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36,559 Posts
Whatever happened with your efforts to extend the Starmark warranty?
any luck?
any luck?
Click and Clack's review of a 1996 S500
<br> <br> <br> <br> There are three reasons for buying an S class Mercedes<br> instead of an E class. 1) You travel long distances and<br> need room for tall people with long legs in the back<br> seat. 2) You've got another 40 grand that you still don't<br> don't know what to do with. 3) You're a head of state. <br> <br> The bulk of the Mercedes line is divided into three<br> classes (okay, four if you count the new sport-utility M<br> class). The smallest Mercedes is the C class, the<br> midsize/large-size Mercedes is the E class, and the<br> Humongous Mercedes is the S class. Or should we say<br> U.S.S. class? <br> <br> The S500 is magnificent, but, boy, is it big! It's nearly 17.1 feet long and 6.2 feet wide, and it<br> weighs 4,700 pounds. It is absolutely magnificent to drive. But, at the same time, you can't help<br> but feeling that it's overkill. It's SO big, SO heavy and SO, well, noticeable. We could have sworn<br> our test car played 'Hail to the Chief' every time we started it. <br> <br> It's rock solid on the highway. It has a five-liter V8 engine, which gives it power to burn, and it<br> has lots of room to stretch out, especially for the back-seat passengers. It's got all of the comfort<br> and convenience features you'd expect on an $87,500 car. And the road-holding abilities of the<br> S500 were surprisingly good for such a large car. This was not a Cadillac that sent you leaning<br> into the door on hard right turns. You probably could outrun some terrorists through the streets<br> of Monaco in this thing if you had to. <br> <br> We just kept wishing that it were a little smaller and a little lighter. It felt more like a car that<br> belongs in a motorcade than one you'd drive every day. But if you drive long distances on the<br> highway and you've got $90K to spend on a car, this is pretty much the pinnacle of sedan<br> engineering. On the other hand, if you like the Mercedes ride, handling and security, we suspect<br> you'd be just as happy (and we know we'd be more happy) with E420 or E320 for half the price.<br> And, besides, you wouldn't have to order the little American flags that go on the corners of the<br> hood.
