well, i have been doing a knock-knock test on all my other benzes....

1979 6.9

1986 560sel

1987 560sec

1995 e320cab

1997 s500coupe

and it is pretty clear to me that front and rear quarter panels are plastic. MBUSA tech now confirms that.

trunk lid is plastic.

hood is aluminum.

roof may be steel. doors may be some aluminum or some other composite.

i thought it interesting that a mbusa regional tech rep hadn't a clue.

my other benzes are either all steel, or have some aluminum parts such as trunk lid and hood.

but virtually no plastic[except for some lower level cladding].

the odd aspect of all this is that this vehicle weighs almost the same as my 560sec.

oh, and i purchased this off someone else's lease. 19, 675 miles after two years. depreciated by more than 50%. a good price for a plastic benz?

the last product of the bruno sacco design department. that is why i acquired it for my little bruno sacco collection. i consider it an automotive work of art. but it does have some odd flaws. this undiscussed overabundance of plastic is one of them, in my view.