Tis a sad day gentlemen... - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JamesDean · #16 08-01-2014, 01:12 PM

The 420SEL comes back from the shop sometime next week. Poor thing. I just finished reconditioning a control arm for it. Got hd springs for the rear end, new subframe bushings and its default driver abandons it!

I wonder what her impressions of the 420 will be after driving the Caddy for a few weeks. I expect pedal sensativity to be on that list.

I never cared for modern cars and their touchy pedals. I always liked the older linkages on the MB's. I've got two return springs on my 190's m103 actually.

MTI · #17 08-01-2014, 01:35 PM

Modern Cadillac exterior design mantra . . . designers are not allowed to use french curves.

Mölyapina · #18 08-01-2014, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

'93-95 vintage Fleetwood Brougham?

Share the platform with the Roadmasters and Caprice Classics of the same vintage.

I could deal with one of those. The square 80's-early 90's ones don't do anything for me, though. Not that I couldn't appreciate a mint, low-mile example.

I meant the square one, but the Fleetwood Brougham looks pretty nice, too

. I wonder how much it would take to graft a Fleetwood Brougham front end onto a Roadmaster wagon?

Jim B. · #19 08-01-2014, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

Time to get back to driving the Big German Shepherd. Back when the W126 came out, several major auto trade magazines said it was the BEST automobile ever built, regardless of price.

I am among those who feel it still *IS*, even today. They have the track record to prove their invincibility, enduring superiority, cost-no-object German build quality second to none, excellence, and longevity;

And they have been correctly described in the automotive press as feeling like "they are hewn from stone".

Mark DiSilvestro · #20 08-01-2014, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

In 47 years of buying and driving cars, I have had a LOT of GM vehicles and certainly been inclined to like them, but now I would NEVER get one, not even a pickup truck or SUV.

The last one I truly hoped to love was the '79 Cadillac Coupe de Ville which fullfilled a dream to actually be driving my own Cadillac before I was 40.

It was an awful experience to own, nothing but trouble, even though I'd had decent service from my '58 Pontiac Super Chief, 64 Chevy Chevelle, '72 Buick Skylark, and '77 Olds Delta Royale - though that last one had hints of trouble already.

When Roger Smith decided to take GM to front wheel drive cars around 1981, I knew that was the end of the line for me.

Moved to Ford, and owned 4 or 5 of the big rwd sedans, principally the Crown Victoria, and the Mercury Grand Marquis, and was extremely satisfied with them in all respects.

But now, they hold no allure for me, as I don't have a need for a pickup truck, or an SUV.

Going back and forth over the mountains between Nevada and California every week or two is fine now, but in the winter I am going to need an AWD for the snow.

My fiancée is wanting to pick up a Jaguar AWD - the 6 cylinder supercharged XF is her desire, as she has had two before, and liked them all, (certainly nobody does interior wood, chrome and leather more nicely than Bentley, Rolls Royce and Jaguar!) but my preference would be the refreshed 2015 Subaru Outback - I have owned three, a '95, '08 and an '11 so far, all 3 were bulletproof and got through snow quite easily.

I have ALWAYS been patriotic and wanted to buy American cars only, but what *IS* an American car now? A Buick Regal with a Mexican engine? A Subaru Outback built in Indiana? A BMW built in South Carolina? A Ford Fusion built in Mexico?

The lines are SO blurred nowadays....

I have read the ONLY truly 100% American built cars are the Ford F150 truck, the Mustang and the Corvette - and none of those I need or desire.

Too bad really. But I guess things change as time marches on.

==============

edit: I've just spent a few weeks and a couple of thousand miles in a 2014 Chevy Impala, and actually it was a pretty good car, drove it to Las Vegas and San Francisco and all over, around here. It was decent, comfortable and pretty economical, and was told it was a "Consumer Reports Best Buy" and probably it is, for normal use on American roads and interstates, especially for people that see cars only as "appliances" and don't care about them.

But I'd be VERY leery of trusting one for the long term, and I still despise front wheel drive - a couple of times I forgot, (when I went into a turn "too hot" in the Impala), and boy - was that ever a mistake.

