HAs Mercedes lost the Plot?

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mieleforever

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Jan 12, 2011
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I beg the question! In the recent Mercedes-Benz designs I have yet to be wowed. With the Launch of the all new Shooting Brake and Mercedes B Class and A Class, I really though that we would get a real proper Mercedes again, but alas no such luck.

The design in my opinion is ghastly! Just some poorly designed fat assed lump of a chunk, emblazoned with the ever more irritating, over the top LED eyes.

It is as if the world has gone LED crazy!! It is as if they have slapped a ton of LED's on the car's backside and ever more fierce looking snout, and all the design guidelines can be enema-ed out of the book. Hit it with a huge price and bam there you go, you now have a brand new car and everybody will think that you are the SH_t!

I don't know maybe I am just getting on in time, but I think Mercedes's cars are now being carried by the badge, in stead of it carrying the badge.

Sorry if this sounds like I am ranting but some Shooting idiot has just cut me off at the crossing!

Cheers
 
I've owned two...a 1995 C280 which featured the infamous MB inline 6 cylinder engine front oil seal leak, repaired under extended warranty, thank Goddess, and the one I drive every other week as my "grocery getter", 2004 C240 sportwagon with 4-MATIC all wheel drive. The '04, despite being a Daimler-Chrysler product, still retains that classic MB look, and gets a lot of admiring stares. I thought I had ended my love affair with german cars, but apparently I have been thrice bitten.

My BMW 330i is leagues beyond MB in terms of build quality, and design quality as well. I won't own a newer MB; they look like Ford Taurus' of about 5 years ago.

drhardee++11-5-2013-09-17-37.jpg
 
I think the LED light trend is somewhat justified from an energy conservation standpoint. The LED's use about 1/4 or less of the power that a normal incandescent lighting system would use. In terms of fuel efficiency, every little bit helps. There is also the bling aspect, as designers have chosen to make the presence of LED's unmistakable with somewhat bizarre arrangements. I think eventually the novelty will wear off and LED lighting will settle down to a more functional look.

As for Mercedes... I don't think the new models look bad at all. The era of the boxy cars is fast disappearing, again due to aerodynamic concerns (energy efficiency). Witness the furor over the newly designed Jeep Cherokee, which is based on the same platform as the Dodge Dart, which in turn is based on an Alfa Romeo platform. It's far more aerodynamic than the older Cherokee, and has elicited a lot of protests from Jeep purists. The reality is that all car mfg's are under the gun to make their fleets as fuel efficient as possible, and a square Cherokee would seriously upset that apple cart. The payback is that it has impressive (for an SUV) mileage ratings and very good road manners in addition to being competent off-road.

I've long been of the opinion, however, that the vaunted Mercedes quality is somewhat of a myth. I read back in the 90's that Mercedes had managed to ensure quality by extensive manual inspection and correction of manufacturing flaws. That accounted in part for the higher than average cost of the cars. I suppose cost cutting has led the company to abandon that approach, and the reliability ratings of newer Mercedes vehicles seems to indicate their reputation for quality is something is no longer fully justified.

Other makes have suffered from redesigns. Such as the VW Jetta and the Honda Civic. Once touted as being at the top of their respective classes, today their redesigns seem to be dictated by the bean counters and the disappointing reviews bear that out.
 
I'm With You!

"ever more fierce looking snout"

The visual aggressiveness of current front-end styling borders on the absurd. In particular, the current Taurus looks like it's the Big Mouth Billy Bass Edition.
 
I have never had any use for Mercedes Benz as a company and have never found any of their cars even remotely appealing. In truth, when I think about the cars they produce, I never picture them as the brand new shiny cars fresh off the lot that you see in advertisements. I picture them a few years down the road when parts are quite literally falling off of them and their interiors are coming apart at the seams. Out here in L.A. I see them in exactly this condition all over the place. This is, after all, wanna be land where far too many people think they have to have a Mercedes to prove to the world that they're somebody. Of course this foolish notion is actually encouraged by Mercedes in there pathetic advertising. No thanks. Obviously I'm in complete agreement with others who've already said that Mercedes reputation for quality is undeserved.
 
The ugliest front end design these days has to be the Lexus "spindle" grille. They toned it down a little from its first incarnation, but it's still butt ugly - and a good double for the Predator of Arnold fame. I can't imagine what the Lexus designers are thinking when they foist something this grotesque on their customer base.
 
