A perfect example for me is the new SL R230. Technology aside, I much much prefer the look of the R129. I like a Benz that has a distinctive, prominent, or even boxy rear end. The older Benzes looked muscular (W202, 210, 140, R129 and before). To me, the W220 and the W203 are borderline, but then with the dawn of the R230 and the W211, the designs got weak in my opinion. The front half is pretty decent, however, in my opinion the rear is especially uninspiring, and dare I say almost Japanese looking. Same goes with the dashes. Before we had nice, full, no BS dashes...now we have dashes with more curves than a Coke bottle and Pontiac inspired Batman gauge clusters (namely R230). And whatever happend to REAL gauge needles!!!??

To me, MB has always been as much of a master at making muscular, yet at the same time smooth and elegant designs as Rolex is a master at making watches. Now, this seems to have drifted by the wayside. I thought the Japs always copied off MB...why vice versa now? I guess it's because MB doesn't build cars for enthusiasts...hey, whatever brings in the cash, right?

Seems like a lot of ranting, but as a huge MB enthusiast, I have strong opinions about these things (obviously!) and was wondering if I was the only one, or if other people shared some of my sentiments. Any and all comments are welcome.

And don't think I'm some disgruntled old fart "purist", because I'm not! I'm not even old enough to be a purist! I'm only 20!

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'86 420SE Euro
904 Midnight Blue, Gray Velour
Dad bought it new, now I own it.

"A Mercedes-Benz is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age."