Would You Rather: Lux Hot Rod Edition

[Frisky Dingo]

Our usual comparos and dream garage threads typically center around sport sedans and super cars, but these heavy hitters are exciting in their own right. One has been around a while now and is a familiar face- the Bentley Continental GT. The other is a newcomer- the S63 AMG, in drop top form in this case. C&D got the two together for a shootout recently, and I thought this would make for a fun 'WYR' thread.


Here's the link- C&D: Bentley Conti GTC vs MB S63 AMG Cab 

 

 

So, which you rather have-

 

Bentley Conti GTC V8

 

 

or

 

 

MB S63 AMG Cabriolet

 

 

 

 

[Frisky Dingo]

This is no contest for me. I'm fortunate enough to have driven both of these cars in their 12-pot guise (and w/ a roof), and my choice is the Bentley by a landslide. The article really sums up the difference in the two cars' demeanors quite nicely. The AMG is polished to a fault. It's a rolling techno-tour de force, albeit a damn comfortable one with mega power and acceleration. And props to MB for delivering a product that's quicker and has a better interior than it's rival for less money. The Burmeister stereo crushingly good. You haven't heard a stereo until you've experienced this thing.

But the Bentley. The Bentley just oozes charisma. It feels heavier (because it is) and more ponderous. The interior is decidedly lower tech and old school. But when you are driving it, none of that matters. It has a personality and charm that the AMG can't come close to matching. From the deftness of it's controls, to it's carved'from;granite gorgeous looks, to it's velvety smoothness, it's a car that truly embodies personal luxury, imo. If I were buying an outright luxury 2 door in the 200K+ range, there's nothing else I'd even consider.

[balthazar]

I find the Bentley's styling language beyond bland. I see them frequently in my area, they have no uniqueness, to the point I've pointed them out to passengers who were amazed at the price range. This is where both the general impact and the specific details should shine and they just don't. For the money, both in interior & exterior, they are HUGELY overhyped. For the money, I'd expect concept-caliber detailing.

S63, unfortunately, is wearing the nose of a $30K model. It's not ugly (tho it's also not especially upscale), but MB failed to differentiate it. Again, for the money; it's disappointing.

I have no pick between these 2.

[Suaviloquent]

Hmmm....can I say this? I find both vehicles just not enough. I would rather they be priced like $500k (because the person buying these can afford both at the same time), but like Balth says, they are also then more concept car like.

 

The Bentley is 12 years old in terms of body in white and underlying structure. I do like the interior design. It looks classy, and it can stay that way. But I wonder, like, from the Escala concept, I like the idea of high quality tweed instead of leather on the seats. It's different, that's for sure. But that interior concept strikes me as something very clean in looks. And the off-white pillars, plus grey fabric, and selective use of cowhide, dead-tree and fake metal was astonishingly nice.

 

The Merc, while I also do like the interior, I find this front end ugly to me.

Okay, if I have to make a choice, it's the Buick Cascada. Now that's a luxury carbio barge that is totally bespoke from anything else in that brand.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

I am with Balthazar on this one....no thanks for either one, actually...

[David]

+1 and in agreement with Balthazar and A Horse with no Name. Pass on both of these bland dinosaurs. 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

+1 and in agreement with Balthazar and A Horse with no Name. Pass on both of these bland dinosaurs. 

I would upvote this with a cheeseburger and fries if I could....

On 11/26/2016 at 11:19 PM, Suaviloquent said:

Hmmm....can I say this? I find both vehicles just not enough. I would rather they be priced like $500k (because the person buying these can afford both at the same time), but like Balth says, they are also then more concept car like.

 

The Bentley is 12 years old in terms of body in white and underlying structure. I do like the interior design. It looks classy, and it can stay that way. But I wonder, like, from the Escala concept, I like the idea of high quality tweed instead of leather on the seats. It's different, that's for sure. But that interior concept strikes me as something very clean in looks. And the off-white pillars, plus grey fabric, and selective use of cowhide, dead-tree and fake metal was astonishingly nice.

 

The Merc, while I also do like the interior, I find this front end ugly to me.

Okay, if I have to make a choice, it's the Buick Cascada. Now that's a luxury carbio barge that is totally bespoke from anything else in that brand.

