A rancher from Texas was visiting the United Kingdom and to make sure he could claim some of his expenses as "work related tax deductions" he got to visit a small farm in Yorkshire.
The Yorkshire farmer took his American guest on a tour of his property and everything he showed his overseas visitor totally failed to impress him. He was informed that back home the cattle were bigger, the feed lots larger, the tractors were more impressive, the silos taller and so on all afternoon.
And just to rub it in at the end of the tour the Texan told the English farmer that "back home it takes me three days to drive around the boundary of my ranch!"
To which the Yorkshireman replied; "Yes, I can understand your frustration. I used to have a car like that......!"
The Yorkshire farmer took his American guest on a tour of his property and everything he showed his overseas visitor totally failed to impress him. He was informed that back home the cattle were bigger, the feed lots larger, the tractors were more impressive, the silos taller and so on all afternoon.
And just to rub it in at the end of the tour the Texan told the English farmer that "back home it takes me three days to drive around the boundary of my ranch!"
To which the Yorkshireman replied; "Yes, I can understand your frustration. I used to have a car like that......!"
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Seems the last really good Merc was the W124 model. The quality went downhill roughly when DB introduced equipment packs, you know those 'elegance' and 'sport' stuff we see now on the side just behind the front wheels.
The last SL seemed to be very susceptible to interference from mobile phone masts. A number of those just simply stopped on the M25 where those are especially plentiful. What happened was that every warning light came on suddenly and the board computer shut down the engine. Not good if you are in the fast lane! None of them had an actual mechanical fault.
Any idea which models are still made in Germany?
All our rhd models come from South Africa these days and all MLs are built in the states AFAIK. The MLs always had quality control issues, despite this they used to sell like hot cakes before the global economic melt down a couple of years ago. Mind you BMW Xs also disintegrate rather rapidly when actually taken off-road.
It´s a moot point anyway. Secret wunderwaffe hereabouts ( especially for youngish people who prefer to spend their money at the wine merchant´s instead of an overpriced garage ): Volvos with a few hundred thou+ on the clock.
These old panzers have mainly been driven by anoraks, are in fine fettle and indestructible.
Pit
These old panzers have mainly been driven by anoraks, are in fine fettle and indestructible.
Pit
Yes but one gets tired of pouring a pint of petrol down the throttle body every time you want to start 'er up.
I would've bought a manual Ram in a heartbeat but there simple weren't any that didn't have colossal cummings diesels that belong in trains not trucks.
P.S. The W124 would be my getaway car of choice
When they introduced it they made the 190 in Bremen. It is the site of the old Borgward plant. Surprisingly there are two running Isabella Coupes near where I live in Birmingham!
Just on the blower with my sister. My infernal brother in law is insisting they take his '03 Turbocharged Saab to Seattle (from Boston!!) in Late December.
She drives a '98 Legacy Outback.
...
Now I dunno about you fellers but I'd rather take a car that's quite nearly a Japanese perpetual motion machine with an awd system that rivals the cardiovascular system in elegance and form. Than a Flint Michigan/Ikea co-designed front wheel drive breakasaurus rex that costs more to fix than the Mir Space Station. Were I to be driving through the American mid-west (affectionately known as the ice planet Hoth in winter) in marathon fashion.
brother in law is a hipster pain in the behind...
She drives a '98 Legacy Outback.
...
Now I dunno about you fellers but I'd rather take a car that's quite nearly a Japanese perpetual motion machine with an awd system that rivals the cardiovascular system in elegance and form. Than a Flint Michigan/Ikea co-designed front wheel drive breakasaurus rex that costs more to fix than the Mir Space Station. Were I to be driving through the American mid-west (affectionately known as the ice planet Hoth in winter) in marathon fashion.
brother in law is a hipster pain in the behind...
Ray,
Saab - look where they come from and you know why winter is not a word in foreign language to them. And the firm builds fighter aircraft too, so they know a wee bit about quality standards.
I believed ex g/f to be bonkers - with her measly income, and a 30 year old foreign car as sole and everyday transport?
Little did I know. That Saab96 (yes - the "Karlsson on the roof" car) was the friendliest little clockwork monster.
Saab - look where they come from and you know why winter is not a word in foreign language to them. And the firm builds fighter aircraft too, so they know a wee bit about quality standards.
I believed ex g/f to be bonkers - with her measly income, and a 30 year old foreign car as sole and everyday transport?
Little did I know. That Saab96 (yes - the "Karlsson on the roof" car) was the friendliest little clockwork monster.
