| Contributor
Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Aurora IL USA Garage: 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 Cabriolet
Posts: 15,642
Thanks: 5,226
Thanked 9,535 Times in 4,030 Posts
| Quote:
Originally Posted by coolraoul  20 years ago I would've said: Mercedes-Benz, no contest. Easy win.
The quality and finish were without rival, safety was not even being considered by the other carmakers, the design among the purest ever with the brilliant Bracq then Sacco, the brand recognition didn't suffer any serious competition whatsoever, the engines were nothing short of brilliant.
Now it's considerably less obvious. I do not think any carmaker is able to truly distantiate itself from the others.
I'll vote Mercedes-Benz because they're close from my values, and because their latest models are promising in terms of quality. And they're still at the very top of the automotive world... but not really alone there any more.
The S-Class and crazy 65AMG do the job of keeping BMW, Audi and BMW at a distance, so I think MB is still ruling. Competition's getting close though.
Rolls, Bentley, Ferrari and co are too exclusive. |
I agree completely with every word. I'm in the process of moving and I was going through old magazines/brochure and I have every Mercedes brochures from 1989 onwards. The 80's Mercedes are so iconic, so clean in design and detail that it makes nearly everything they make today look messy. I was looking through some old press releases and in 1990 Mercedes-Benz was #1 in the JD Powers Dependability study, and unlike today where they look back only 3 years, they used to look back 5 and 7 years back then. That means Mercedes from 1983 and 1985 were more the most reliable cars in the U.S. More than Toyota or Honda. No other luxury brand even came close. Thats some pretty amazing stuff. That is why I don't really knock JD Powers as much as I do Consumer Reports, because JDP put Mercedes on top for years and years. We all know full well that Mercedes was and has been forever changed when they shifted strategies in the 90's. The only car they build truly like the old days is the unloved Maybach.
M
__________________
Merc1 Allstars: SLS, SL63, S65, SLK55, CL63, SL65 BS, E63, R8 5.2, S5, LP560, LP670, M3, Mulsne, BK, DBS, GT500, Gran S, 911, X6M, Z4, Veyron GS, XFR, XKR, ZR1, CC, GTI, CTSV, 458, 599. |
