Mercedes-Benz Car Club Norway held its spring meeting in Lillestrøm. Several great cars were in attendance, and on my Sunday walk through the city, I saw several along the road. When you see these great cars, it is not difficult to understand that there is a lot of enthusiasm for this car brand.
My impression is that most of the members' cars are relatively modern, although several can be classified as vintage cars – that is, older than 30 years. But a 30-year-old Mercedes-Benz does not shine as a vintage car. These are cars that members like to take on joint trips at home and abroad. According to club websites Members can also count on benefits through partners.
Brand clubs help to keep the enthusiasm alive. When it comes to Mercedes-Benz, it's not hard to find enthusiasm. It's about cars that several generations dream of acquiring, and which are often treated with love. Last year I stopped by Andresen's Car in Ski. Then they showed off a beautiful 1968 "Strich-Acht" 230 in the showroom. It was sold new to a truck owner in Askim who only used it for holidays and stately occasions. After his death, the car was bought back by the dealer with a total mileage of less than 40.000. Many Mercedes-Benz owners treat their cars well so that they can last for many years.
Can Mercedes-Benz maintain its enthusiasm in the years to come? Or to put it another way: Can Mercedes-Benz's electric cars create the same enthusiasm as previous models? They are on the market with a fully electric model range, but have not yet gone all in for electricity. They are maintaining production of hybrid drives with petrol or diesel, as well as cars in the SL class.
Several of the cars in the pictures at the Mercedes-Benz show belong to the SL class. They are great eye-catchers in the traffic scene. Today's SL – R232 – is the seventh in the series and was developed by AMG, Affalterbach.
The Mercedes-Benz E500 may at first glance look like one of the immortal E300 diesel taxis. But the E500 is no ordinary W124. It was developed in collaboration with Porsche and produced in Zuffenhausen. The cars are equipped with a 5.0 V8 and have a widened body and reinforced chassis. This is a car that can be compared to an extreme Swiss watch. Only connoisseurs (enthusiasts and nerds) will understand and appreciate what this is.
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Unfortunately, the Chinese Geely is the largest single owner of Mercedes-Benz, and thus Chinese engines are also starting to appear in some models, such as the new CLA. The Chinese car industry is known to be the world's most inept, and for a brand like Mercedes-Benz, which has historically been a premium brand, this is the beginning of the end. No one wants to pay extra for Chinese eels.
And I haven't even mentioned all the terrible electric cars that Mercedes-Benz has also wasted resources on, with a loss of reputation as a result.