 

Buick would be better, i agree....

[oldshurst442]

Never liked a Bentley. Especially these modern ones.

I would take a 4 door S Class AMG.

Bullet proof and bomb proof version...

The S600 Guard....

 

But ultimately Id rather a classic restomod American land yacht from Cadillac or Lincoln or Oldsmobile..

 

 

[oldshurst442]

Here.

Here is another American land yacht Id rather...

If Im gonna spend a ton of money on a ride, I might as well choose something that has style and says to the receiving party that awaits my arrival: "Hey! I'M HERE!"

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Agree with Olds, many older American cars just beat the pants off of these two pseudo luxury yachts in terms of style and charter.

Please be aware that when i defend Benz, I am defending them in terms of being a rational corporation that builds products people want to drive. Given the choice between driving a Benz and drinking bleach....

[Frisky Dingo]

I don't recall FWD slugs (Buick) or smog-choked barges (Lincoln) being choices. Nice utter lack of attempts at playing, though, thanks. 

[A Horse With No Name]

19 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

I don't recall FWD slugs (Buick) or smog-choked barges (Lincoln) being choices. Nice utter lack of attempts at playing, though, thanks. 

Please understand that for many of us we do not share the same automotive passions. Some of us really, really dislike certain high end luxury cars.

Worst thing that could happen would be for Cheers and gears to become an automotive "safe space" where we do not criticize certain vehicles.

Ask us our honest opinion....and we are likely to respond. Wasn't it Tolstoy who said that happy families are all the same and boring, unhappy families are all different and interesting?

We are unhappy, interesting, and cranky....one of the things I actually like about the place...

[Frisky Dingo]

7 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Please understand that for many of us we do not share the same automotive passions. Some of us really, really dislike certain high end luxury cars.

Worst thing that could happen would be for Cheers and gears to become an automotive "safe space" where we do not criticize certain vehicles.

Ask us our honest opinion....and we are likely to respond. Wasn't it Tolstoy who said that happy families are all the same and boring, unhappy families are all different and interesting?

We are unhappy, interesting, and cranky....one of the things I actually like about the place...

 

I was asking between two specific cars for that very reason- so people would get outside of their comfort zones and think about something fresh.

[oldshurst442]

31 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

I don't recall FWD slugs (Buick) or smog-choked barges (Lincoln) being choices. Nice utter lack of attempts at playing, though, thanks. 

LOL.

1. I did answer the question at hand. I truly do prefer the S600 Guard over the Bentley, but...I prefer the older American cars over both...

2. That Lincoln, the smog choked one from the 70s, is probably LS swapped...so...it aint smog choked...

 

 

[balthazar]

The Buick shown here is not FWD. Leno's '55 Roadmaster has a 650 HP 572 underhood; it's no slug.
Neither of the Lincoln's shown here have any smog equipment.
 

It seems a number of people here have their 'comfort zones'…

Edited November 29, 2016 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

33 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

I was asking between two specific cars for that very reason- so people would get outside of their comfort zones and think about something fresh.

Some days I think C and G should come with a warning label, like a pack of cigarettes.  Being a fan of any post 1977 Luxury car here pretty much is for better or worse an open invitation to get cut off at the knees with a chain saw.

There is outside do our comfort zone and liking cars we have zero interest in.  There are guys I know who have zero interest  in anything that is not domestic 4WD, V8, with a bed attached, and the like.  I do not expect them to suddenly like the WRX like I do, even though it is AWD, or like Miatas or something.

32 minutes ago, balthazar said:

The Buick shown here is not FWD. Leno's '55 Roadmaster has a 650 HP 572 underhood; it's no slug.
Neither of the Lincoln's shown here have any smog equipment.
 

It seems a number of people here have their 'comfort zones'…

Or like what we like...I like a lot of everything, more so than most car guys.

But my general feeling or respect and affection for most modern luxury cars runs somewhere between spinal meningitis and being bitten by a rabid dog.

[Suaviloquent]

Sorry fur hijacking the thread, honestly, I find my inability to imagine just too strong to actually go through with the traditional: "If I had the money and had to pick between X and Y"

 

I guess if I absolutely must, then I'd get the Mercedes. But only just. But yeah, Frisky, feel free to think that

WE'RE ALL LAME....

