i have never considered the consumer reports ratings to be relevant. i feel my personal experience is more valuable than their ratings. they concentrate on things that are easily measurable and easily tabulated. the things that a benz is strong on is not easily rated with their methods.

i would like to take their ratings of the 83 autos and see how many of the cars that they rated really good are still on the road and compare it to mb.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

i would bet that MB has a very high percentage of vehicles built that are still on the road and being driven on a daily basis by quite satisfied owners. rusty MB, minty MB... they are still driving and still enjoyed in great numbers it seems.

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PagodaLOVER
1967 230SL, manual
1959 180D, manual

Hey guys, is simple: Mercedes IS THE BEST, how many BMW's or lexus or infinity or volkswagens and (never mind the rest) do you see out there "consistently" lasting 250k to 350k miles? Of course there's the odd example here and there but none like mercedes and especially the diesels, I see the diesels on ebay all the time with 400k miles and still going strong, and that reliability has been proven all over the world, just see the movie Spy Game, Brad Pitt's character gets around in the lunar landscape of Beirut in w123 diesels and nothing else. Mercedes is the most prestigious marquee for a reason and by the way just because some idiot with an ego problem wants to make a social statement by forking over 1/4 million for a Rolls Royce that doesn't make it more prestigious than a benz is just more expensive.

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87 300d Turbo 241K with original #14 head (blue)
87 300d Turbo 198K will run great again someday (silver)
84 300sd sold ( buyer drove it to Paraguay )

I dunno, I think it's hard to compare a Mercedes diesel to a Rolls Royce...one is meant to be looked at and pampered while one is meant to be driven and used...for many many thousands of miles.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

If there was any POS diesel, it had to be the GM 5.7l olds convert. I had 4 of the dogs, always chagning heads, pumps, pistons, lifters, etc. My MB's are a dream compared to them. as for VW, I had a diesel 78 golf, got over 140k before the body went, have a 98 Jetta with 207K, and getting my 197K 49 mpg 86 golf back on the road. NO ENGINE WORK on any of the VW's. For many years used straight Mil Spec surplus OE30 oil, never had any problems. Bought a couple of drums for 40.00 each from a depot sale.

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71 220D 169K wrecked
83 240D 118K sweet 4 speed
91 350SDL (one of the 60% good engines) 156K
84 300d (loaner to my sister) 189K
79 300SD (partswagen)
86 420SEL partswagen
70 220d (partswagen)
68 280s GASSER!!! under construction now
85 300sd 310K miles winter beater car retired
93 300d 2.5 turbo 168K wife's car
83 280SL euro 5 speed 155K
69 250S newest project 54K

I was wondering when the Olds diesels would be mentioned. I knew a travelling salesman that had one in the shop 8 times in 2.5 years or something like that, mostly major problems and the factory was warranting them because he was driving the high miles he was more of an anomaly. People that owned them beyond the warranty got hosed.
Todays news, not specifically about diesels but hits Mercedes hard:
Unreliable Luxury Cars Forbes.com By Dan Lienert.
"...In March, Mercedes issued a worldwide recall reportedly affecting 1.3 million cars--and this recall was for more serious problems than unreadable labels (ie. Jaguar's issues over hiddne brake fluid warning).
It concerned six- and eight-cylinder gasoline engines built between June 2001 and November 2004; battery-control-unit software on E-Class and CLS-Class sedans made from January 2002 to January 2005; and braking systems on E-Class and CLS-Class models, as well as SL-Class convertibles, built from June 2001 to March 2005, according to a statement released by Mercedes."

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!