Mercedes-Benz | The Truth About Cars

Import Sport Sedan Comparison: Fifth Place: Mercedes E350

By Michael Freed
October 19, 2009

When my dad hit middle age in the ‘70’s, his first reaction was to park a Mercedes in our garage – a ’75 450SE, which my mom nicknamed “Heinrich.” The Mercedes sedans of that era weren’t beautiful cars, but damned if Heinrich didn’t turn heads – it was obvious that someone important was driving it. [...]

Import Sport Sedan Comparison: Fifth Place: Mercedes E350

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 53 comments

Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

By Michael Karesh
September 24, 2009

I’m old enough to remember when Mercedes used the tagline “engineered like no other car in the world,” and no one questioned it. When the 1986 W124 E-Class was introduced, Car & Driver proclaimed it “the best car in the world.” In the quarter-century since, Mercedes’ position in the automotive pecking order has become less [...]

Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 133 comments

Review: 2009 SL65 AMG Black Series

By Sanjay Mehta
September 17, 2009

The year was 1997. As a bright eyed, recently minted med school graduate, I had two glorious weeks in Europe before the torture of internship began. One very memorable moment was in the parking lot of the MB museum in Stuttgart, where I spotted a prototype 1998 E50 AMG sulking behind a security gate. That [...]

Review: 2009 SL65 AMG Black Series

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 43 comments

Review: 1975 Mercedes-Benz 280S

By Chris Chin
July 8, 2009

They don’t build them like they used to. Really. I have yet to come across an car as solid as an old Mercedes, say pre-1998, before the Chrysler - DaimlerBenz AG "merger of equals." If I had to choose one car to represent the pinnacle of---and benchmark for---Mercedes' build quality, it would be the W116 S-Class. Hence my decision to restore a barn-found 1975 280S.

Review: 1975 Mercedes-Benz 280S

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 59 comments

Review: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

By Chuck Goolsbee
June 25, 2009

Summer 2005. My plans for a Vintage Car Rally Vacation evaporate. Rebuilding a very poorly rebuilt engine vacuums funds allocated for the purpose out of my wallet. What started as an odd knock became a horror show. My fussy ex-pat Yorkshireman mechanic in Chilliwack, B.C. removed the head and found the forensic remains of a car-related massacre not seen since Pol Pot rode around in his '73 Mercedes. Just when I had given up on my dreams of a vintage vacation, the phone rang with an offer to co-drive an event in what many have called the world's first supercar: the Mercedes-Benz 300SL. I accepted the offer faster than Mr. Fangio could frustrate Mr. Ferrari.

Review: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

rating summary and performance review: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 22 comments

Review: 2010 Mercedes E-Class Coupe

By Jay Shoemaker
June 17, 2009

I was expecting to dislike the new E-Class Coupe from Mercedes. AMG versions aside, the outgoing CLK was about as interesting to drive as a Toyota Solara, and Mercedes has already announced that there would be no AMG versions of the new car. From the early photos of E-Class Coupe, I had already determined that the large glass sunroof with its meager mesh sun protection would curry little favor with me, and the little rear quarter window spoiled the look of this frameless coupe. To make matters worse, the 2010 E-Class Coupe's engines are carryovers from the CLK. Mercedes claims our fuel quality isn't suitable for the new direct injected engines offered in Europe. (Translation: the US is a dumping ground for some old engine inventory.) The E-Class nomenclature is another sleight of hand, as the chassis is still derived from the C-Class. Harrumph.

Review: 2010 Mercedes E-Class Coupe

rating summary and performance review: 2010 Mercedes E-Class Coupe

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 19 comments

Used Review: 2005 Mercedes E320 CDI

By Jack Baruth
March 9, 2009

My experience running the 2005 One Lap of America in a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16/ had left me more than a little cynical about the event. The fantasy of running the "modern-day Cannonball" had been eclipsed by frustration with the quasi-time-trial, horsepower-obsessed reality that is OLOA in the modern era. Still, the competitive disease from which both I and my co-driver Brian suffered meant that we wanted to "win" the thing before we left Brock's Big Parade for the greener pastures of real wheel-to-wheel racing. Enter former radiologist and current Mercedes-Benz tuner Satish Tummala, owner of Motorwerks in Detroit.

Used Review: 2005 Mercedes E320 CDI

Posted in Car Reviews | Mercedes-Benz | 42 comments

Comparo: BMW M3 vs. Audi RS4 vs. Cadillac CTS-V vs. Lexus IS-F vs. Mercedes C63 AMG

By Mike Solowiow
February 23, 2009

M, RS, V, F, AMG. The alpha alphabet represents five manufacturers' best efforts to create something unique, exciting and memorable from their more prosaic mainstream motors. The resulting "performance tuned" sports sedans are so powerful, so capable, so versatile, that they're the ground based equivalent of the all-weather fighter jets that battle for control of the skies. While the shibboleth "there's no such thing as a bad car" applies here, there are always going to be winners and losers. And it's our job to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Comparo: BMW M3 vs. Audi RS4 vs. Cadillac CTS-V vs. Lexus IS-F vs. Mercedes C63 AMG

Review: 2010 Mercedes GLK 350 4Matic

By Michael Martineck
February 3, 2009

The ad for the new Mercedes GLK is targeted straight at owners of MB's ML and GL SUVs. After all, the new GLK gives you the "same innovation in a smaller design." Same agility. Same suspension. Same luxury. Same depreciation (my add). So, why bother paying more for one of Mercedes' more much macho trucks? Sure, this baby brother routine hurts the automaker. The Nissan's Rogue's Murano-i-cide is but one example where a new, smaller vehicle robbed Peter to pay Paul less. But that's the way it is. In Bailout Nation's new era of hunker down austerity, downsizing is almost as fashionable as having a job. Big ticket buyer meets smaller ticket price on the dark side of town. The carmakers must figure that what they lose in profit they'll recover in volume. Ask GM how well that works. In that sense the Mercedes GLK is a born win - loser. Or is it?

Review: 2010 Mercedes GLK 350 4Matic

rating summary and performance review: 2010 Mercedes GLK 350 4Matic

Posted in Car Reviews | Future Vehicles | Mercedes-Benz | 36 comments

Review: 2009 Euro Wagon Shootout: BMW 535xi Wagon, Mercedes E350 Wagon, Volvo XC70 T6, Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Wagon

By Alex Dykes
December 22, 2008

Station wagons, or “estates” as they are known across the pond, occupy that strange place in the auto market between SUVs, minivans and sedans. On the surface, wagons promise the holy grail of cargo schlepping and fuel sipping. But they're not as sexy as a sedan, not as practical as a modern crossover and they can’t haul as much crap as a minivan. In the new world “station wagon” brings up PTSD style flashbacks of 1970s Country Squire wagons with a roof-rack and eight kids in the back on the way to summer camp, 8-track blazing, and your dad at the helm wishing he had a terrier and a 240Z instead. Thankfully, this is not your dad’s Oldsmobile Customer Cruiser. For this comparo we’ve selected the BMW 535xi Wagon, Mercedes E350 Wagon, Volvo XC70 T6 and the Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Wagon.