SO LAME....

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Suaviloquent said:

Sorry fur hijacking the thread, honestly, I find my inability to imagine just too strong to actually go through with the traditional: "If I had the money and had to pick between X and Y"

 

I guess if I absolutely must, then I'd get the Mercedes. But only just. But yeah, Frisky, feel free to think that

WE'RE ALL LAME....

SO LAME....

One could almost rip off the song Your So Vain and change the words to your so lame...

But then again, back when Your so Vain was written, luxury cars had unique style that changed on a regular basis. Methinks Olds and Balthazar might have valid points.

[Stew]

Not my favorite class of car, but given the choice i would go for the Bentley.  The Benz looks as chunky around the middle as i have become haha. 

[Frisky Dingo]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

The Buick shown here is not FWD. Leno's '55 Roadmaster has a 650 HP 572 underhood; it's no slug.
Neither of the Lincoln's shown here have any smog equipment.
 

It seems a number of people here have their 'comfort zones'…

 

The Buick Cascada mentioned earlier is indeed FWD.

 

I mistakenly thought the Lincoln Olds posted was a Mark IV, but it is a Mark III. I stand correct there. 

 

And it's not that those cars aren't within my comfort zone, just that they aren't included in the thread's premise. I do plenty of other threads with rather loose rules that allow such picks.

 

 

13 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Some days I think C and G should come with a warning label, like a pack of cigarettes.  Being a fan of any post 1977 Luxury car here pretty much is for better or worse an open invitation to get cut off at the knees with a chain saw.

There is outside do our comfort zone and liking cars we have zero interest in.  There are guys I know who have zero interest  in anything that is not domestic 4WD, V8, with a bed attached, and the like.  I do not expect them to suddenly like the WRX like I do, even though it is AWD, or like Miatas or something.

Or like what we like...I like a lot of everything, more so than most car guys.

But my general feeling or respect and affection for most modern luxury cars runs somewhere between spinal meningitis and being bitten by a rabid dog.

 

I personally absolutely detest the Malaise Era of Domestic cars.

 

Why don't you like modern luxury cars?

 

11 hours ago, Suaviloquent said:

Sorry fur hijacking the thread, honestly, I find my inability to imagine just too strong to actually go through with the traditional: "If I had the money and had to pick between X and Y"

 

I guess if I absolutely must, then I'd get the Mercedes. But only just. But yeah, Frisky, feel free to think that

WE'RE ALL LAME....

SO LAME....

 

Thank you. See that wasn't hard, was it? 

Edited November 29, 2016 by Frisky Dingo

[ccap41]

This is fairly tough and that's only because of the name "Bentley". I think the S Cab. looks fan-freakin-tastic and I'm not much of a 'vert fan. My first instinct was to go the AMG route so I'll just stick to that instinct. I LOVE how AMG's sound and their subtle looks will leave them underrated. I'll fly under the radar in an S63 Cab.

[balthazar]

Why don't you like modern luxury cars?

Too plasticy, too small & too homogenized. And too commonplace.
A luxury car should be distinctive, detailed and rare (among the other 'givens'). 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Why don't you like modern luxury cars?

I find pretty much zero of them attractive for one thing.  I kind of like the side profile of the Lexus IS series and the Acura sedans, but that is about it. I do like the Jag styling, and Maserati has a few high points.

Changing my remark earlier about finding the ATS more attractive than the Cayman also...been thinking hard about that one. Kind of liked Cadillac design language at first, but it is getting old and wearing thin on me....this from a guy that still likes some malaise era cars!

Driving dynamics are another thing, I really prefer a sportier more involved driving experience.  Will put up with some of the Cadillac quirks for a CTS-V series driving experience, but the car leaves me still a little cold in terms of personally wanting it in my garage.

I actually do like the E36 and E46 series BMW cars, but I kind of feel BMW has lost their way.

Did not mean to hijack the thread....I actually kind of feel rather bad that I do not like some of the cars you bring me....sort of like someone baking you a birthday cake and then they ask you honestly if you like chocolate and you feel like you have to be honest and say "no."

