here is another problem with owning a new d-c that goes undiscussed all too often.

the dealer owns you for the duration of the warranty.

in metro-houston, the nearest dealer to me is one that i consider a brigand outfit. owned by auto-nation.

and it is 30 miles away.

the only decent d-c store/shop is in sugarland texas. for all practical purposes, from my location, that might as well be los angeles.

my mechanic is 5 minutes from my stable.

the other great thing about my stable is that all are free and clear of all encumbrances. and probably no longer depreciating.

by the way, i did not acquire all these vehicles new. only the 560sel. but in 2000 when i encountered where daimler was going with electronics, i decided i was going to acquire the best that i could find of post-1976 benzes.

so that i could drive into my demise without an lcd screen, without a computer chip seizing control of the car, without big bro monitoring my whereabouts and/or the history of my driving style.

as an engineering proposition, the distronic[sic] cruise control system troubles me greatly. when i describe its potentials for highway mayhem, it concerns others as well. there ought to be a law outlawing it.

i envision scenarios such as this.....

a. one is distronically cruising down the hardy toll road at 140kph. your benz is within less than an assured clear braking distance from the car in front of you. you are on your cell-phone and disengaged from the real responsibilities of managing a lethal weapon. a deer springs out in front of the vehicle you are following. i think you will be involved in an accident.

b. another situation is that the distronic system allows for enough of a gap between your benz and the vehicle you are following to provide for a minimum assured clear braking distance. in my experience, this means that you are going to have rocketeers cut into that gap. when that occurs, i think that the distronic is going to brake suddenly. that will probably get you rear-ended by the clown[who might be in an 18 wheeler] behind you.

and these situations presuppose no chip failings.

i suppose, however, if you are into eating soylent green, these problems will not be troubling you.

personally, i am looking for a third world country with no highways, and with no resources that any evil empire wants to seize. and that gets plenty of rainfall as the temperate zones desertify.

illegitimi non carborundum