yall probably already know this but looks like MB came out with a S350 kinda weird to me, its better off being a 430 being a base model, but i guess they wanna dominate the large Sedan V6 class. its 241hp with 258lb-tq. Looks like it can run with Audi A6, BMW530i, Lexus GS300, Acura RL. all that other stuff. base price is 64k

 

And its a 3.7L that makes about 40 less horsepower than the 3.5L that is used in the considerably lighter E350. I assume the 3.7L is a older design. I guess they are doing all they can to boost sales over at MB. Man this car must be so slooowww. Does it come with the AWD standard too??

 

yeah that's exactly how i feel.... why bring back the s class with 6 cylinder... keep it higher class for god's sake

 

i think the reason they want to bring in the V6 is just to hit a lower price point.

many people wants to drive just an 'S' class.... its that prestige factor that MB offers.

and also, maybe its just trying to hit the LS 430's price point.

So, people who has 65k and wants a luxury car can look at an S class and afford it.

 

They could be using the larger displacment 3.7L vs the 3.5L because they want low-end torque to move the car. HP is a measure of torque at a certain RPM.... so maybe they wanted more power at the lower end. Thats why crown vics and towncars only have something like 210hp or so. They still have ample power to move them around comfortably.

And yea, for a lot of the people I see driving the S-Class, they probably won't be missing the 2 cylinders and 60 or so hp. I see a lot of little old men and ladies who are in their 70's driving those cars 50mph in the far right lane. For people who want power, there are still plenty of bigger engine choices.

 

First W220 to come w/ a V6

 

the first W220 in USA to get a V6.... but not the first in the world

In europe / asian markets, the smallest engine choice is a 2.8L V6.... the S280, in short
wheelbase.

tim

 

The new 3.5L V6 is almost as stong as the older 4.3L V8, and therefore that one is now obsolete.

Also the fuel economy of the new 3.5L V6 is much much better!

 

that's exactly the point, why do that? it's just like you don't see lexus do a ls350. it's flagship, you keep it up, exclusive, high price, not for everyone. that's the point imho.

if mb has to put a v6 in the s class to just compete with a v8 ls430, that's a shame.... i don't know how they are going to market that car. "hey people, we finally got you a s class that's the same price as the ls430, ONLY at a loss of 2 cylinders!"?!?!?!

 

Is it the W220 S350 ? I think the redesigned S is coming soon , why bring it over now ? Possibly showing a little desperation since it's dropped to 4th in sales here ?

 

maybe at this point, they are just trying to get as much sales as possible.... squeeze the most
out of the market. considering if you look at the revenues / profits of MB or Daimler.

and they might also drop the 430 engine, and make the 350 the lowest end ...
i dont see any 430 engine being used anywhere else in whole merc lineup.

And, I dont know, but I dont really believe in a flagship car having the biggest engine, a v8 or v10 or v12. Isn't it just a notion that we are used to, have flagship cars have big engines? But its not really required right?

 

V6 S-class has been a tradition for a while now. Our 300SE still runs perfectly.

 

So America is getting a new 6 cylinder S? The last gen S had 6 cylinder versions, they sell big in Europe with diesals. You can get a 6 cylinder SL too.
Funny but in Europe, many car mags are amazed by the SL 55/65 but cannot understand the price, since you can buy a 6-cylinder version for more than 1/2 the price.

 

that's pretty funny, they don't understand that nice cars come at a price?

oh and you mean for LESS than 1/2 the price?

 

You know, I read that to myself like 10 times before hitting submit and was like "That ***** don't sound right"
What they are saying is, you can basically get from the ground up Bentley GT or Aston Martin or Ferrari for that price.