Reminded me QUICKLY that buying the BMW 5er last year was a much better choice, even if it cost me over double what the Impala would have.

I've never heard good things about Jaguar reliability.

A friend's ex-wife has been a glutton for punishment - having owned two late '90s to early 2000s Caddys with the Northstar. On the first, the head bolts/studs pulled out of the aluminum block, and now she's having problems with #2.

As for the late '70s - '80s Caddys, a customer at the shop where I used to work had inherited a '66 Coupe DeVille from her dad. She loved that car. Then the vintage climate control started to give trouble. Well she didn't know what trouble really was until some fast-talking Caddy salesman talked her into a RWD '84 Coupe DeVille. I don't recall her having major problems. Just several years of nickel & dime headaches that she shouldn't have had with a new car. And the Caddy dealer treated her like dirt. Long story short, she traded it on a new Lexus and never looked back!

My Benzes are just the way I like them - a pair of primitive & simple stick-shift W123s.
My other current daily driver is a Kentucky-built 4-cyl. '96 Camry LE. Yes it's FWD. But with Michelins, and after adding Camry wagon rear springs, new sway-bar bushings and KYB struts, the handling has vastly improved. I won't say it's like a BMW. But maybe somewhat more BMW-ish.
Otherwise, it's comfortable and reliable, with ice-cold AC. It's been a pleasure to drive on my monthly 400-mile round-trips to Virginia Beach.

Happy Motoring, Mark

dynalow · #21 08-01-2014, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesDean

My mom went out car shopping today.....and picked up a Cadillac CTS. Current year model I think, something $41K.

None of the MB's are happy.

They're all grumbling pretty loud.

Especially the 420SEL, wouldn't surprise me if I saw some eyebrows on it giving her the evil eye!

Oh great Karl, have mercy!

/lol

The CTS is an ok car. I have a '12 with 25k now. Except for the driver's window motor component problem, I have had no problems at all with the car & the only thing I've paid for is a new set of wiper blades last month.
My 300CE (which Mistress named the Red Baron years ago) gets along fine with the Caddy. When I back it out of the garage and squeeze by the Caddy, there's no hissing or insults hurled.

I was concerned about the new 7 speed tranny (built in France) but it has performed flawlessly. It being my first experience with OnStar, the email monthly diagnostics are a nice touch. The in car telephone? With Blue tooth, I have yet to make or receive a phone call on that number. I'd skip renewing it if she has a cell with blue tooth connectivity.

When my lease is up in 6 months, I'll look elsewhere. I don't like the new style nor price. MT "Car of the Year" status ? Tack on an extra grand or so maybe. The MSRP on mine (low end) was around 36,500 IIRC (Nov 2011) My current lease payment is 379.00/mo. Lease ads for a '14 CTS around here are 459.00 & up. I'm looking to lower car overhead, not increase it. My Leningrad lady friend has suggested twice I should lease a Mercedes.

"But I already OWN one".

To sum up: Positive Experience. But you never realize how many black CTSs there are till you drive one.

dynalow · #22 08-01-2014, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesDean

The 420SEL comes back from the shop sometime next week. Poor thing. I just finished reconditioning a control arm for it. Got hd springs for the rear end, new subframe bushings and its default driver abandons it!

I wonder what her impressions of the 420 will be after driving the Caddy for a few weeks. I expect pedal sensativity to be on that list.

I never cared for modern cars and their touchy pedals. I always liked the older linkages on the MB's. I've got two return springs on my 190's m103 actually.

Well I can offer a W124 & CTS comparison and your hunch is right on the money. A lot more zip on the startup, with much better braking & stopping power . Although the CTS feels nimbler & lighter, the curb weight is a few hundred pounds heaver that a W124.
One other thing I forgot to mention. The worst feature of the 12 CTS imo is the poor driver visibility backing up. Much worse than being in a W124 driver's seat. Between that and the wider front roof posts & larger rear view door mirrors, there's a few annoying blind spots. Watch out for bumper stops. Low front end.

