Toys4RJill

I saw the spec sheet for the new C300 and C400.

Holy smokes....

There are a lot of impressive features, it will be very difficult to kill someone or be at an at fault accident with this car. Brakes are locked on a red light, can sense pedestrians, 360 cameras, you can post on Facebook while driving, active LED headlights, start stop tech.

mmarshall

If that's the kind of transportation I wanted, I'd take the subway.

Toys4RJill

Cars are entering a new evolution of safety. It is pretty impressive the level of safety features that will be coming soon. The features will also advance faster than ever before. I think the new tech is exciting and something I like. You obviously do not agree.

mmarshall

No, but I still respect your opinion on it. Here's the real solution, IMO. Perhaps Mercedes will use it.

Toys4RJill

Why?

Not everyone thinks like this. People have shown that they want tech.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

agree 100%

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

why are you opposed to safety tech?

there's a lot of TERRIBLE drivers out there. there's zero chance the govt will make the driving test harder, so it's logical that there's value in smarter cars.

mmarshall

I'm not opposed to all high-tech systems by any means. I thought ABS, TC, and VSC were all good worthwhile systems. But I don't think we should depend on electronics to everything for us behind the wheel. One thing we have found in aviation (I was a pilot for some years) is that piloting skills have sharply declined with the growing use of automated flight-systems. When systems fail, and they do, especially with the often-unreliable electronics from Mercedes (though their reliability seems to be improving), then driving skills (just like flying skills) are needed. Many of those "terrible drivers" you mention should probably not have an active license in the first place.

Toys4RJill

Forget planes and avaiation. That has nothing to do with what we are talking about.

I guarantee the new tech is smarter and will react faster than a human.

Vehicle components can be engineered to never fail, ever if wanted.

yowps3

Our reliance on tech has had an adverse affects on our skills, health, ability and overall IQ.

I just look at kids of this generation (born post 1995) and they really do seem quite dull-witted.

The awful music these days doesn't help the cause.

RXSF

for $2800, the distronic safety systems with the steering assist are a bargain compared to every other package

mmarshall

That's part of the problem...it may react TOO fast. Jam on the brakes full-force (like some of today's advanced braking systems do when they think (?) that the driver wants or needs it) and it's a good recipe for getting rear-ended. Take a car, for example, like the Porsche 911, with superlative carbon-brakes, that can stop from 60 MPH in less than 100 feet. There's no way that Grandpa's Buick Lesabre, behind the Porsche, is going to be able to do the same thing in the same distance.

RXSF

^^ at speeds of only up to like ~30-40mph, they can prevent a crash. Anything higher and it just reduces the severity of the impact. Also, the brake lights on the Mercedes flash to warn drivers in the rear

dseag2

Wow, that 3 wagon looks downright homely in comparison.

mmarshall

On a different thread-related issue, they seem to have done a much nicer job (IMO) with this so-called (four-door coupe) than with the original CLS. The CLS had small slits for windows that were rather difficult to see out of......not a good omen, IMO, for M-B's well-known emphasis on safety. These windows look like they are much more visibility-efficient.