When I drive a rental car, it makes me think how nice, quiet, and speedy they are. It seems that technology has advanced—air conditioning is really cold. When I get back home, I notice the diesel is a little noisy and slow. Down the road for a minute, I like the feel of my Mercedes—big steering wheel, heavy doors, nice ride, the smell of the horsehair cushions (especially if it has not been driven for a week.) I like that purr and that little idle vibration from the engine. The slowness is no big deal and not bad at all. The transmission shifts with a little bump every time exactly where I would have shifted it myself if it were a manual transmission. This is a special car and a lot of fun to drive. Then I think, the rental car was nice, but it makes a good rental car, and not a car to keep. My Mercedes has a soul, but not the rental cars.

I rode around in GLK 350 diesel in Germany, because my co-workers knew I drive a Mercedes. They asked me what I thought. I said it was a cheap Benz: cloth seats, plastic dash, no self closing doors. We also had an Audi A6 diesel. The A6 was a better car with more features (even self closing doors) and did 130 mph with no problem.

Do the turn of the century Mercedes have the same soul as the old ones? The people who made my Mercedes have been long gone. I think the newer ones cannot be the same. Are they like throwaway appliances? They probably drive like rental cars. For the price, I think it worthwhile checking them out anyway. Hopefully those are the best cars in the world yet, especially the e-class and s-class.