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

 

 

Too plasticy, too small & too homogenized. And too commonplace.
A luxury car should be distinctive, detailed and rare (among the other 'givens'). 

Agreed...we can be stylin in our 64 Pontiacs, and the rest of the world can think we are insane....but would rather be out of my mind with a 64 Pontiac than sane and driving a Bentley....

2 hours ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Thank you. See that wasn't hard, was it? 

No, not really....but would still prefer Broccoli to Bentley....will be a good boy and eat my broccoli....

[Suaviloquent]

Okay, so if the thread parameters would have permitted say, any other luxury vert as a third choice, of approximately the same price range of unaffordable to quadruple reverse mortgage class, I would get some form of Aston Martin Vert, if they exist.

[Frisky Dingo]

@A Horse With No Name & @balthazar

 

I wholeheartedly understand preferring the styling of a different generation, but I have to highly question many of the things you are mentioning as slights against the newer cars.

 

Do you all really mean to tell me you think cars of this ilk have more plastic than cars from the 70's? Or that the materials as a whole aren't miles better? Or that is inferior in detailing?

 

Have you guys sat in cars like these? Because I've been in both, and while I unabashedly love old Cadillacs, Lincolns, and the like- especially the Continental and big Pontiacs- today's luxury cars are on a whole different level. The stitching, the leather, the veneers, the switch gear. They're much further removed from the average mainstream car of today than those vehicles were back then. 

I can somewhat give you the popularity argument. They are built in greater numbers. Though with the price gap and exclusivity they still hold, I don't think that's a very large criticism. If we're focusing our discussions on a segment down- 5 Series and the like, I certainly think there is more merit to you guys' stance then. But at the highest level of luxury cars, I feel they are great as they've ever been, and possibly even will be.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, Frisky Dingo said:

@A Horse With No Name & @balthazar

 

I wholeheartedly understand preferring the styling of a different generation, but I have to highly question many of the things you are mentioning as slights against the newer cars.

 

Do you all really mean to tell me you think cars of this ilk have more plastic than cars from the 70's? Or that the materials as a whole aren't miles better? Or that is inferior in detailing?

 

Have you guys sat in cars like these? Because I've been in both, and while I unabashedly love old Cadillacs, Lincolns, and the like- especially the Continental and big Pontiacs- today's luxury cars are on a whole different level. The stitching, the leather, the veneers, the switch gear. They're much further removed from the average mainstream car of today than those vehicles were back then. 

I can somewhat give you the popularity argument. They are built in greater numbers. Though with the price gap and exclusivity they still hold, I don't think that's a very large criticism. If we're focusing our discussions on a segment down- 5 Series and the like, I certainly think there is more merit to you guys' stance then. But at the highest level of luxury cars, I feel they are great as they've ever been, and possibly even will be.

Part of this is generational, Balthazar and I are older and we grew up with different ideas of what constitutes luxury or a luxury car.

Maybe I should go see a doctor....but fine stitching or not, a modern Infinity pretty much makes my skin crawl....

[David]

If I could pick something other than the two dogs listed above, it would have to be one of these 3 custom Luxury Hot Rods

1939 Lincoln Zephyr Custom

1957 Custom Chevy Cadillac

Buick Roadmaster

Course there are many other sexy hot rods I would enjoy also.

[Frisky Dingo]

1 minute ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Part of this is generational, Balthazar and I are older and we grew up with different ideas of what constitutes luxury or a luxury car.

Maybe I should go see a doctor....but fine stitching or not, a modern Infinity pretty much makes my skin crawl....

 

Okay, but Infiniti's highest offerings don't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Bentley, Maybach, or Rolls. I feel like this is where the disconnect is happening.

 

Up to roughly the ~100K cars, I agree there is little distinction, character, presence, and desirability. I'm with you there. Going beyond that into the 200K + cars, I beg to differ.

[A Horse With No Name]

I think if I am honest, when I was a kid it was all about the cars.  You could drive a 53 Buick 4 door with some missing chrome, and it was cool because you were driving an old car that was different and you were keeping part of history alive.

A lot of modern luxury car love seems very status driven and not about the cars at all, which I find a huge turn off....to cars I am already turned off by.

