Wes, the way I interpret the article, though it mentions the new biodegradable insulation is thinner, lighter, stronger, more abrasion-resistant, tougher, and even better performance at higher temperatures.... there's no assurance it'll retain these properties over time during the life of the car.

The article would haver more meaning to us folk here if they mentioned what happened in the past and gave assurances that this new product has now been thoroughly tested to where we won't see brittle insulation on future cars.

Again, there may be some politics behind this article because if they did mention that MB had this problem, it would go against the company line (as we now well know) that MB isn't aware of any such problem with the wiring in their 93-95 models, and provide fodder for us folk at the ShopForum with written documentation to prove to MB that there IS a problem and that they are AWARE of it.

The printed version of the article has a few tables of data not presented in the electronic version. One of them is titled, "Thermal Testing (ISO 6722)", which tested Class C wiring for "winding after aging". The result was a "did not pass" because it couldn't withstand 1kV for 1 min. There was also a long-term-aging test (ISO 6722.10.2, 125°C for 3000 hrs). I wonder if this test was done back in the early 90s on MB wiring and what the result was for comparison.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 169K