Ray,
Saab - look where they come from and you know why winter is not a word in foreign language to them. And the firm builds fighter aircraft too, so they know a wee bit about quality standards.
I believed ex g/f to be bonkers - with her measly income, and a 30 year old foreign car as sole and everyday transport?
Little did I know. That Saab96 (yes - the "Karlsson on the roof" car) was the friendliest little clockwork monster.
Ah yes, but by this century there was no real link between the aero firm
and the automotive one. (a la rolls Royce cars and rolls Royce turbines).
What's more years of ownership by general motors, their corporate culture, parts sharing led to... Well they don't build Saabs anymore for a reason...
But their roots were solid you're right. The old 2 strokes in the sixties were champs!
Sadly ownership changes things sometimes. Look at the Jag S and X types for proof positive.
Grrr. Just look at Volkswagen (for fugssake, that translates as "People´s Car") buying Bentley. How stupid can managers get?
Amen,
Nowadays bentley translates into "****head's car"
No Bentleys in this here town. Their glitzy shop closed after ~ two years without having sold one set of wheels.
And GM´s buying policy...Opel (Germany) and Vauxhall (England)...both old and traditional firms owned by GM nowadays.
Both had a good rep as offering good solid cars for blue-collar income people...and after GM had acquired another English firm the workmen were expected to buy relabeled loud cramped quirky sportscars - with all the electricks only a Lotus can throw at you.
And GM´s buying policy...Opel (Germany) and Vauxhall (England)...both old and traditional firms owned by GM nowadays.
Both had a good rep as offering good solid cars for blue-collar income people...and after GM had acquired another English firm the workmen were expected to buy relabeled loud cramped quirky sportscars - with all the electricks only a Lotus can throw at you.
FWIW, that's been the story of my life since high school, about 35 years ago. Every time I think I have enough reserve to buy something, the car breaks, a tooth needs a crown, some appliance breaks down, the house starts falling apart or some medical crisis arises. There is unquestionably some cosmic connection between these things. Any increase in pay (not these days) is also immediately consumed by similar unexpected expenses.
On the specific topic of cars, my wife's 1998 Saab 900SE turbo is built like a tank. It drives like one too. Think of the fastest noisy dump truck you've ever seen. The body has held up fantastically well, but the overly complex electronics are failing at an ever increasing rate. The drive train is starting to go as well- not as reliable at 155,000 miles as many Japanese cars used to be. OTOH, my first year Mazda3, which I love dearly, has been poor on reliability and way too expensive to maintain. Now the body is rotting out. They did a good job of design but apparently they chose the worlds cheapest bearing and paint suppliers. I had a couple Nissans when they made interesting cars. They ran trouble free from cradle to grave, with near zero service or expense, when they just dissolved in the salt.
On the specific topic of cars, my wife's 1998 Saab 900SE turbo is built like a tank. It drives like one too. Think of the fastest noisy dump truck you've ever seen. The body has held up fantastically well, but the overly complex electronics are failing at an ever increasing rate. The drive train is starting to go as well- not as reliable at 155,000 miles as many Japanese cars used to be. OTOH, my first year Mazda3, which I love dearly, has been poor on reliability and way too expensive to maintain. Now the body is rotting out. They did a good job of design but apparently they chose the worlds cheapest bearing and paint suppliers. I had a couple Nissans when they made interesting cars. They ran trouble free from cradle to grave, with near zero service or expense, when they just dissolved in the salt.
Conrad,
cars are designed by engineers and made scrap by the pennypinchers. Look at loudspeakers. An €5 cap instead of an € .20? OK, affordable when you DIY.
Beancounters: "You´re bonkers. At the 10,000 pairs we gonna build, those caps cost more than you´ll ever earn. Fuggoff."
Same with cars. Refrigerators. Anything.
cars are designed by engineers and made scrap by the pennypinchers. Look at loudspeakers. An €5 cap instead of an € .20? OK, affordable when you DIY.
Beancounters: "You´re bonkers. At the 10,000 pairs we gonna build, those caps cost more than you´ll ever earn. Fuggoff."
Same with cars. Refrigerators. Anything.
Pit remember, if it weren't for Lawyers and Economists then Engineers would have free reign. Everything would be built to last 500 years.
In fifty years everything we'd need would be made and there would be nothing left for the Engineers to do, they'd die off, and 450 years later when things started to break imagine the chaos!
That's exactly how Lawyers and Economists sleep at night
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