balthazar

Private sale value of my GMC is $12K more than I paid for it 2 months ago. Have read dozens upon dozens of truck owners getting offers 6-12 grand higher (from dealers) than they paid over the last 5 years. That's blowing toyoter's numbers out of the water.

Which one is the benchmark? Can't be 3 benchmarks...

It's a piece of CRAP. Pickup drivers are outright laughing at a dirt bike hanging 1/3rd out of the bed like that. Ridiculous.

"Can't we all just get along?" ? Folk in here need to chill; none of us are making industry policy here... we're just talking.

It's not like it's some sort of 'special privilege' or anything to sell work vans. All a 'franchise' is, is a legal agreement between a dealer & the OEM. Sometimes the OEM offers one to a dealer, sometimes a dealer requests the new brand. It's not a big deal. And with the vast majority of dealers selling mercedes passenger vehicles also selling mercedes-branded work vans, that much is obvious.

No; just 75% of all dealers do. So… mercedes is doing the same thing Chevrolet is. Got it. Because BTW; not all Chevy dealers sell Express work vans, too. ?

^ :shrug: These 2 took me like 6 secs to find.

Manuals in racing is not about it shifting faster; it’s completely about controlling exactly what gear you’re in, when you want to be in it. An auto will almost always shift faster, but then it’s the gearbox deciding what gear you’re in, not you. Bottom line: an automatic race car can shift faster, yet cover ground slower. I think NASCAR uses manuals because IDK if an auto gearbox could handle the temps of 2-3 hrs of 200+ MPH. Have to have a turbo to cool the trans cooler.

- - - - Another interesting tidbit in looking at the deep specs. I always compare to the B-59 (for no logical reasons). Sierra has 10 inches more front headroom & 5.5" more front shoulder room. Surprisingly, the B-59 has the same front legroom, but has 5" more front hip room. Also, the B-59 is about .5" wider (body width sans any mirrors).

MPG check-in : odometer at 510 miles, which means the 400 mile window is all my right foot. Average MPG is 22.7. Tickled on that, and I figured it'll settle right around 22-23. I can also tell it would really love to get on the highway and just cruise. Brake break-in complete at 200 mi, engine break-in complete at 500. Time to really get acclimated to each other, lay some rubber, try some maneuvers, check out 'sport' mode, etc. Still haven't fueled up first time yet, I think it's around 3/8th of a tank. Hmmm... at an average of 22.7... 24 gals would take me 544 miles... but I'm at 510 miles with 3/8ths left. That calculates to more like 815 miles. Reality is somewhere in between. Perhaps the needle really dives below a 1/4 tank. Dealer told me it takes a number of tank fills to get the MPG readout to be really accurate (like 10). I log every fueling (have since 1991), so I will be able to compare computed MPG vs. dash MPG.

One of the largest Mercedes (& other euro 'lux' brand) mega-dealers in my state lines a row of refrigerator-white cargo vans next to e- and s-class cars on the front line of their lot. They absolutely are sold via the same dealerships. Daimler bungled that opportunity royally, but that's old news.

? ? ? ? ? I missed that on on the above list. Why not make it 1,000.

You. Said. "by 2025". You're doin' an 'smk'.

I may have seen 1 S2000 in the last 10 years. Of course, they’re too bland for me to notice.

1. Tesla will still be here in ‘25. 2. There won’t be ‘200+’ BE’s on the market by ‘25.

ERG! - the first 20 secs of that injected Hemi sound! ?

It's a HEPA filter, does anyone really care about this?? Every time you open a door or the windows, every time you enter the car with shoes, clothing, hair; air quality is rendered moot.

Pro-level race vehicles are completely gone through after EVERY RACE. Some motorsports rebuild the entire engine after every race. I would not choose to call that 'durable' as related to passenger vehicles.

Workin on Father’s Day (with my son).

Drained the rest of the fluids out & took the heads off today. Nothing of note in the bore other than some old carbon. Wiped them clean, hammered on each piston with a wood block/hammer, squirted them up with plentiful Kroil, hammered again, tried turning but nothing. Will let soak.

Same as all the rest before it; drive it until it breaks irreparably.

My cousin (the hoarder) picked up an ‘03 mercedes 2-dr, paid $1000. I again laugh as I got a ride in it; just as much cheap plastics and plood as anything from the era. This one is beat to shit; suspension banging and crashing, radio hammering like a woodpecker, trans slipping, large swathes of hand spray-painting on the body… but the A/C works! ? ?

Typical toyoter grotesqueness. And as the first redesign in like 17 years, expect a fresh, heavy round of engineering deficiencies and regular recalls.