Mercedes Diesels back in the early 60's did have a reputation of lasting nearly forever. I think Mercedes is just resting on it's previous laurels.

Take a new Mercedes put some ridiculous oversized tires on it with glow in the dark rims and then light up the undercarriage with "effect lights" and you have what we see mostly on the streets here when it comes to the Mercedes name. At stop lights your ears are assaulted with the "Boom! Boom! Boom!" of rap music coming from within. Chrysler Corp cars are pretty much done up the same way.
 
No offense to anyone who likes them, but to me Benzes always fell in the same class as Marathons. Yeah, the original Checker Cab except with leather instead of plastic and a little more elegant suspension. Their marketing is sheer bloviation which they learned from Cadillac, the car which ethnics can't wait to be the third owner of.

Back when I prescribed to Consumer Reports, German cars had the most 'black spots' in reliability ratings. They're also among the most expensive to repair. If someone gave me a Mercedes I would sell it immediately, buy a Toyota, and throw a helluva party with the change.

Toyota is not what it used to be either, but that's another subject.
 
Seriously??

"I think the LED light trend is somewhat justified from an energy conservation standpoint. The LED's use about 1/4 or less of the power that a normal incandescent lighting system would use. In terms of fuel efficiency, every little bit helps."

Most likely over the entire life of the car, the difference might be.. half a tank of gas.

I'm willing to pay $38.50 over the life of the car for "normal" lights, thank you.
 
I tend to agree with NYCWriter, I don't think that your fuel savings would be that great. In South AFrica image is everything, and it is a very brand conscious country and what seems do do the trick here is that you have to have the newest raised car, that being anything that is 4x4ish, or you could opt for things like Merc's new Shooting Brake, the ladies at the tea club would definately be enjoying your wife or gf's presence much more.

I have even thought that maybe if regular station wagons have just been raised on a 4x4 platform the tea club ladies would also have much more respect for your wife/gf. It is a rather absurd way of doing things because 9/10 owners of so called 4x4 type of vehicles will never even see a dirt road (then again our regular roads are in such poor state, but I digress)

Comming back to the main thread, I just think Mercedes had always such good and rather timeless designs, but nowadays it seems that that design philosophy has taken a back seat and that Mercedes has also turned into a "glitter box" from South Koreaa, just hope it won't be singing some or other dreadful tune at the end of your journey.

Anyway hope you all have a great day!
 
The LEDs "should" last longer. Less an economic issue, more a nuisance issue.

LEDs are also used as a stylant on hyperpriced models to imply status. Doesn't get my attention but if it didn't get SOMEone's attention they wouldn't have done it.

Remember, the buying public consists mostly of idiots, attracted to whatever 'marketing trends' tell them to gravitate toward.
 
Ardilab

I couldn't agree with you more about LEDs, funny the "greens" never mention the pollution created by making these, also in my experience LEDs can and do fail, and I bet they are not cheap like a bulb to replace.
When I think of how much money I have spent over the years on "energy saving" lights, I will never realise any of the supposed savings, mainly because of the amount that have failed, plus all the driving back and forth to exchange them, or binned because of the poor quality light some of them give.
When think back to those simple cheap easy to replace bulbs I think where have we come to.

Disgruntled of cornwall with the cows an sheep :-)
 
For car headlights and battery powered portable lights-HID is still the best way to go for lumens per watt efficiency and shear light output-and wider choice of color- the bulb maker just uses a diffrent formula of halide salts in the arc tube.And the HID bulbs can last longer than LEDS--at least at present.LEDS are catching up.Some don't like HID bulbs-but drive a car that uses HID headlights-think it will change your mind.Pavement markings are easier to see and signs stand out better.The pave ement paint and signs can have flourescent paint that reacts to the LW UV produced by the HID light-same effect with LEDS,too.And with HID bulbs deer and animal eyes reflect better,too-you have a better chance of avoiding them.Coon hunters like HID coonlights.
 
With regard to energy used to power lights... car manufacturers required to meet certain fleet fuel efficiency ratings to avoid surcharges and fines. So they've gone to things like electronic steering, very aerodynamic shapes, low rolling resistance tires, omitting the full spare, omitting any spare, louvers that shut off the radiator gap at highways speeds, etc., all in an attempt to gain incremental energy efficiency gains.

