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As a motoring journalist, it was obvious that I knew what my wedding car would be; even before I met my amazing wife. So when our big day was looming closer, a few suave phone calls to the Mercedes-Benz fleet ensured that we had the use of their flagship model, in this case a pearl blue metallic S500.
Most successful people and businesses will tell you that it’s harder to stay at the top than it is getting there. That’s exactly what I tried to determine when a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, this dark grey metallic S350 BlueTEC, wafted into my life for a week. Is the best still the best?
Is there still such a thing as a bad car? I’ve been asked the question before and the best answer would be “not really”. Some Asian cars aren’t that nice but neither are their prices so it’s all relative at the end of the review. Some cars are just “ok” though, and Chevrolet’s Captiva is one of them.
The best car in the world. Although Mercedes-Benz South Africa preferred to use the phrase “This changes everything” for their flagship model, the S-Class has long been the leader for pioneering technology. Most of what you discover here will trickle down to other cars in a few years.
Dear car manufacturers, I’m writing to you today with less of a rant than a positive criticism about a trend that has been slowly creeping into luxury cars over the past few years. It isn’t massage seats, head-up displays or infra-red vision, no, it’s the analogue clock.
As an automotive media company we get hundreds of car-flavoured press releases a month. Most make it onto our website, some get sent around the office for further discussion and very few give birth to their own story. This time it’s the turn of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class which is celebrating its 40th birthday.
Time for a quick course in German. Volk means Nation and Wagen means Vehicle; more or less. Combine the two with the obligatory “s” in between and you get Nation’s Vehicle or, if you like, People’s Car. Despite a faint whiff of socialism, that’s what Volkswagen stands for – the nation’s vehicle.
It’s been a long time coming and I was honestly getting concerned that halfway through the year I hadn’t found any pleasant surprises yet. Sure, thundering AMG’s and seven-figure Jags may apply but it wasn’t until last week that I stumbled across a hidden gem: the Opel Astra GTC.