I love gadgets, I'm huge on technology and new inventions. I don't mind having to deal with a few quirks if something is completely new. M-B may not be doing a very bad thing afterall. Many years ago, people actually kept their cars for a long time. Most people purchased, not leased, these luxury cars. Today it is a different story. Why build a car that will be very good to last for 30 years when the guy who takes the huge depreciation will only have it for five years at the most? Still, all that aside, they have to attend to the quality issues. I believe they are already doing that. If this company could survive two world wars that were very harsh on Germany, this quality problem will be a piece of cake for it - only if they really want to solve it!!
I just found that statistic stated by the M-B rep to be very interesting. I wonder if any other brand can make such a claim... maybe Toyota, but most of the old Toyotas have rusted away.