[David]

6 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

@A Horse With No Name & @balthazar

 

I wholeheartedly understand preferring the styling of a different generation, but I have to highly question many of the things you are mentioning as slights against the newer cars.

 

Do you all really mean to tell me you think cars of this ilk have more plastic than cars from the 70's? Or that the materials as a whole aren't miles better? Or that is inferior in detailing?

 

Have you guys sat in cars like these? Because I've been in both, and while I unabashedly love old Cadillacs, Lincolns, and the like- especially the Continental and big Pontiacs- today's luxury cars are on a whole different level. The stitching, the leather, the veneers, the switch gear. They're much further removed from the average mainstream car of today than those vehicles were back then. 

I can somewhat give you the popularity argument. They are built in greater numbers. Though with the price gap and exclusivity they still hold, I don't think that's a very large criticism. If we're focusing our discussions on a segment down- 5 Series and the like, I certainly think there is more merit to you guys' stance then. But at the highest level of luxury cars, I feel they are great as they've ever been, and possibly even will be.

I have sat in both these auto's and will say the interior materials are nice. End of positive comments as the over all interiors are just blah, sterile and nothing with passion. The ubber luxury rides used to be totally custom and while the Bentley allows a certain amount of custom ordering, most are just mass produced cookie cutters and this is where the ubber Sterile ride comes in.

I am in with Balthazar and A Horse With No Name that I would expect a passion infused custom ride that stands apart from the mass produced auto's we have here.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Okay, but Infiniti's highest offerings don't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Bentley, Maybach, or Rolls. I feel like this is where the disconnect is happening.

 

Up to roughly the ~100K cars, I agree there is little distinction, character, presence, and desirability. I'm with you there. Going beyond that into the 200K + cars, I beg to differ.

I still think it is a different paradigm....given over 100K, I would be looking at a performance car.

A top flight 911 seems to have a reason to exist....and proves itself on a regular basis in sanctioned competition.

Bentley, Rolls, Benz....all just seemed based on some sort of metric of mindless excess....

Just now, dfelt said:

I have sat in both these auto's and will say the interior materials are nice. End of positive comments as the over all interiors are just blah, sterile and nothing with passion. The ubber luxury rides used to be totally custom and while the Bentley allows a certain amount of custom ordering, most are just mass produced cookie cutters and this is where the ubber Sterile ride comes in.

I am in with Balthazar and A Horse With No Name that I would expect a passion infused custom ride that stands apart from the mass produced auto's we have here.

Passionless is very much a feeling I get when I am around these vehicles....yes, nice materials...but....they convey no sense of passion to me.

[Frisky Dingo]

2 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I think if I am honest, when I was a kid it was all about the cars.  You could drive a 53 Buick 4 door with some missing chrome, and it was cool because you were driving an old car that was different and you were keeping part of history alive.

A lot of modern luxury car love seems very status driven and not about the cars at all, which I find a huge turn off....to cars I am already turned off by.

 

Now this I completely agree with. It is without question less about the cars themselves, and more about projecting an image. No arguing there.

 

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

I have sat in both these auto's and will say the interior materials are nice. End of positive comments as the over all interiors are just blah, sterile and nothing with passion. The ubber luxury rides used to be totally custom and while the Bentley allows a certain amount of custom ordering, most are just mass produced cookie cutters and this is where the ubber Sterile ride comes in.

I am in with Balthazar and A Horse With No Name that I would expect a passion infused custom ride that stands apart from the mass produced auto's we have here.

 

I think you guys need to drive a Bentley Continental then. You'll see how much it stands apart from a mainstream car, trust me.

[A Horse With No Name]

...and oddly enough, I love the older 50's and 60's Rolls Royce cars.....

Were Rolls an option, and not just Bentley and Benz, I could have voted for a rolls product in the above poll.

2 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Now this I completely agree with. It is without question less about the cars themselves, and more about projecting an image. No arguing there.

 

 

I think you guys need to drive a Bentley Continental then. You'll see how much it stands apart from a mainstream car, trust me.

Given a chance, i would love to.  That being said, methinks I would still want a WRX over the Bentley...

[Frisky Dingo]

3 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I still think it is a different paradigm....given over 100K, I would be looking at a performance car.

A top flight 911 seems to have a reason to exist....and proves itself on a regular basis in sanctioned competition.

