Is it me or are cars getting......

[bl52krz]

Sorry. But I can not post my car of choice amongst such common unspectacular metal.

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by mss

Wot?

For interior quality and ambiance, JLR and Mercs are tops.

And this IMO is the pinnacle of body styling. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...r_20100918.jpg

They should have called that Merc, the Armadillo.

[MSS]

Well, whatever we think of the CLS, since its launch in 2004, it has sold more units than total production of the Rover 75/ZT. This is despite the price tag which has always been about 5k above the E-class with the same engine.

Not bad for something so different!

[Comfortably Numb]

I agree with MSS, I think the CLS has the understated elegance and simplicity of form that so many quality cars have had, flowing lines and balanced proportions that don't shout "Look at me", you know that the stylist knew how to handle a pencil. Whereas so many of the newer cars, especially the crossovers, look like the designer has just had a crash course on Computer Aided Design, and felt obliged to use every curve and line tool on his menu.

[clf]

Originally Posted by mss

Well, whatever we think of the CLS, since its launch in 2004, it has sold more units than total production of the Rover 75/ZT. This is despite the price tag which has always been about 5k above the E-class with the same engine.

Not bad for something so different!

by my calculations, in 14 years, 2004-2018, the CLS sold just shy of 176,000 units (in Europe - which to be fair was the market place, and besides, something being popular in the US is not an endorsement for elegance )

the 75/ZT inc tourers sold just over 220,00. Take out the 25,000 Zt and ZTTs and it still outsold the CLS over a 7 year period, 1999-2006

I cannot vouch for my source's accuracy though - Rover 75, ZT and ZTT and the CLS. With US figures adding only around 86,000 approx over a 13 year period, 2005-2018, doesnt make it seem that great in sales lol

I like the current CLS though, but cannot warm to the styling of the first gen one, nor forgive its sideboard hi-fi dash

[MSS]

Originally Posted by clf

by my calculations, in 14 years, 2004-2018, the CLS sold just shy of 176,000 units (in Europe - which to be fair was the market place, and besides, something being popular in the US is not an endorsement for elegance )

the 75/ZT inc tourers sold just over 220,00. Take out the 25,000 Zt and ZTTs and it still outsold the CLS over a 7 year period, 1999-2006

I cannot vouch for my source's accuracy though - Rover 75, ZT and ZTT and the CLS. With US figures adding only around 86,000 approx over a 13 year period, 2005-2018, doesnt make it seem that great in sales lol

I like the current CLS though, but cannot warm to the styling of the first gen one, nor forgive its sideboard hi-fi dash

I don't see how the US sales of about 80k can be discounted. These numbers highligt that even the Amercians can appreciate elegance (be it a small percentage) when it is placed in front of them.

As for sales success - the CLS was tot meant to sell in huge numbers as it would then have taken sales away form the E-Class and the S-Class. It was meant to achieve incremental sales at a premium price, which it did in abundance. If you want to consider sales success, each CLS sold for more than double the price of a 75/ZT. That in my mind is sales success.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Comfortably Numb

.........I think the CLS has the understated elegance and simplicity of form that so many quality cars have had, ............

A man who understands elegance.


It's strange that so many 75 drivers do not, yet this is the key characteristic of the 75.

[MSS]

I happened to park my Starlight Silver CDT next to a Black CLS Grand Edition (272 BHP, 590NM special edition) in the Glossop Travelodge Thursday night.

These were the most elegant and eye catching cars in the car park.

Perhaps I might extend my limit on the number of cars owned.

[clf]

Originally Posted by mss

I happened to park my Starlight Silver CDT next to a Black CLS Grand Edition (272 BHP, 590NM special edition) in the Glossop Travelodge Thursday night.

These were the most elegant and eye catching cars in the car park.

Perhaps I might extend my limit on the number of cars owned.

A cls in a travelodge carpark? I have read mercedes sat navs aren't the best I suppose. That unfortunate owner.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

[MSS]

Originally Posted by clf

A cls in a travelodge carpark? I have read mercedes sat navs aren't the best I suppose. That unfortunate owner.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

They like to mix with us peasants on occasions as part of their perceived social duties.