In an electric vehicle, LED headlights can add six miles of driving range per charge. That's a big improvement for cars that average less than 100 miles per charge. In fact, it would a six percent or more energy savings. Nothing to sneeze at.

For gas vehicles, it's obviously not as big a deal, but it still improves gas mileage.

Yes, the car designers have taken advantage of the LED technology to incorporate the lighting into blingy styling. So what? Most new tech and material advances are exploited by fashionistas. But there are still solid practical reasons why LED lighting makes sense for cars.

Furthermore, LED headlights are nearly twice as energy efficient in real world usage as HID lights:

"HID lamp: Source efficiency is typically 120 lumens/watt or higher. However, losses from trapped light, protective covers and lenses, inefficient ballasts and unfavorable operating temperature typically result in a measured system efficiency of 30 lumens/watt or less.

"LEDs: Source efficiency can be 100 lumens/watt or higher, depending on the type and manufacturer of the LED used. There are no losses from trapped light due to the focused output of the LED, and secondary optics and protective covers generally reduce output by only 25% or less. LED power drivers are also more generally efficient than HID ballasts, and reduce system efficiency by 10-15%. However, even when efficiency reductions due to high operating temperatures are included, LED system efficiency often remains above 50 lumens/watt or higher."

 
M-B cars used to be quality machines

and were bought, for the most part, by the somewhat iconoclastic, models such the old 190s and the '50s and '60s 190D through 300D Diesels mentioned, but lately they have become nothing but puffed up kitsch-wagens bought by delusional sheeple who've been brainwashed into believing "image" denotes substance, and that their self-worth depends on "keeping up with the Joneses", a pathetic need apparently assuaged by purchasing ostentation, hence the disgusting proliferation of McMansions, "upscale" luxury goods stores, Lexuses and Benzes...well hope they enjoy it, because they won't be able to much longer! Can you tell I don't suffer pretentious poseurs gladly? ...rant over.
 
DaveAMKrayoGuy's AUTO Rant on TODAY'S AUTOMOBILES:

The Mercedes design which is the copy-cat VW, Audi, BMW design...!

It's annoying seeing those thousand-dots going from being brakelights, to tailights to upfront used as headlights that are not only on at night but during the DAY!

And why, if foglights are for FOG then why are they now HEADLIGHTS and DRL's?! (Daytime Running Lights?)

One of my dad's friends had a Mercedes (back in the 1980's, when it became such a status-symbol rivaling the top-American makes) just for him to quickly get rid of it ('cause it was "Just a Car", but the same happened to a series of Corvettes which have gone from being totaled to stolen to admittedly taken by the repo-man!)...

-- Dave
 
LED's vs HID's

LED luminous efficacy met HID a while back and only continues to improve. In addition LED's do this with generally better color rendering index when compared to various flavors of HID. Overall reliability and lumen maintenance is higher for the LED's also. There will be very few HID street lamps produced from here on out...

The HID lamps typically range from 80-130 lumens per watt efficacy. Or roughly 5 times more system efficiency then a halogen incandescent. Their CRI will range from very low (Sodium lamps) to pretty impressive 96 of the Ceramic Metal Halide lamps. The luminous efficacy will fall off as the CRI increases.

High performance LED offerings today are typically in the 90-150 lumen/watt efficacy range, in fact 200 l/w has been reached (albeit with so so CRI). The current crop of LED's is using better phosphor packages so they will typically have a worst case CRI of ~80 and the best ones are in the 90's. They meet or exceed the CRI of current HID auto headlamps.

An important thought with lighting is that LED's are the new-kids-on-the block, other technologies are near the top of their respective development cycles. LED's will continue to improve, Incandescent and discharge technologies won't.

I'll admit I don't think a lot about energy consumption of the lighting in my vehicles, its a tiny slice of the overall pie. I have replaced EVERY incandescent and CFL in my house (except for the oven light) with LED's at this point. LED household replacement lighting is now money ahead and looks better then the other technologies too. CRI is better then CFL's and there are no warm up issues and I don't hear the CFL's in my shortwave receiver anymore either! LED's are besting all other lighting technologies today in every aspect except initial cost (but with much lower lifetime cost) and will continue to only get better with time.
 

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