Bentley, Rolls, Benz....all just seemed based on some sort of metric of mindless excess....

Passionless is very much a feeling I get when I am around these vehicles....yes, nice materials...but....they convey no sense of passion to me.

 

Well, personally, of course I'd be shopping sports cars  in this bracket. Any bracket, really. I'd buy a GT350R over a 5 Series. I'd buy a 911 over an S Class. I'd buy a Huracan before I bought a Continental. Even if it meant DD'ing a Yaris.

But the point of these threads is to consider and choose between cars that you normally wouldn't. We all know most of us prefer Ferraris, Vipers, and McLarens. That's too easy and predictable, though.

 

And again, I promise you the Bentley does NOT feel devoid of passion.

[Suaviloquent]

The Bentley has 6000 lbs of passion. 

I love it! 

[Frisky Dingo]

11 minutes ago, Suaviloquent said:

The Bentley has 6000 lbs of passion. 

I love it! 

 

Those luxury cars of yore weren't exactly light weights!

[Frisky Dingo]

I'm glad this thread is causing so much discussion, and that everyone here is mature enough to engage in civil conversation, even in disagreement. I love that about this place. That never could have happened over at MT forums.

[A Horse With No Name]

33 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Well, personally, of course I'd be shopping sports cars  in this bracket. Any bracket, really. I'd buy a GT350R over a 5 Series. I'd buy a 911 over an S Class. I'd buy a Huracan before I bought a Continental. Even if it meant DD'ing a Yaris.

But the point of these threads is to consider and choose between cars that you normally wouldn't. We all know most of us prefer Ferraris, Vipers, and McLarens. That's too easy and predictable, though.

 

And again, I promise you the Bentley does NOT feel devoid of passion.

When I buy beer and we sit down for the night to discuss the Bentley we have just test driven...I will hold you to this, my friend...

Please also note I do not like cheap beer...make it a nice Porter or Stout from a local micro brewery and we are in bidness...

[Frisky Dingo]

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

When I buy beer and we sit down for the night to discuss the Bentley we have just test driven...I will hold you to this, my friend...

Please also note I do not like cheap beer...make it a nice Porter or Stout from a local micro brewery and we are in bidness...

 

I drink tequila, but I suppose if it meant sitting down and having a person-person chat with you, I could stomach beer. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Also, these threads do have value.  I am remembering very fondly the first time I saw a Rolls up close, it was 1971, and my family took a train trip to Florida during the middle of a horrid Wisconsin winter.  I was in kindergarten....

Family splurged for a couple of nights at a really nice hotel in Miami, Rolls was white....owner was very generous in showing me the car up close....it was a huge rush for a six year old who already craved cars like he craved oxygen....

Just now, Frisky Dingo said:

 

I drink tequila, but I suppose if it meant sitting down and having a person-person chat with you, I could stomach beer. 

I will gladly provide tequila, but only after the test drive....do not want to wreck a 200K car now, mind you....

12 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

I'm glad this thread is causing so much discussion, and that everyone here is mature enough to engage in civil conversation, even in disagreement. I love that about this place. That never could have happened over at MT forums.

I love that about this place also. You also redeemed your man card when you said you would buy a Shelby GT 350 R over a luxury car....

19 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Those luxury cars of yore weren't exactly light weights!

No they were not....but a mid fifties Cadillac weighs in at about 4000 pounds, not much more than a previous gen Mustang Shelby....hmmmm

32 minutes ago, Suaviloquent said:

The Bentley has 6000 lbs of passion. 

I love it! 

I used to work with a guy we called Peanut because he was so small...he was into really large ladies.....6000 lbs of passion sounds like one of his girlfriends....

[David]

23 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

I'm glad this thread is causing so much discussion, and that everyone here is mature enough to engage in civil conversation, even in disagreement. I love that about this place. That never could have happened over at MT forums.

 Psst, MT forums is history and the educated debate on the new forums like C&G!

13 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

I drink tequila, but I suppose if it meant sitting down and having a person-person chat with you, I could stomach beer. 

Lets just all sit down and drink what you want. I will Enjoy my Wine as I debate the passionless Bently and AMG.

