for 6 years I was in the survey about mercedes new,and upcoming cars. But I quit, it seems to me they have moved away from the driving experince.They are focusing on the laziness of mankind.People are already to sorry to turn their big butts around and look when they back up.They have to have a monitor. Focus of company now is on sales,and not long lasting vehicles. Outsourcing of German vehicles to other assembly places in 3rd world countries sucks.
I hope BMW does not follow.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

The S class has always been the car to be driven in, not to drive.


Plus the S Class is always the forefront of the latest and greatest automotive tech when it comes to mercedes and that tech will trickle down to the other lines in the future.

then why did they make a bunch of AMG models?

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

Shouldn't the focus of all companies be on maximizing sales at all times? All you're telling me here is that Mercedes is a much better run company than it was back in the 80s and 90s.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Probably for some owners that like to over compensate......

Hardly ever see a S-class with a chauffeur and I live in LA where the S-class is just as common as a Prius.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

S-Class is the pinnacle of sub-$200k luxury - an interior that feels as if it belongs in a car at twice the price and technology that pushes the envelope. W116, W126, W140, W220, W221, and W222 were never "sporty" nor were they ever a driver focused car, instead they were places where you could spend hours traversing wide swaths of land and not feel labored at the end of the day. Cars where they were really "the best or nothing", never the ultimate driving machine.

And why they make AMGs...? To diversify the product portfolio. Same reason that we have the CLA, GLA, GLE Coupe, S Cabrio, and CLS Shooting Brake. It's a cycle - hook someone in on a cool/trendy CLA250/GLA250 when they're 25-26 years old, then when they're in their 30s with a family and want something cool to haul kids around in, they can come back for an E550/GLE550 (or if they want to go fast a GLE63/E63). Then when their in their 40/50s and the kids are off in school, they've got an SL550/S550 for you. Kids finally off your dime, and you want something fast but can't get in and out of a Ferrari or Porsche - got you covered SL65/S65!

MB is a company like any other - the job of the management is to maximize shareholder value. You maximize value by generating income through a broad product portfolio. Income from selling everything from a lowely $31k CLA250 to a loaded $295k G65 AMG.

And also, don't mean to burst your bubble.... BMW has been building its cars in nations other than Germany for more than a decade. My friend has a 2006 BMW 3-Series that was built in South Africa.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I've driven the last three generations of S-Class, and all have been at their best coddling their occupants while consuming large chunks of interstate at 80 MPH-plus. Basically they've become the Sedan deVille that Cadillac abandoned building decades ago.

BMW used to make the driver's alternative to the S-Class in their 7, but they've flabbed it up and dumbed-down handling response over the last couple of generations to make it more the successor to the 1971 Thunderbird four-door...

Had a ride in a S63 (iirc) with a couple of hundred miles on it a couple of months ago, and the leather coachwork was amazing. I was a little unsettled that dash displays were done on lcd or some other type of video display and there were no actual analog gages or clocks anywhere to be found. It was still like being in a sound proof booth with an awesome sound system and great seats that could heat and cool at the same time.

I bet about 90% or more of these are lease vehicles. I remember talking with my usual SA at the dealership not too long ago and he said that the overwhelming majority of MB vehicles are bought/leased by small business owners.

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Toyota is a leader only because their drivers block everyone behind them. Oh what a feeling.