Ode to German Engineering! | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Ode to German Engineering!

Discussion in 'Other German' started by Husker, Mar 29, 2011.

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  1. fish78

    fish78 F1 Rookie

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    I don't mean to turn this political, but has anyone considered, that it is damned near impossible to comply with all the regulations...emissions, mileage, 'safety' ad infinitum...and still build a reliable vehicle at a price point that consumers can tolerate. I would not be too hard on the auto makers...force your officials to eliminate or at least reduce the burden of opressive regulation...you will see better and more reliable cars, almost over night.
     
    fish78, Apr 25, 2011
    #26
  2. Billy10mm

    Billy10mm Formula Junior

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    That's true today but wasn't 20 years ago. There was a day when Benz's were bank vaults and truly "over-engineered". Those days went bye-bye when MB merged with Chrysler, but profits soared, and even though they've now split, the bean counters aren't going back to the way things were.
     
    Billy10mm, Apr 25, 2011
    #27
  3. El Wayne

    El Wayne F1 World Champ Staff Member Lifetime Rossa Owner

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    L. Wayne Ausbrooks
    I purchased a '98 BMW M Roadster new and had it for only five months before I just couldn't take it anymore. The thing spent more time in the shop than in my garage.

    I sold it and got a new '99 Porsche Carrera - a very early 996. Despite what everyone says about them, I abused that poor car for five years, put 75K extremely hard miles on it, yet never had an issue.

    Between my wife and I, we've had a '98 SLK (had the top stuck half-open multiple times), an '03 E500 (several annoying glitches, but nothing major), and an '06 C230 (cheapy-cheesy interior build quality, but no mechanical issues).

    I currently have a '97 S600 coupe (with 100K miles). I haven't had it long enough to have any issues, but it came with an impressive stack of receipts. The PO spent many thousands of dollars on it over the years.

    Of course, I also have a '74 Porsche 914, but that doesn't really count.

    My point is that not all German cars are the same. In my experience, the BMW was one of the most unreliable cars I've ever owned, the Porsche one of the best.
     
    El Wayne, Apr 25, 2011
    #28
  4. classic308

    classic308 F1 Veteran

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    WOW timing is everything. I came upon this thread this morning (post 25). My sister had a strange noise coming out of her leased X5-she brought it to the dealer today and they told her it needs a NEW DRIVETRAIN!!!???? Wow, this after they had to fix a series of oil leaks....BTW, she had an ML that was filled with problems. Her MDX and Lexus truck were bullet-proof when she leased them. To add insult to injury she needs the three rows for kids and dealer only gave her a 3-series sedan...f up the customer service in addition to the car....

    EDIT-truck has 23K miles on it....
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2011
    classic308, Apr 25, 2011
    #29
  5. thirteendog

    thirteendog Formula 3

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    I guess the MB isn't trail rated??? j/k j/k j/k

    I'd like to comment on the tilt wheel issue though. Many people (mainly large short people) tend to use the steering wheel to help them get in/out of the car. With time this breaks the steering column since it wasn't designed to be used as a leverage point to get into a car/suv/truck.
     
    thirteendog, Apr 26, 2011
    #30
  6. CornersWell

    CornersWell F1 Rookie

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    On my 2003 Audi RS6...

    2x Total replacement of the DRC suspension
    1x Torque converter
    2x Front suspension control links

    In 60k miles.

    Frankly, the Ingolstadt engineers ought to be embarrassed.

    That said, cars these days are so jam-packed with so many things, that it's virtually impossible for something to not go wrong.

    But, going back to German reliability. Or is it durability. Or is it longevity. Everyone knows that their products were well-designed and well-built once. Now, pretty much everyone is building cars virtually the same way. Different grades and materials, but essentially everyone is doing the same stuff. Hard to be head and shoulders above anyone in that game.

    CW
     
    CornersWell, Apr 28, 2011
    #31
  7. Cozmic_Kid

    Cozmic_Kid F1 Veteran

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    Ode to german engineering.

    This must be it :)

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2rMEzVJPCM[/ame]
     
    Cozmic_Kid, Apr 29, 2011
    #32
  8. MaxPower

    MaxPower Two Time F1 World Champ

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    for the amount of headache i got from my merc ... and from the a**hole dealers, i will NEVER buy a 3-pointer again ...

    just LOVE my m5 tho ... a no contest ...
     
    MaxPower, Jun 8, 2011
    #33
  9. Godfather

    Godfather Formula Junior

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    Bad luck, my dad had a Lexus LS that was a lemon. Was in the shop over 12 times. Traded in on a S500 that has been bulletproof. My daily drivers are an SL500 and my wife drives a 5 series. All good so far...knock on wood :)
     
    Godfather, Jun 11, 2011
    #34
  10. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

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    Engine cover at 1:51 looks very current, so my take away is you need to properly restore a late model Mercedes to get it to work properly...
     
    judge4re, Jun 11, 2011
    #35
  11. dmaxx3500

    dmaxx3500 Formula 3

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    i was looking to buy my mom and dad a newer merc,,but now i'm going to look at a normal cadillac
     
    dmaxx3500, Jun 11, 2011
    #36
  12. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ Consultant Owner

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    Last edited: Jun 12, 2011
    UroTrash, Jun 12, 2011
    #37
  13. chp

    chp Formula Junior

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    Jürgen E. Schrempp und der shareholder value lassen grüßen!

    We finally got rid of him!

    I hope present C- and E-Class will show the same results as our old W124 260E in the long run. Almost 20 years and 250.000 km. No major problems.
     
    chp, Jun 12, 2011
    #38
  14. Cozmic_Kid

    Cozmic_Kid F1 Veteran

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    Of course it looks current. The company throw new engines in old cars. That's the point of it ;)

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEcPmgAUMp0[/ame]


    http://www.mechatronik.de/
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2011
    Cozmic_Kid, Jun 12, 2011
    #39
  15. judge4re

    judge4re F1 World Champ

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    Not my cup of tee...
     
    judge4re, Jun 12, 2011
    #40
  16. Cozmic_Kid

    Cozmic_Kid F1 Veteran

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    No worries about that :D
     
    Cozmic_Kid, Jun 13, 2011
    #41
  17. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

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    At ~ 25,000 miles, my 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet is doing just fine so far
     
    parkerfe, Jun 13, 2011
    #42
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