14 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I used to work with a guy we called Peanut because he was so small...he was into really large ladies.....6000 lbs of passion sounds like one of his girlfriends....

 

[ccap41]

16 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

When I buy beer and we sit down for the night to discuss the Bentley we have just test driven...I will hold you to this, my friend...

Please also note I do not like cheap beer...make it a nice Porter or Stout from a local micro brewery and we are in bidness...

Come on up to the St. Louis area where Frisky and I live, there are a few microbreweries here and then we could also hit up the Anheuser Busch tour as well.

[A Horse With No Name]

18 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Come on up to the St. Louis area where Frisky and I live, there are a few microbreweries here and then we could also hit up the Anheuser Busch tour as well.

Would love to do so! We have an A-B plant here in Columbus, I used to sell paint products to the plant back when I had a sales job...a long time ago....

Edited November 29, 2016 by A Horse With No Name

[Frisky Dingo]

33 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Come on up to the St. Louis area where Frisky and I live, there are a few microbreweries here and then we could also hit up the Anheuser Busch tour as well.

 

Says the guy who hasn't even had a drink with me yet when I've been here for 9 months now! 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Says the guy who hasn't even had a drink with me yet when I've been here for 9 months now! 

There is always a first time....!

[Suaviloquent]

I haves not had any kinds of the beverages mentioned in this thread for about a year now. Hmmm, should I invest in some liquid passion? Or save monies for MOAR Bentley Cadillac?

 

The economics, the choices, the choices....

[balthazar]

This starts at around $87K IIRC :

This starts at $199K :

Sorry, I'm not seeing $100K+ difference here. This is wherein the problem lies, there's a diminishing rate of return above, say $75K.

- - - - - 

This is (IIRC) a million two in today's dollars :

Plenty to see, plenty to do. You don't have to be told it's special.

This is a million in 1952 dollars :

Same comment applies here. :)

[ccap41]

6 hours ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 

Says the guy who hasn't even had a drink with me yet when I've been here for 9 months now! 

Haha I know I know! Sorry I've just been busy with school and work.. not a whole lot of spare time.. 

[oldshurst442]

On ‎2016‎-‎11‎-‎26 at 9:48 AM, Frisky Dingo said:

For me...I dont know...

The Bentley convertible looks like a blob. Nothing grand about it exterior wise that makes me feel like a king of England...Its a Bentley for Christ's sake...

The Mercedes convertible. Its awright...but it dont make me feel anymore special either. That is why I chose the 4 door sedan version. The 4door Sedan S Class is a grand car. The Bentley Mulsanne is OK too, but if I owned Trump Towers and Trump Plaza along with a casino or two, honestly, with an ego that goes with slapping my name on everything, a Mulsanne wouldnt do either...

There is something about classic luxury American land yachts that exude that necessary elitism that goes with those high price tags but they those big ole land yachts have that certain je ne sais quoi arrogance that I look for.

Mercedes from time to time succeeds in mimicking Classic Cadillacs, Lincolns and Chryslers, but sometimes they dont.

Rolls Royce and Bentley, the modern ones, have too much German DNA in them...VW and BMW have no clue how to channel their arrogant management ways to style their cars.

The old Rolls and Bentleys had the English pompousness and snootiness that worked well in their designs and their marketing... 

'adequate power' levels is just as powerful a marketing tool that seduces me  as much as big fins and huge chromed bumpers or sleek, low, long, straight lines of a Lincoln Continental...

Sure, modern tech and materials beat the crap outta anything the 1960s gave us...

But really, how could that blob Bentley compare to this?

Cars like this you cruise around in....you dont drive fast, you want people to ogle you.

The only reason people ogle the owners of Bentleys is that even regular folk know that Bentleys cost a ton of money to purchase...its the price tag that gets the attention, not the artistry of the lines of the car...

That is why it  was and still is super important that Cadillac gives us this:

 

In other words. Neither the Bentley nor the Mercedes is majestic to my eyes.

The price tag is certainly majestic, but not the looks.

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

I think this pic drives my point home...

And to compare...

 

In my eyes, just a stubby blob the Bentley is...

The Benz dont fare any better...although its less stubby and blobby but jelly beany uninspiring non-the-less...

 

In my eyes at least.