I guess it also has something to do with "why" people pick the cars they drive...... I buy Mercedes cars because they are well engineered and are put together with high quality materials..... The thick door seals, double paned glass and pneumatic closing system on the doors of my 140 never cease to make me happy every time I open or close one.......

While a Mustang or Honda might be fast and reliable their plastic interiors and thin sheet metal and low end technology does not do much for me...... If your looking for "bang for the buck" that need is probably best served in a car other than a Mercedes......

Additionally one of the other reasons I drive Mercedes cars is I don't really care for "disposable" high end consumer goods...... Mercedes makes parts for the lifetime of the car..... American and Japanese cars drop parts support as quickly as they can in most cases...... Its difficult to get OEM parts when your Domestic or Asian car ages....... I have friends that are into high end audio equipment and criticize me for my choice of Bang & Oulfsen Audio equipment..... They say "for the price you paid for that you could get a much better performing system"..... The reason I bought my Bang & Oulfsen is they also have the same idea on parts and you can still get original parts and service for even some of their original equipment......