JamesDean · #23 08-01-2014, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynalow

Well I can offer a W124 & CTS comparison and your hunch is right on the money. A lot more zip on the startup, with much better braking & stopping power . Although the CTS feels nimbler & lighter, the curb weight is a few hundred pounds heaver that a W124.
One other thing I forgot to mention. The worst feature of the 12 CTS imo is the poor driver visibility backing up. Much worse than being in a W124 driver's seat. Between that and the wider front roof posts & larger rear view door mirrors, there's a few annoying blind spots. Watch out for bumper stops. Low front end.

Poor driver visibility is my chief issue with all the GM cars that I've been in. They seem to like the fat pillars.

My grandma's Cruze tends to scrape the front fascia on the curb at the base of my driveway.

Hatterasguy · #24 08-01-2014, 09:22 PM

The new CTS is an amazing car, I'm guessing since the sticker was only $41k she didn't get the big motor. The motor to get is the TT 3.6 V6 that puts out around 420.

IMHO its a better car than the 5 series and in dead heat with the A6 and E class. More bang for the buck than the E because to get big boy HP you need to cough up around $80k and the CTS is in the high $60k range.

jake12tech · #25 08-01-2014, 09:54 PM

Oh, I thought this was about Larry being banned.

What was her previous whip?? Which MB in the fleet?

unkl300d · #26 08-01-2014, 10:12 PM

Well, lots of good points.

Yes the W126 is a fantastic car. Reliable to the max.

The primitive W123 is indeed also my favorite. Easy to deal with and won't get you in trouble for excess speed or loss of control.

After owning my '92 Eldorado (fair weather car- 47 K miles-more reliable 4.9 liter engine) for some years now and contributing to the caddy forums, I am more appreciative of GM's innovations throughout the years.

American cars really did have some very innovative engineering. Too bad the politics of manufacturing dealt out 'curved balls'.
I don't expect my Eldo to be as reliable (relative term) as my Mercs, that is why its a 'fair weather' car.

Personally I shudder at the thought of ever having to buy a modern car.
I regard them as cash cows for dealers. One and all. That's my 1.5 cents of it.

Hey, angry birds around the caddy Mr. James Dean !

JamesDean · #27 08-04-2014, 11:13 PM

Well spent all day Sunday pretty much cleaning and gutting the garage out. Lots of work.

The CTS is here. Its the 2.0T variant. 87 miles on it.

Its an alright looking car. It doesn't excite me but maybe that because of my history with the Mercedes. Its not something I would buy (granted this is true of most modern cars) for long term keeping.

The interior is refined, lots of fancy doo-dads and stuff. Nearly all of it is capacitive type touch buttons with some kind of vibrator feedback thing. It has a remote popper thing for the glove box and lots of motorized compartment doors. Bose sound system which sounded respectable.

Not sure how I feel about the rear end. My one friend always bashes the SEC for having a stumpy rear end. I think the CTS has a pretty stumpy rear end.

I didnt drive it yet, was late and I had to fuel up the 190E still.

I was disappointed though, it looked like you could only fit 1-2 bodies in the trunk. That's gonna mean extra trips!

unkl300d · #28 08-04-2014, 11:53 PM

Ya gotta love the fact that it has no 'parking idjit dents' on the doors !!

ferget the new car smell.

Mark DiSilvestro · #29 08-05-2014, 09:12 AM

I'm OK with the styling. Looks better than some of the current imports. But like so many designs today, the low, sloped roof-line compromises interior-room and outward visibility. So rear-vision cameras and sensors will be the latest DOT mandate. If new cars had ashtrays, I'm sure they'd have a motor and computer to operate those too. Doesn't bode well for keeping a vehicle 'till it's 2 or 3 decades old. But the manufacturers don't care. Who drives cars that old anyway, except we eccentrics that insist on driving our vintage diesels.
But I don't care, so long as the government doesn't legislate me out of my old cars. Which I hear is happening in other parts of the world!

Happy Motoring, Mark

neumann · #30 08-05-2014, 09:52 AM

IMHO they are a stunning visual design. I test drove several a few years ago and it would be my go to car if I were to buy a newer car. The CTS-V was an incredible machine!! The big six they were sticking in the regular CTS versions was plenty fast as well. I currently have a 28k mile 96 ElDorado and have always liked the styling of the Cadillacs. Like all cars Cadillacs have their quirks but they are still very nice cars.