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Detroit, 9:30 PM
Tue Dec 8
28 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/19/09
Are they going to run out of rivals before they run out of 3-letter combinations? Will they ever make a decent manual transmission? Stay tuned, for the exciting next episode of the S-class vs the Wurld!
11/18/09
If it results in something like this little happy car, then I'm all up for it.
11/18/09
the 2010 gullwing and the liitle ones..
11/18/09
Hmm, I might be a little low on blood sugar but I can't help feeling incredibly unimpressed by the SLS (and now it's little brother).
By rights any car with those performance credentials and looks should have me wanting to sell my own balls to own it. Yet here I am completely nonplussed by the thing, like a wave of "meh" just washed over me whilst looking at it.
I'm not going to blame anyone in particular but I do think that this feeling I'm getting has a lot to do with just how cynical supercars (especially Mercs) have become of late. After seeing an SLR up close (ooh check me out) and having the pleasure of driving a previous generation AMG SL55 on a disused airstrip (again WOO go me!) I can't help but feel underwhelmed. I'm sure I'm not their target audience for this thing but then surely by the fact that there probably is a clearly defined target audience for this car I feel quite sad. A supercar shouldn't have to have a target audience, it should simply leap deep into your subconscious as soon as you see it and make you want it from the word go. The fact that this car didn't do just that has me worried, mainly because it isn't the first supercar to fail in that respect (Audi R8? Bentley Conti GT? McMerc? Dare I say Carrera GT?).
That's not to say that all supercars suffer the same problem, just that more and more of them are no longer the extreme automobiles they used to be. By definition a supercar should surely be an excessive overstatement in impracticality/power/styling. An exercise in how a car can be uncompromisingly single minded about being "super" in one area or another.
Granted there are cars that I still class as supercars that don't need to scream at me (Aston DBS) but at the very least they hint that they're more than just a handbag accessory (I'm looking at you Bentley!).
As a life long gearhead I'm a bit depressed by some of it but I know there's still hope. With things like the Veyron, the (Nissan) GTR, the Corvette ZR1 and pretty much all of the Lambos I know there are people out there willing to go balls out with what's possible instead of sitting back and thinking "that'll do".
I might be the only one thinking it but I just can't help thinking "Can't you just try a bit harder next time?"
/Soapbox
*Supercar fatigue, copyright J.D 2009...
11/19/09
Supercar fatigue is usually only a risk during economic bubbles, but 500hp week can also be a factor.
11/18/09
One can get a hellofa lot more for a hellofa lot less.
11/18/09
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11/05/09
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11/05/09
In that it has 4 wheels and a long hood? #mercedesslsamg
11/05/09
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11/05/09
Yeah but, it's just a german Corvette with gull wing doors and 500 more pounds.
500 horse V8, torque tube, rear mounted tranny, ...all there. And the Vette comes with magnetic shocks and the Enzo's carbon brakes.
I would rather have a ZR1, and an extra $100,000 for an airplane or something. #mercedesslsamg
11/05/09
@bradyb: See the Zr1 has a nice aluminum/magnesium space frame too, carbon fiber body panels as well. #mercedesslsamg
11/04/09
11/04/09
Good packaging this is not... "Does it have significant flaws, most glaringly from the gearbox? Totally.
Direct simple writing this is not. Is it Wes rephrasing blunt criticism to make it sound less glaringly negative? Totally. #mercedesslsamg
11/04/09
11/05/09
"It is badly packaged. ... It has significant flaws, especially its gearbox."
Thanks for the good review, honest feedback, and not bad writing. You just sounded as if you were trying to soften your criticisms with some wordplay. If you gonna write high-falutin', some people gonna notice. No worries. #mercedesslsamg