Different stages of life you enjoy different things. When I was young and could only afford a beat up Civic, I would enjoy the hell out of my uncles V6 camry whenever I got to borrow it. There is a lot personal preference when it comes to enthusiasm of anything, some people are luxury car enthusiasts, some love offroading, some are sport car fans, some specific brand fans - countless options, really. And of course one group often views themselves superior to the other group. A lot of EV enthusiasts are just insufferable in this regard.

Driving is a chore 99% of time, and in those cases its best to get it over with as fast and aggressive as possible, without worrying about charging or relying on a half baked FSD system.

A lot of those meets are either young kids doing stupid crap, or a bunch of tacky dressed old farts with back problems.

 

To be clear I am NOT saying I am a "superior enthusiast" at all, but we're clearly not the same kind of enthusiast.

 

Why would you think that when we owned/still own gas cars.? You have to stop hating us so much, were nice guys

 

And why do you think it drives the way it drives?


The S-Class emphasizes:
Comfort
Isolation
Automation
Predictive computing
Passenger serenity
Effortless operation

It is arguably one of the most technologically impressive automobiles ever made — but that does not automatically make it a driver’s car.

In many ways, the S-Class is designed specifically to:
reduce workload,
suppress sensation,
and eliminate the harsh realities of driving.

That is precisely why executives and chauffeurs love it.

Practical Summary
The modern Mercedes-Benz S-Class
predicts bumps before you hit them,
leans itself into corners,
steers its rear wheels,
parks itself,
filters road feel,
minimizes body motion,
assists steering,
drives semi-autonomously,
and increasingly acts like a rolling AI-powered luxury lounge.



That makes it
an engineering masterpiece,
an incredible luxury car,
and a phenomenal technology demonstrator.


But from a purist perspective, it is closer to a “computerized mobility experience” than a traditional enthusiast driver’s car.

 

It drives the way it does because of its suspension design and engineering. The technology is there but the engineering and mechanical excellence is also there and that’s what really appeals to me. You can keep posting that but I don’t see your point.

 

The point is that you keep saying you're an enthusiast and love to drive your car as it's fantastic to drive, but then turn around and say that someone else is not an enthusiast (you have repeatedly called out bitkahuna because he got rid of his LC and bought a Tesia and that makes him no longer a car enthusiast) because they enjoy driving a Tesla (which is nowhere near as tech laden in its driving experience as your S class.

If this still doesn't make sense, nothing will.

 

nice post. not sure ev enthusiasts see themselves as superior, but they certainly see their cars as superior.

LOL

truce... we are both enthusiasts, just with emphasis on different things.



i would sell it if someone wanted it (even have original box, lol) but i suspect shipping costs would be very high.

good comments... i definitely get very fixated on some details. cars really are amazing when you think of the range of use and conditions they have to endure, and the capabilities and diversity.

i think any new car is pretty easy to keep 10 years unless one drives a ton of miles, but after that, one has to have commitment, but of course that all changes each decade as cars become more complex and finding replacement parts will become more difficult to get.

well i did that a few times... explorer and miata (ha), santa fe and genesis g90, and hyundai ioniq 5 and lexus lc500 ! LOVED the second cars in each of those parings. love the first cars too but as you say, more from the utility angle. i think my days of low slung coupes are over though, lol.

depends on one's definitely of 'long'. i've certainly taken a load of abuse for selling the lc500, haha, but i did have it 5 years. not a very long time, but not like the tesla model y i just sold after 6 months, HA (not because i didn't like it, but can't get into reasons here).

you said tesla's focus on self-driving means those that their cars appeal to must not be enthusiasts.

here you say essentially the same thing:

you can't separate the 'engineering' and 'suspension' from the 'technology'. your airmatic suspension is government by lots and lots of software.

on a related note... people who love cars like a porsche 911, love the feel of driving them, the steering feel, braking, engine of course... but this whole 'concert of sensatons' is coordinated these days by SOFTWARE (and tons of hardware, both compute and electro-mechanical). and probably most importantly, the traction control, cornering, braking, etc., is all made FAR more capable through algorithms, not just suspension, etc. by itself.

 

I'm not saying you are not an enthusiast and I'm not trying to convince you of anything, but spending much of my young adult year around a bunch of enthusiasts, if it's not mechanical, doesn't have gears you can shift through, if you don't feel every twist and turn and if the car assists you in any way, you're not an enthusiast and you're car isn't worth driving. I would say that like my cars, your cars drive you more than you drive them, you would know what I'm saying if any of your "driving assistant" systems failed

 

Let me get this straight, a true car enthusiast drives their computer controlled luxury barge to a dealer to get their oil changed.

 

Lol shut up 🤣

The reason I love driving my Tesla's is because frankly, they make them so easy to drive, and I don't have to put much work into it. I go to fast around a turn, and the "computer" smooths it out and saves my ***. It keeps things nice and controlled and comfortable at 80 mph. In other words, it takes a lot of the work out of driving, making me think I'm driving good.

Now drive something like a Dodge Viper. No power steering, brakes, ETC, or drivers aids. I drove one in 2010 and that mother ****** felt like it wanted to kill me

 

Exactly what I've been saying, but if you enjoy driving your non-luxury Tesla, you're not a a true car enthusiast....

 

You guys are putting words in my mouth here. My point is you seem to be more focused on the technology than the cars themselves. You’re excited about self driving etc and those aren’t things that interest many of us here. I’m not against technology, but I’m personally not interested in a self driving car. Has nothing to do with EV vs ICE.

 

Oh geez, lol. Absolutely insufferable. Like vegans at a BBQ level of annoying.

 

Fortunately for you, I absolutely love BBQ steak and ribs. Come join me sometime

 

Don't worry we're just envious lol.