James,
i believe the Benz V8 engines use the traditional, American-style V8 arrangement ... refinement is more important than raucious sounds for the intended audience ...

BB,
i hope Benz brings back the inline-6. I hope they will improve on the M104 (engine gaskets, wiring harness, etc.). But if the existing V-sixes continue to live up to their initial reputation of reliability and build quality, then i would just not look under the hood ... a supercharger in between the banks will also help make me forget the inline-6 ... ;-)

the Lexus IS300 had to have the inline-6 to be a worthy competitor to the BMW 3-series. Volvo has a turbo inline-6 mounted transversely (the only one in the world mounted this way). Even GM has a new 4.2li inline-6 which outperforms many V8s.

until then, i hope there will be many many more kms in my 2.6 M103 ...

[Edited by bobbyv on 06-06-2001 at 12:05 AM]