The costs of ownership for a Ferrari or a Lamborghini are to be expected. But really, as I said about my friend, he has had no issues. He drives both his Ferrari and his Lambo daily, both being 6-spd manuals, and he hasn’t had any issues. Just normal wear and tear. Ferrari and Lamborghini’s have gotten better as daily drivers.

And, as for my mother’s SL’s, she spent a lot of money on maintenance. Each one was a pile of crap in its own respect. The only one that had nothing wrong with it was one of her 2001’s and her first 2003. Outside of those two, the other 5 cost 10’s of thousands of dollars… Sorry to break it to you. Mercedes-Benz just a few years ago was the 8th worst manufacturer in terms of amount of maintenance. They have turned this around a little bit, though.

As for the speed, the speed counts on the racetrack. Sure, a few tenths isn’t anything huge, but it makes enough of a difference when you want to win.

The car becomes useless when all it does is just go fast in rich style. Wow, just what I want, a 200+mph luxury cruiser with a fat, worthless and disgusting steering wheel, that just so happens to turn. Don’t you think there are better and more thrilling ways to spend your money? I think so. It’s too expensive, too fat, too slow, and so many other things.

How does Mercedes-Benz continue to “raise the bar to very sophisticated levels”?

I do not agree with that statement of not comparing apples to apples… When Mercedes wants to jump into the pond with the big boys, which they failed in once before with the SLR, they all become apples.

The SL does look cheesy. That’s the point of super cars. All of the wings, slats, grills, badges, and whatever else is cheesy. It just so happens to be stuff that is needed.

Who needs another automatic ‘luxury’ GT? No questions, just the facts.

First of all, it is an accepted fact the operating cost of a Ferrari or Lambo (especially the last generation)is very expensive. But as a consumer you know that, you accept the anticipated liabilities and go with the purchase and enjoy the machine. Drive it the way it was design and soon replace a clutch and other expensive items on the list and not bitch about it. Not on a Benz. I bet your mothers totaled maintance cost on her (7) SL s did not equal the cost on one Ferrari. By the way Josh, your moms (7) SL s are nothing like the SL550 AMG let alone the Black Series. But, she must of like them, you said she bought 7 of them.

And 0-60, “a slow beast of a machine ” the competition is a couple tenths of a second faster than 3.5, you got to be kidding. At some point one has to realize the utility of 0-60 benchmarks. There is so much more to report on these exotics than a couple tenths of a second. Do you really think you can feel the difference of 2 tenths of a second? Really, what is the real impact of a tenth of a second. Does that really identify the true meaning of the car?

Finally, you said it yourself, ; it is one of the most beautiful cars in the world, fast, safe, comfortable (to some), a marvel in speed and engineering”. Those are powerful words spoken by you that described the new Black Series. Don’t they have meaning anymore? Why not expand on those thoughts? Make for a cute article article huh?

Now all that said, how can you say that this is a useless machine? It doesn’t add up.

Anyway my friend, maybe you said it yourself, This car is a oxymoron… it appears that it can be both, super car and a very fine GT Luxury Car. It seems to me that Mercedes continues to ‘raise the bar’ to very sophisticated levels.

Its funny,were not comparing apples with apples here. Its that Orange that the competition needs to keep their eye on

PS, referring back to the cheesy statement made by Ed, I believe we were speaking of exterior aesthetics not performance.

Any questions?

For the record, a good friend of mine has an F-430 Spider and a Gallardo Spyder. He drives both as his daily cars. He has yet to have any issues that would make him think of buying a car to drive every day instead of them. He will be getting his Scuderia soon, as well…

Honestly, if I’m spending lots of money on a sports car, or a super car for that matter, sure I want something nice and reliable. But, a Mercedes super car that is only an automatic? Mercedes hasn’t made a good manual transmission to actually suit its higher end models since the 300 SL of yesteryear, if I remember correctly. My mother has had about 7 SL’s, and to me, they have all been the most uncomfortable cars for any drive. They were all useless. Do they attract women for men? Yes. But is that the kind of woman you want? One that is attracted to a useless car that just cost you upwards of 100,000 dollars? If so, then more power to you and I hope you have a great divorce attorney.

What is the point here? The point is, a Mercedes super car is a useless car. It will be fast, safe, comfortable (to some), a marvel in speed and engineering. But will it be in the caliber of an Enzo or a Carrera GT? Nope. Will it be a car that would make you think twice about buying a much more exclusive Ferrari? Doubt it.

One thing that you forgot to mention, the SLR has had to have 6 different examples just to sell more than a few thousand cars. Gordon Murray is rumored to have retired because of the way Mercedes-Benz pushed him and his team into building a car that he didn’t agree with… It is the truth that the SLR was a failure! Mercedes-Benz themselves have admitted that. Let’s just hope that the new Gullwing will have a manual supplied by Pagani…

And as for the Corvette vs SL argument. I have driven both, played with both, had both sit in my driveways and use them on a more daily basis than most. And with this knowledge, I will say, the SL is inferior to the Corvette in terms of thrill and practicality. The Corvette is very cheap on the inside, I agree, but when you play with it the way it was meant to be used, it is brilliant. The first America sports car with non-American crappy abilities. The C6 was honed on the ‘Ring… Any questions?