500

yup

ronmart

To the tune of 0.5 seconds on many non-AMG tuned cars. I'm not saying this car can do 4.5 seconds, I'm just saying I've seen real world accounts (my 2 Mercedes included) where it was very easy to achieve 0.5 seconds faster than the published figure without doing anything drastic like power braking on launch. It was just foot to the floor launch, with traction control on, and look at the result. And unlike some manufacturers, MB generally has fairly accurate speedos.

For the AMG cars performance is a big deal because they know that a tenth of a second could cost a sale, so those figures tend to be much closer to reality (generally about 0.2 seconds more at most). However, someone who does an agressive launch can get much better figures.

Here's the skinny on the AMG models:

http://www.mercedes-amg.com/assets/pdf/en/cars.pdf

IIRC the E class and greater AMG versions do a 0 - 60 in roughly 4.5 seconds (+/- 0.2). All of this is based on PRE 6.3 engines.

SilverSteel

You haven't owned a Mercedes until you've owned an AMG.

ronmart

Don't get me started! My 2nd Benz was going to be a AMG, but my first one was totalled and the waiting list for the E55 in December of 1999 was roughly 12 months. I ended up going with a regular special order E class that arrived in April of 2000. If I would have known that:

A. The stock market was going to tank in late March 2000 costing me $1.8 million in 2 weeks, and I'd never see that money again (read: its gone forever)

B. That I'd be driving the car in 2006 because I love it so much

C. That the build quality of Benz's would continue to go down hill in subsequent years

I would have said screw it and waited the 12 months for the AMG (which probably would have been less time in reality).

I'll probably own a AMG Benz eventually, but I'm still waiting for the build quality to come back up (which 2006 is looking promising from what I'm hearing from owners). Maybe in a year or two I'll finally drive a new E class that I like more than my own and then I'll order one -- which almost definitely will be an AMG one.

MHC2S

I've purchased my E55 brand new in January of 2005 and it has never been back to the dealer once for any kind of warranty issues or problems. Love this car and I would buy another. If you want more info or want to talk to thousands of Benz owners try MBWorld.org you will probably get some better answers about MB's there than here.

ronmart

Glad to hear you are having good luck with your car. I'm hearing more and more people saying that the quality problems are finally starting to get under control, so that's awesome. The wife will probably replace her Lexus LX 470 with a Mercedes GL class SUV in a year or two, so hopefully the new model kinks will be resolved by then for it as well.

Yep, I'm a member at MBWorld.org too. Have been for years.

I also am a MBCA member and visit its forum as well, which I'll admit isn't as good as MBWorld.org.

I usually go to GermanCarFans.com (now WorldCarFans.com) for info about upcoming products.

500

Ronmart:

Yikes, 1.8mm, did you have a Financial Advisor or were you doing it yourself?

ronmart

Long story. Let's just say I had a lot of faith in my company and the justice system, both of which let me down.

To answer your implied question - no, I was a jackass who didn't diversify so I only have myself to blame. Believe me, I've beat myself up for it quite a bit over the last 6 years.

Vancouver83LTD

eh, it happens, you're not doing THAT poorly... If it makes you feel any better I know most of the people I graduated with won't see that in a lifetime...

Carrera GT

Ouch. That's a sad but all to common story from 2000 isn't it. I lost dollars but fortunately I was working with a brokerage that traded options, so I was pretty well hedged. A little less optimism on my part and I'd have done a lot less harm to my balance sheet. And I was retired for a year at that point, so I should have been a lot less aggressive. Never again.

Hopefully you have a balance of spread contracts on your current -- and I'm sure nicely diversified -- portfolio. And with a $100K Cab depreciating in the driveway, I guess your cashflow is good. : ) Life goes on.


ps. I still don't think the SL is in the same league as the Carrera -- they're similar, but not comparable.

500

Honestly Ron I wasn't trying to imply anything; being a Wealth Advisor I was just curious if it was caused by a fellow investment professional. Hopefully you have now embraced the "art" of asset allocation and have adopted a model that is flexible both tactically and strategically.

ronmart

No, I'm still an idiot going for the big gain in some ways. Actually, I have diversified and I've dumped the company stock like a rock, but you could argue I'm double dipping and don't have the proper portfolio. However, I'd rather not spend any more cycles going into this subject.

ronmart

Yeah, we definitely aren't hurting and even if we were we could walk away from our house in Seattle (one of the few remaining markets that is still projected to have double digit growth until 2008 -- see the June 2006 issue of Money Magazine) and go elsewhere and virtually retire. The one thing I did right in 2000 was put a lot of money into the house.

Had it not been for 2000 I probably wouldn't have bought the Porsche. Back in 2000 I was too absorbed with saving and working that I didn't spend much money (fortunately we built a nice house on a whim), but it was going to be a house and a Ferrari 360 Spider and then non-stop saving until we hit the $10 million mark at which time I planned to retire. Talk about irrational exuberance! :P

ronmart

Yes, I've both made and lost more money than many people I know will in a lifetime. I shouldn't complain, but sometimes it helps.

BC

I have a new 78 being assembled in my garage.