Mercedes cars - what a disappointment!

[screenman]

460BHP?

Jackie Stewart won 3 F1 World titles with less. I don't know what modern regulations are but when I watched rallying Group A Sierras and the like were limited to 300 BHP.

Why on earth would anyone need a road car with 460bhp?

Just about any mass produced car of the past 40 or 50 years (with the possible exception of the Fiat 126 and Citroen 2CV) will exceed the speed limits.

Most push bikes will go faster than you can make it go.

 

[tyred]

Most push bikes will go faster than you can make it go.

You are 100% correct and build and spec my bikes for touring rather than speed anyway but I am unlikely to be any more of danger to the public on a top of the range road bike than I would be on a 3 speed Raleigh.

A seriously high performance car in the wrong hands is a danger to the public (although that's true of any car I know).

 

[screenman]

You are 100% correct and build and spec my bikes for touring rather than speed anyway but I am unlikely to be any more of danger to the public on a top of the range road bike than I would be on a 3 speed Raleigh.

A seriously high performance car in the wrong hands is a danger to the public (although that's true of any car I know).

Is there any proof that percentage wide faster more expensive cars are likely to be involved in a collision over a lower prices smaller one? At 70 mph the £95,000 car will handle better and could well stop faster than your little Peugeot. I should add that I dislike large 4x4 cars, but I do work on and drive lots of different cars daily.

 

[tyred]

Is there any proof that percentage wide faster more expensive cars are likely to be involved in a collision over a lower prices smaller one? At 70 mph the £95,000 car will handle better and could well stop faster than your little Peugeot. I should add that I dislike large 4x4 cars, but I do work on and drive lots of different cars daily.

I really couldn't say and I perfectly understand your point of view. To be honest, I would think that expensive cars will get crashed less as they are likely bought by more mature people who have the money and will respect it. But the expensive car will depreciate and potentially end up in the wrong hands one day.

I'm just thinking out loud and trying to understand what makes people think they need over 400 bhp. Unless you do track days or something it just seems an utter waste and completely excessive.

 

[midlife]

My colleague has bout a Merc as his retirement car, expecting it to last him out lol

I had a 400 plus BHP Impreza

 

[Moodyman]

Willy waving again. Most of the cars on the road have far too much power and many of those have too small a brain in control.

As someone on a car forum said when discussing the ever-increasing bhp, "having a two-foot manhood is great for bragging, but totally useless for its intended purpose".

Our towns and cities are now so congested, one wonders if cars over 150-200 bhp are necessary.

 

[screenman]

As someone on a car forum said when discussing the ever-increasing bhp, "having a two-foot manhood is great for bragging, but totally useless for its intended purpose".

Our towns and cities are now so congested, one wonders if cars over 150-200 bhp are necessary.

Cars are seldom necessary, where do we draw the line?

 

[MarkF]

My bil is a retired dustman who happens to be close to being a millionaire, with his pension lot he likely is.

Does he drive a £20k rusty 2011 Merc to deflect attention?

 

[screenman]

Does he drive a £20k rusty 2011 Merc to deflect attention?

He has never owned a car, he oddly enough was the driver for over 30 years.

 

[MarkF]

He has never owned a car, he oddly enough was the driver for over 30 years.

BTW there was a Merc 2016 SLK in Skipton car park today, roof wouldn't close, ok she was on a camber but it was miles out, driver said it'd been getting worse for a while. Of course my 1992 Eunos took a swing of my arm and 3 seconds to close......

 

[vickster]

BTW there was a Merc 2016 SLK in Skipton car park today, roof wouldn't close, ok she was on a camber but it was miles out, driver said it'd been getting worse for a while. Of course my 1992 Eunos took a swing of my arm and 3 seconds to close......

Did you have a hairdresser on hand to help with your car, they being the experts on MX-5s?

 

[Globalti]

The car industry is in a serious crisis, one glance at the huge numbers of cars stockpiled at ports, in fields and on dealer forecourts will tell you that. The industry's last gasp before the elastic breaks is PCP, which allows almost any driver to drive a high performance car and has staved off the inevitable collapse. I believe PCP will be the next mis-selling scandal when people begin to realise they're locked in and the media get interested.

 

[MarkF]

Did you have a hairdresser on hand to help with your car, they being the experts on MX-5s?

It's a Eunos Roadster thank you, rising in value faster than any hairdressers bouffant.

 

[vickster]

It's a Eunos Roadster thank you, rising in value faster than any hairdressers bouffant.

Up to £3.50 now?

 

[MarkF]

The car industry is in a serious crisis, one glance at the huge numbers of cars stockpiled at ports, in fields and on dealer forecourts will tell you that. The industry's last gasp before the elastic breaks is PCP, which allows almost any driver to drive a high performance car and has staved off the inevitable collapse. I believe PCP will be the next mis-selling scandal when people begin to realise they're locked in and the media get interested.

I agree, anybody can afford what they can't afford to "buy" nowadays, so BMW's, Mercs etc once the preserve of those with cash, can be "owned" by any oik, thus their perceived quality/status/USP is gone.

It's incredibly cheap (because of the PCP deals) to buy a car in the UK used, I was browsing ads in a local paper in Alicante last week, a £5k car there might fetch £2/3k in the UK. I can buy a far better car for £2k now than I could with £2k in 1995!