Wow! I must be hanging around the wrong places. I guess maybe people just don't see the need for such a car here, or maybe there are some people with real money in Auckland. The car costs over AUD 1 million here, a bit too much for most people. To buy a car like that and not bat an eyelid, I would imagine you'd want to have a net worth of at least AUD 50 million, probably much more than that.

None of your comments have "irritated" me Roberto...just a little firm in my repsonses sometimes...

From the people who have driven the S550, ie the professional reviewers in the print media and TV, the car has "obliterated" everything else on the market to date. Each has in their own words indicated that the new S is the best luxury sedan in the world. Will it be after BMW or Audi or someother name come out with a new model...who knows. Sales show the car is being well accepted wherever it is introduced so that is the "real hard fact of the matter" when it comes to success.

Come to NYC and you'll see how many Phantoms and Flying Bricks roam the streets here. What has Mercedes-Benz done to you that you hate everything it stands for?

Anyway, as for this survey, who gives a s**t what they think?
Tell me a potential buyer of a car such as the S-Class worries about what JD Power has to say. The numbers show for themselves. They didn't like the previous S and they still sold anyway. The new S-Class has been selling in record numbers and that proves them wrong.
People buy the S-Class for its name, reputation, power and prestige. You like something, you buy it. You don't let others dictate you into buying what they think is better.

JD Powers employees are no more qualified to judge the quality of a car than they are toasters and washing machines. They do nothing more than compile data from self created survey forms from a uncontrolled source of users. They mix subjective questions with objective questions and then categorize what they think the answers suggest. To them a negative response on the design of a cup holder has as much weight as the design of a 7 speed transmission. They are in consumer market research field for money, not to help the consumer make a better choice.

Their recognized "standard of the world" is the little trophy like awards they make and sell licenses for. Manufacturers love to gloat over this whether it be automobiles or corn flakes. They have taken the Consumers Report to another level. They are as objective as they need to be to gain more audience and convince people like yourself that they know more about a products reliability and features. You have your opinion of JD Powers and I have mine...as you grow older and wiser you may find that companies like JD Powers do not have your interests, nor the improvement of the product lines in mind. They only have the interest of JD Powers in mind and what methods they can use to create greater income for them and their stock holders. I am trying to be "objective" as I can but in the case of JD Powers, I am afraid my subjectivity outweighs it.

BTW...they include a fresh One Dollar bill in each survey request...a token of their thanks for taking the time to respond.

I've seen maybe 2-3 Phantoms in Sydney. I've seen a dark purple one at the Sheraton on the Park on Elizabeth Street a few times - it looks impressive.
I've seen maybe the same number of Maybachs, but perhaps only one Flying Brick. The Conti GT is reasonably popular, though - I've seen more than half a dozen.

Anyhow, I wouldn't go so far as to say that JD Power is only an adder of numbers. There is a science to constructing effective surveys and perhaps in filtering responses and weighing importance. There ought to be some people who know their cars making the surveys up.

However, I have no problem with the idea that they have their own interests at heart. Nevertheless, if we can each find it within us to do things that aren't completely selfish, then I don't see why they can't, either. If you can take their results with that much in mind, I don't see why it would still influence their results from brand to brand.

All in all, any source of information can only be good. It's up to us to do with it what we will. For those who don't eat, sleep and breathe cars, they can be helped with anything extra that they can get, JD Power or otherwise.

Look at the S class sales figures and compare it with the Bentley's and RR's sales number and then tell me which one is mass produced.

The sad part about the JD powers is that people actually do look at them and some might take them seriously. There are tons of people that will consider the S class without being a motorhead.

And also, as defense to JD Powers, they also rate car plants and let me tell you that when I worked at BMW, those did mean a lot because it is prestigious. Each factory was competing to win the award.

Come on, it is only some humor. Who says i hate Mercedes? I drool everytime i see a SLK or a M class. Also i voted for CL over Aston Martin is a recent poll.
Of course i don't like some other recent products like the CLS and S class but that's logical. We don't all have the same taste in cars.

Also i seriously doubt if potential S class buyers care or even are aware about JD Powers surveys. This won't hurt the S class in any way.

That's true. The people who takes these sorts of surveys seriously are more likely to drive Volvos.

................. now I've done it

Haha, ouch.
But no doubt there will be SOME people that read the survey. Even if they lose a few customers because of this, it's still a loss. Not to mention that maybe some magazines might have a story about how the S did bad in the survey, lots of things are possible.

Not saying that I agree with JD this time though.

I 'm sure that some car makers (like Toyota) make their models in such a way to top surveys like this one regardless if making a product to suit what the average buyer wants will mean that it will never exceed expectations in any aspect.

Sometimes listening to what the public has to say may lead to the wrong way.