balthazar

Review comes off as well balanced. I supposed mercedes wants consumers to think of this as a tall station wagon/CUV, ALA the Flex perhaps, but I cannot get away from the obvious minivan proportions here, and the folding flat seats (while no doubt useful) only reinforces that. The low sales (they're not that bad at 18K) seem to bear out my theory that most consumer look at this as a minivan that lacks sliding doors. Really- they'd fit the vehicle and be more functional... but I assume mercedes wanted to avoid the accompanying stigma- therefore, it's compromised, IMO. That, and the mileage is pretty low.

blackviper8891 ~ >>"I just want to throw this comment in... The A8 interior is not overrated in the least. I've sat in it and it easily bests its competitors in design, content, quality, and materials."<< Being as objective as possible, I simply do not see anything from a design aspect that would justify superlatives. So 'easily' doesn't wash, IMO. But to each, his own.

Offset may possibly be OK, but the bolt pattern makes checking it impossible. >>"6-bolt, 17x7.5, 31 offset, bolt pattern 6x139.7"<< '17x7.5' is a 17" rim that's 7.5" wide. -- -- -- -- -- Offset (31 vs. 50) is best illustrated by the below link: http://www.infinitig37.com/images/tech-offset-image2.jpg Offset gets tricky. Hypothetically, if 2 rims were the same width but had different offsets, they would have the bolting surface located in different locations (in vs.out). You can get an idea of this in general by noting how the Envoy rim is relatively flat faced, but the Sierra is 'dished' (and picturing the respective shift in where the bolting surface is located in each). These measurements all start from the surface where the rim seats against the brake rotor. Most modern rims are close to being 'flat faced' (not an industry term ), as opposed to this old school, heavily-dished Cragar: http://www.v8americancarclub.com/images2/cragar%20ss.jpg If you were dealing with rims potentially this deep, you would get into negative & positive offsets. Not a common factor with modern iron. -- -- -- -- -- '6x139.7' is 6 bolts in a 139.7mm circle. You can visualize how this is not going to line up to a 127mm bolt circle. -- -- -- -- -- I agree with your taste here- those Sierra rims are definitely a sweet design. I wish these were available for the 8-lug trucks- not enough choices there.

Can't miss the visual reliance on the sassy Exner-era Chryslers used to illustrate confidence & style... Great ad.... not entirely sure, yet, I'm seeing what they're talking about in the 200 & 300 tho.

^ BMW not remotely matching the wood grain on that console door is just 1 glaring reason these are NOT $100K interiors, IMO. For cripes' sake- if that's real wood- what did they do with the piece they cut out to make the hole?? One can pick at every one of the above interiors, and audis continue to be way overrated.

s-class is $100K and no where near this expressive or unique. In fact it's downright pedestrian in comparison to the Fiskar.

^ Yeah, it does! It's not concave, but it's clearly delineated and it resists relying on the decklid panel seams as a styling mandate. Bravo, ChryCo!

Steering wheel is unique- that's for sure. Wonder what it's like in quick maneuvering, in that so much of the inner rim is blocked. 2-tone seats / console is really striking. Interior is pretty nice- this should be the benchmark for $75K interiors. Why can't mercedees or BMW design something this nice ??

Resplendently repulsive. Designed by retarded robot dogs. The beginning of the Long Downward Slide. It's in fantastic shape tho.

Yep. C2 Corvair, '70 Road Runner, '69 Charger, '67 GTO, '03 Chevy SS concept... We finally got some forward-leaning front fascias (Mustang, for EX), if we could break the monotony of the angle-seamed, flat-assed rear fascia with some stylistic interest, that would be great.

^ I missed that before. I would prefer a more linear layout of the buttons, but that's definitely neat.

Stylistically, I'd love to see some creative rear cove panels come back- rear decks are certainly billboard-esque enough to contain them.

I don't think it's necc to bash other American cars in gushing about this one. Irrelevancy that undermines the piece's objectivity. Interior has some different, interesting bits (but what's going on with the front doors- from the inside & from the glass outside, they look really short. Weird.) but I don't care for a number of the outside elements. Esp at the price. As to that ridiculous $100K; not many of these are going to be sold, period. I wish the Co well, tho.- hope they can survive.

Sheet linoleum FTW

What a gush piece !!

