as the above report. I am sharing the experience about the sound when slamming the door. I think it came off of a '72 Plymouth. It's strange, the feel is solid when closing, but I can hear something move inside the door, I began conscienclously closing it easier and it helped my peace of mind. If you barely push it to, it will latch in place okay.

Yes, it began with my '96 E Class, a little loss of the "cast from one piece" feeling of the 123 and 124 cars.

I have been a straight six MB fan for a long time also, but I think this engine is far superior in every way to the old sixes except for the lack of low end torque. However, that is not a function of straight rather than V. There are a zillion other factors that effect the shape and range of the torque curve. The technology in the engine is amzing, and these engines have been out long enough that any acchilles heel would have been discovered by now.

I did not mention that my drive also consisted of about 20 miles of good old winding and hilly country paved two lane. The car was much more fun to drive on this section than I expected.

In spite of posts I've read here on Mercedesshop which said that the magazines were condemning the six speed, I think it's nothing short of fabulous. There are a few little things you have to get used to with it. It takes more than a quick drive around the block to really get the hang of it. because you now have three vertical gates with gears both top and bottom, there are some fine points that you have to get accustomed to. The match of the engine and transmission, I think, is very good.

I was disappointed when I saw that my car had Goodyear Eagles. My '96 came with Goodyears that were trash in 15,000 miles, and it was a diesel, not as if I was spending time at the dragway. I ultimately put Continentals on the '96 and they were great. Maybe this time it's the other way around. Oh well, whatever happens with the equipment tires, they'll get replaced with Michelins at some point.

I ran the car up to almost 100 MPH and it was very nice at that speed. Using the transmission properly, you can get to that speed, and once there, the car feels fabulous.

Another small complaint I have, it doesn't come with a dipstick. I complained about my '96 not having an oil pressure guage, but at least it had a dipstick! The tube is there but capped. I think you can purchase a dipstick for it. If the automated oil level indication system indicated what the oil level is, it wouldn't bother me much. But the system only lets you know if it's low, at least they put in the tube, and apparently you CAN get a dipstick for it.

The radio volume automatic adjustment according to vehicle speed seems to work on this car. It didn't seem to do much on my '96.

In reality, I think that the only thing from Chrysler that is working it's way into these cars is the GPS and COMAND technology. It seems like I heard somewhere, or read somewhere, that one of the attractive things to DB about the Chrysler purchase was getting this technology. Of course, it's still not available on the C Class, they're not even taking orders yet.

If either of you have owned a 124 car in the past, maybe the following comment will make sense, or maybe not. The C reminds me of my stick shift 300E in some ways, and some ways not. I love my manual transmission 300E, but it's just not the same. I can't explain it, it's like it's the same car, but more... I can't come up with the right word. The cars are so much alike that on the one hand, I feel like what's the point of getting a different car, but on the other hand, the C just feels more.... full of technology. Actually I think my 300E handles better, but I have different sway bars, shocks, etc than the original 300E pieces, so the car is more stable and predictable.

All in all, so far, I'm thrilled with the car, and if the above complaints are all that I ever have, I'll be a very happy camper.

Let's keep sharing our '01 C Class experiences and discoveries here, it's fun. Has anyone learned much about the display system yet? I have the 1 inch thick book, and I'm about to go start reading it. It's hard to drive, negotiate traffic and learn the system all at the same time, but with a little pre study, I expect to learn the system fast.

Thanks and have a great day,

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Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles