Mercedes 2010 E-Class, the stick is steering column mounted.

It's essentially an electric switch, very similar to the one first featured in the 2002 BMW 7-series. It's not so bad, as you have toggles on the wheel for manual shifting. It's much like a motorcycle foot shifter, as the lever returns to the same position (shown) after it has been used. I've driven a 745Li and S550 with this arrangement and didn't mind it. The BMW had a smart feature that automatically placed the car in "Park" if you turned the engine off while the car was stationary, probably also present in the MB.

My sister's ML is the same way. It does have the advantage of freeing up console space. I have great memories of my dad shifting his 4 spd on the column 180.

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MBlovr
'59 180 Dad's original
'59 180 Dad's 2nd one
'67 250SE Dad's last one
'59 220 SE My first one
'62 220SE Coupe second one
'89 190E 2.6 5spd third one
'06 E350 4matic (sold)
'10 E350 4matic

I'm not sure I like the straight lines and hard edges. I don't really mind the column shifter though.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

I love that wood grain they use on the passenger side!

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

The shifter belongs in the middle.

Cars shouldn't have cup holders.

Can you tell i'm old fashioned yet?

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

The manual shifter belongs in the middle. If you're going to have a slush, it may as well have the shifter on the column. It frees up some console space that way. I've never owned a car with usable cup holders, but I wouldn't mind having some. Not for drinking while driving, since the only thing I'll drink under way is water and that goes in a bottle with a screw on cap. But it would be nice to be able to buy a Starbucks and put it in the cup holder to cool off as I drive home.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

It sucks, I saw in one at the car show and don't like it. My truck is my first vehical with a column shifter and I already miss having it in the console.

Its not a shifter either, its a switch. Just push it up or down for reverse.

OTOH the interior is very nice, MB is bumping the quality way up.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Problem with new cars is that they have a lot of electronics in the center console, like the navigation/entertainment controls in that E class. Spill your Starbucks coffee on that and you will be out of pocket a G note to fix it.

They really shouldn't put cup holders in cars, I mean would you put a cup holder on your laptop?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Ah yes, who could forget the innovative but mercifully rare "mother-in-law" back-seat shifter found in the last-gen E-Class...

Point taken. I'd be fine with a cup holder that was attached to the back of the driver's seat. I'm only going to use it to transport a beverage from it's place of purchase to its place of consumption.

My navigation system is a road atlas. My entertainment system consists of watching the antics of all the idiots on the road, and my climate control sytem mainly consists of rolling the windows up or down. I wish somebody still made a car for people like me. I might actually consider buying a new car then.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I have to disagree. To me it looks cheap and nasty. Like a Nissan or a Honda or something. Kind of cobbled together and nowhere near as well thought out and integrated as a W123.
Frankly I much prefer that G-Wagen interior.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Just how old fashioned do you think you are? If you hanker for the Mercedes of the 50's their shifters were almost entirely on the column, and they were mostly manual shifters too.

Of course if you want to g back even further to the 30's and such then I think they were floor mounted. I've used both in both positions, auto and manual and while I agree a manual shifter is more suited to the floor than the column I can happily use both.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Have you sat in or driven one? I found the quality of the materials to be very high, better than the W210.

The ergonomics were fantastic, far better than the older cars.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200