Well I stopped to go pick up some pizzas for lunch and as I parked and got out of the car, some mid-40 year old guy standing by his new E-class, asks me: "is that a Maxima?"
I said, "yeah."
He said, "nice car."
I said, "thanks."

I would have never thought.

J.

 

not all benz owners are asses. my dads friend has a clk55 convertible and he thinks my maxima is " a really sharp car".

 

He probably wanted a good laugh.

 

He smartened up and realized that an E-Class is slow as sh*t Unless, of course, it was an E55 AMG

 

Yep, I posted in the I35 section where I got basically the same from an S500 owner at the gas station.

 

new E500 will smoke a new maxima. 302 hp/339 tq...i read about them running 0-60 in 5.8, 1320 in 14.2...a buddy of mine said he saw a stock E500 make a few passes and hit 14 flat for his best.

that doesn't sound slow to me.

 

 

E500 and E430 are good enough man~

 

New E55 AMG is 476hp 506tq

http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/e55new.html

 

But that's the E500. Comparing a high power V8 to the Maximas V6, whatdoyaexpect? The E320, on the other hand probably doesn't have those kind of reflexes, and still costs around 50 grand. Only Mercedes Benz could make me pay 50 large for a 220 HP V6 sports sedan. And it ain't even the fastest. But image and quality are supreme in the Benz.

DW

 

As are the maintenance and repair costs once that thing makes it out of warranty, assuming those who buy/lease those things even keep them that long.

 

The E500 is a sweet looking car too. On the other hand, for that kind of money you could get a C32 AMG, or an M3, or a Vette for that matter!

 

I guess we live in an age of disposable Benzes , then
The earlier era Benzes were still expensive to maintain, but all their parts lasted and were built tough. Huge oil filters, oil capacities at least twice that of normal cars, etc. Those things were BUILT.

DW

 

agreed, but i think image and quality are the reasons why people buy cars like MBs. people even choose 50K V6 E320s over the rocket V8 GS430 (roughly the same price).

even the 500, there are MUCH faster cars out there for the money. even the 540i six speed is still a tad quicker, despite the fact that the 500 is brand new and the 540 will no longer be produced in a few months.

 

the newer ones have definitely gone down in quality. even more so since chrysler merged with benz.

 

It's that fine-line dance of business to make things that are of sufficient quality/durability to make you want to come back, but also of limited life expectancy so you HAVE to buy again.

Like that business school 101 example...if you built the perfect product that never wore out, what would your future market be?

 

i don't need a lesson in planned obsolescence :-)

seriously, i just don't think it's right that companies of virtually all non-consumable goods are putting out products that are designed to be replaced faster than what they used to.

i fully understand the seller's motivations, it just sucks from the consumer's perspective.

 

Well, yes and no.

If it weren't for obsolesence and consumers wanting more and more each year, we would all be driving 2003 Model T's. It's a nasty catch 22. As consumers, we want value, but we also drive our suppliers (manufacturers) constantly onward with our demands.

 

 

a status car is the word your looking for. No argument here about a merecedes being a great car, but don't over look the fact people buy mercedes because it is a symbol for success. Further, these cars are known to be expensive, and people all want their icon of success... This is much the same reason a rapper wants to buy like a diamond charm to hang from his chain, to show people how rich he is. What does this say, about their knowledge of cars, or their appreciation for what they have. I think if it made no difference, and all cars were the same, people would still chose the more expensive one.

 

If a benz owner said that to me, I'd be like .

 

only guys with some knowledge about cars will do that
they will admire any good cars
ps: the dude in my building who drives a maserati also drives a max =)

ive seen so many old farts driving their lowend E or C (not AMG) thinking that their cars are way better than urs or something
(in fact, c240 is even cheaper )

seriously, a good car should not be judged by the price tag...
man! i hate those ppl................


well, all i need to do is irritate them on the road,
when they are ready for some action, i simply just smoke their ***** =)

 

Merged... yeah, right. First, it is called "DAIMLER Chrysler" (their name first)... then all the execs are Germans (hmmmm)... and all of the American designers got ****ed off and left.

Hmmmm... merged. Indeed.

 

I went to my dentist who drives a M5. I showed him my Maxima when it was a week new. I told me I made a good decision and that would be the car he would've bought if didn't have $90,000 to spend. That made me happy...

 

how do you figure that? Benz effected chrysler more then the other way around... have you noticed how chrysler cars are starting to have inline6's and mercedes techologies. Have you seen the cross fire?
Mercedes has not gone down in quality at all... The only thing I may have observed is that the cars are filled with electronics, and they replace a model like every year with something even more insane.

 

MB quality has been slipping before the Chrysler takeover.
---------------
Watch out! Chrysler may be extinct within a couple decades (but who cares; they're more inept than GM.)

sneaky, sneaky Germans...reason: distrubution channels (just think about it- take a look at history)

 

always nice to get a thumbs up from a benz (bmw, etc) owner!

 

Obviously the guy understands the value of money. And he probably realizes that the Max is the # 1 4-door sports sedan that offers real value to its owners. And at thousands, maybe tens of thousands less than his Mercedes

 

Yeah, those new E55 AMG have ***** to say the least. I think it's something like 469 horsepower and 510 torque...I wonder how this car pulls of the line, wow that is double output when compared to the Maxima. I think Motortrend has that thing doing 12.1 in the quartermile. But I still think the M5 Overall is still the Supersedan.

 

There's a good comparison in Road N Track Mag this month on that Mercedes, the New Audi ( 450 HP! Sticks like Demon Glue with all wheel drive !), the Jag S-Type R, and the M-5. All which are awesome in their own right. Of course the Mercedes won in the comparison, but it was tight. But come to think of it, we could buy and build 2 or 3 killer Maxima's with those sums of cash, and have enough left over for a trip to Costa Rica

 

I've had the pleasure of riding in one, it leaves like a bottle rocket!

 

You're right but the difference in $$$$ will make you sick.