At this point it seem like "engineering" is moving way out on the curve
of diminishing returns, at least regards handling, structure, safety,
etc. Maybe engine/powertrain technology will continue to improve a bit
with fuel efficiency, hybrids, etc. but a lot of the other "engineering"
stuff is electronic gizmos that have little to do with the intrinsic
"car" aspects. Even a cheap Hyundai (which BTW have some very nice
styling these days) or Kia or whatever will have vastly improved safety
and handling over most cars even 10 yr old, though they might not have
radar-controlled cruise controls and auto parking or single-control
display screens and such.
I kinda think the 84 SDs have some pretty good handling, and probably
decent structural/survivability aspects, even without airbags, but at
that time they were "engineered" way beyond your average deeeetroit or
jap iron. My wife asks occasionally, "Is that a good car?" when seeing
something, and I have to say that most cars these days are very "good"
compared to 10 yr ago, some might be a bit better than others, but that
is at the margins I think. A few months ago a young kid had a fairly
high-speed interaction with a 250 yr old Live Oak tree up the road
(about 5ft diameter), the tree did not move, and he died. I saw some
pics of the car (a fairly new Toyota Camry or some such) at the scene,
airbag deployed, passenger area fairly intact, whole front crumped,
looked survivable to me though the driver might have been messed up a
bit. Turned out it was suicide for some unclear reasons, he did not
have his seat belt on so even with the airbag he hit the roof or
windshield or something. So, that kinda said that good engineering is
now quite prevalent and affordable, but is only as good as the user
allows it to be. He probably would have bought the tree even in a Benz...
--R
On 3/26/11 9:53 AM, Dieselhead wrote:
The second point is what you brought up "Engineered like no other" is
what MB used to be, and I think is trying to be again. However, to be
engineered like no other, doesn't mean we should have to pay for stuff
we don't want. Like ACC, power windows, power sunroofs (although i
will pay for the sunroof), auto trans, leather seats.
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