The question remains- how it performs vs. paper once it starts to accumulate dirt. They have been proven to outflow paper when brand new- that's not the issue. They have far less filtering area that their equivalent dry filter. Here's some LS1 folks with feedback : http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/158472-air-filters-oiled-vs-paper.html In this day & age, with decades of heavy CAFE pressure on the neck of manufacturers, if an oiled filter would outperform, better the economy & outlast a paper one over the paper filter's lifetime, manufacturers would use them. They could make them themselves for $2/ea.

s-class averages 13 grand off in incentives, so it's closer to $80K not $93K. There's a reason mercedees cannot get sticker on it- it's obviously overpriced. But the 'cheaper' LS still outsells the s-class (2009: s-class : 11,199 units vs. LS: 18,804 thru Nov '09), yet many feel it's interior & engineering are better than the merse.

>>"Cadillac is priced too low to truly compete against the Germans, thus their interiors aren't as good, engineering isn't as good etc."<< Same thing musta been true about lexus in 1990; not engineered as well, interiors not as good, etc.

I was in the GS/GN club for a few years (for the BBB angle), and the optimized 'recipe' that would take a stock GN and only $500 and get reliable 12-sec 1/4-mile times was/is a HUGE part of how popular these car will always be. May have been that last gasp of 'shade tree friendly' cars we'll see. Just like smk says 's-class mercedees' and thinks 6.0L V-12 (and not the 4-banger), someone says '3.8L' and I think 345HP GNX intercooled turbo. Buick absolutely should grow some back and pull this upset again. For a lux marque- the GM/GNX had ZERO downside for it's image and brought a whole new contingency onto the fold. Just do it, Buick.

@ Thorogood's accented voiceover. Camino- I know exactly where you are on this, but if that GTC concept came over as a Buick with circa 300 HP, I think a LOT of current buyers would be majorly swayed.

>>" Find a teenager or 20 something and take away their phone for 10 minutes and watch them slowly go insane. "<< That's both because they're addicted, and because their real skills have subsequently diminished. You'll find the same sort of reaction from a deprived smoker. I have watched both of my sons go without their phones and the computer for long intervals; know what- they are somehow able to occupy themselves with non-electronic activities and enjoy them. I know; GASP!

What I am addressing is the very real backlash against the sheer volume and in many cases- unwarranted intrusion of tech. There will always be a contingency that eschews these disconnected, impersonal methods in favor of 'direct interfacing'- always. Sure, if the person is remote, you have to use something electronic- but a huge part of people don't work that way. Small businesses mostly, do not. I run my own small business - I have no phone book listing, no website, no web presence & I do not advertise. How do I get work?? Boils down to 2 critical things a local small business absolutely needs (well above & beyond blackberrys & smart phones) - professionalism & quality. Those 2 things are NEVER obsolete, their batteries NEVER run down, they NEVER get wet and short-circuit or fall down a flight of stairs & smash open... but they frequently are in short supply. My customers get me other customers. You can't beat that with a stick. If anything, the level of professionalism - the simple things like returning calls or showing up on time - has greatly decreased in my lifetime. Tech was supposed to make all this EASIER. Maybe it's somehow had the opposite effect. Perhaps.... just perhaps, the impersonality of electronic communications is driving the younger generations to lose whatever personal interface skills they may have had & could've been developing all along. For many other instances, yes; the connectivity works, but the implication that 'everyone has to get it or die' is marketeer spin.

>>"Just think what will happen if we get hit by a pulse weapon. Many could not find their way home."<< That will never be me. >>"you had better catch on or get left behind"<< From the personal standpoint, despite what the marketers would have you believe, it's not a competition. >>"It is not far off that many will not be with out a smart phone or pad."<< You would be surprised how many WILL.

In smk's mind, family sedans drag race all the way to the supermarket, every day. He's right of course; that's why the quickest-to-60 car in every segment outsells the #2 car by 5:1.

I love how people think they need to interlink all this stuff. The marketing perception behind tech is amazing- just bring it out and people salivate automatically. I don't think there's any other consumer-oriented industry that enjoys the same perception. Like the car insurance company that allows you to get periodic (or is it real-time?) updates on your collision repair- like your gonna catch him stuffing newspaper behind a rot hole and slathering 2" of Bondo in. There's an awful lot of tech for tech's sake out there.