Fifth Gear's W124 Quality Built Test(s)

[compress ignite]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bIV_hHPAFQ&mode=related&search=



There are four videos.

Outrageously funny as well as informative!

[AJW]

Originally Posted by compress ignite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bIV_hHPAFQ&mode=related&search=



There are four videos.

Outrageously funny as well as informative!

This should be a sales video for every W124

[2.5Turbo]

Too bad, it was a pretty good example of a 124. But for 695 pounds, something big must have needed attention. At least it wasn't a 300TD

[Snibble]

Originally Posted by 2.5Turbo

Too bad, it was a pretty good example of a 124. But for 695 pounds, something big must have needed attention. At least it wasn't a 300TD

Used cars, especially old ones, are RIDICULOUSLY low costing. I know someone who picke dup a 300TE in England for 550 pounds. It was in good condition, too!

[OMEGAMAN]

I can't believe they trashed that thing. What is the purpose of the baseball bat? Stupid effing show. pommies!

[greasybenz]

Didnt understand some of the tests.

If the engine was bulletproof why didnt they shoot at it with a gun? Dynamite isnt a bullet

That wear and tear test track made sense on how well the car would hold up being that it is 16yrs old.

a monster truck....well a litte much but the car wasnt fully crushed which tells me the body is tough.

The cannon....i mean come on! were not in the middle ages...since when has anyone been fired at by one in a benz recenetly?

[pawoSD]

That was pretty amazing. WOW. I'm glad to know I'm safe if a monster truck hits my car.....

My bets are the diesels could survive the "Water incident" better than the gassers, since they have a different intake setup and no electrical requirement to keep running. I've gone 30mph through a huuuuge flooded section of road with about 1.5 feet of standing water on it, and the car did fine. I've gone a steady slow speed (10-12ish mph) through water over 2 feet deep, and it survived that too. Had they tested a diesel I bet it'd have made it through the water. (and the rest of the tests) The gasser's weakness is in the wiring/electronic components required to run....

[Jeremy5848]

Sure, some of the tests were silly, but it's TV, after all. Even the Brits have lost a lot of their stuffiness (from watching Beavis and Butthead, no doubt). A very entertaining series. Good PR.

[MS Fowler]

I found it deliciously entertaining, although a bit silly.
Its not the way you, or I would test a car--but then people don't pay to watch you and me as we test cars---boring!

[Jmana]

I would have enjoyed it much more if the car was one that had been neglected, not one like this that looked like someone took very good care of. Plus why waste the car on stupid stuff like this, If they wanted to destroy it, why not do some real tests on it? I'd rather see how long the engine would last with it being constantly redlined, than to see someone use dynamite on it, I mean what does that prove anyway?

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by Jmana

I would have enjoyed it much more if the car was one that had been neglected, not one like this that looked like someone took very good care of. Plus why waste the car on stupid stuff like this, If they wanted to destroy it, why not do some real tests on it? I'd rather see how long the engine would last with it being constantly redlined, than to see someone use dynamite on it, I mean what does that prove anyway?

True, I too would like to see how long an engine would last when redlined, it'd be very interesting to see how long it could go. Doing it on a perfectly usable engine would still bother me though. Its always a waste to do things to cars like that.

[winmutt]

Originally Posted by Snibble

Used cars, especially old ones, are RIDICULOUSLY low costing. I know someone who picke dup a 300TE in England for 550 pounds. It was in good condition, too!

The car inspections in Europe are much more meticulous than here. In Germany I know they will even check for wear on your CLUTCH!

[a2t]

I cant believe they did that to an old benz!

But wow did it hold up or what?! I always knew the body structure was amazing, this really proves it. Although this is apparent by the fact that my 87 300D with 250k miles on it has doors that close better than my 2001 Ford.

Now give me that baseball bat and let me beat 5th gear producers with it.

[Chris W.]

As much as I enjoyed those 4 clips, there was some significant lameness to them. That show appears to be a ripoff of Top Gear, anyway.

That "cannon" was bogus. If you put a cannon ball in like they showed, it does not "blow up" by making an explosion on the ground or on whatever it hits. The cannon ball is just a steel ball. So those cannon shots were bogus, just some light charges set off near the car for the first two shots, then on what appeared to be the passenger door for the so called "hit" on the third shot.

A real cannon shooting an 8 or 12 pounder like that would have blown the cannon ball clean through the vehicle, making a big mess of things, but not blowing anything up.

Then they showed putting supposed dynamite, several sticks, next to the engine. But if you watch the explosion, it's a series of several explosions going from front to back of the car, with lots of gasoline for the hollywood effect. If they had actually put that much dynamite next to the engine, the engine would have parted company with the car.

Top Gear seems to do "real stuff" to their automotive victims, this was not nearly as real.

Rgds,
Chris W.
Feeling curmugeonly today

[bgkast]

Originally Posted by winmutt

The car inspections in Europe are much more meticulous than here. In Germany I know they will even check for wear on your CLUTCH!

How do they do that? Pull the transmission?