Iv'e had a theory that Mercedes found that original owners of S class cars didn't keep them long enough for the interior to fall apart. So the overall quality of the interiors and other areas was cut to live long enough for the OE to still think of Mercedes as lasting forever.

Then the recession hit in 1998 and people started keeping their cars longer. So S class OE's began to think that the Mercedes was not a long haul quality item. And when the economy began to recover they shopped around. (Also known as: They purchased a Lexus.)

So long term quality had to make a comeback. What good is a reputation that is no longer reliable?