SL600: Last great Mercedes.
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
I always thought this was the final end of Mercedes greatness. This was an unparalleled design that was born out of the late 80s (I think)
This was before all the screens and tablets and gizmos. The build quality is OMG. The leather wrapped/stitched roll bar![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Did I hear correctly? There is a hard top...and a glass pano hard top accessories....when the glass hard top is inserted...the car transforms![Cool](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif)
The host gets it right when he says this is the end of analog era and where the digital era begins
This was before all the screens and tablets and gizmos. The build quality is OMG. The leather wrapped/stitched roll bar
![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Did I hear correctly? There is a hard top...and a glass pano hard top accessories....when the glass hard top is inserted...the car transforms
![Cool](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif)
The host gets it right when he says this is the end of analog era and where the digital era begins
Last edited by Toys4RJill; 01-23-21 at 05:19 AM.
#3
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Jill's got at least somewhat of a point. The build-quality of 80's vintage Mercedes products was arguably the best in the industry, before Lexus and Infiniti's competition, at lower prices, forced them to cut back on costs and the fact that they were over-engineering their vehicles so much.
#4
Lexus Champion
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
People have been saying "they don't make them like they used to" for my entire life. 51 years of degrading quality of these products--it's amazing that cars don't just disintegrate when you drive them off the dealer lots.
#5
Pole Position
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
I love that guys channel. He'll go completely off topic sometimes and totally cracks me up. His review of a BMW electric car is really funny if you're an old school minded person as myself.
#6
Lexus Test Driver
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Jill's got at least somewhat of a point. The build-quality of 80's vintage Mercedes products was arguably the best in the industry, before Lexus and Infiniti's competition, at lower prices, forced them to cut back on costs and the fact that they were over-engineering their vehicles so much.
#7
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
I LOVE these SLs. I have considered buying one as a third car.
Trending Topics
#8
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
The main problem with gull-wing doors is that, even with Mercedes-levels of engineering and quality-control back then, has always getting the seals perfect, so that they don't leak. Another potential problem, of course, is getting them open if the vehicle rolls over.
#9
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Of course, some of that has been deliberate, with the advent of crumple-zones that fold up and absorb crash-energy rather than transmit it through to the cabin.
51 years of degrading quality of these products--it's amazing that cars don't just disintegrate when you drive them off the dealer lots.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-23-21 at 12:37 PM.
#10
Lexus Champion
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
.What seemed like thin sheet metal 20 years ago would feel like a tank compared to a lot of today's vehicles.
Of course, some of that has been deliberate, with the advent of crumple-zones that fold up and absorb crash-energy rather than transmit it through to the cabin.
Of course, some of that has been deliberate, with the advent of crumple-zones that fold up and absorb crash-energy rather than transmit it through to the cabin.
And that's different than the nostalgia of a classic MB SL coupe. I had my 3 Series in for service this week; in the service center waiting area there was a BMW 2002 (customers were not allowed in the building, so I couldn't see it up close). I couldn't take my eyes off it, and I even thought "I wonder if that's for sale?" It was way cool; but that doesn't make it "better" than modern cars.
#11
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Cars are more complex than ever, but I would argue more trouble-free than cars in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I think that's "better".
#12
Lexus Champion
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
It does when you have kids in the neighborhood that are careless with bikes/scooters, people careless with snow-shovels, and trees/squirrels that like to drop solid nuts. ![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
70s and 80s, I'll agree (easily)....but Toyota and Honda, IMO, made many of their best and most solidly-built vehicles in the 1990s.
![Wink](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif)
70s and 80s, I'll agree (easily)....but Toyota and Honda, IMO, made many of their best and most solidly-built vehicles in the 1990s.
#13
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
The benefits of newer generation cars far outweigh these worries.
#14
Lexus Fanatic
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Back to the SL600 of decades ago, I can remember looking at one and inspecting it (but not an actual test-drive). I agree with Jill...the build-quality on those had to be seen to be believed. Today, the closest Mercedes product remaining to that, in terms of build-solidness, is the G-Wagen.
And that's because the G-Wagen is actually a product of that-generation....indeed, even some time before that, if one considers that the basic design goes lack to 1979, as a military vehicle for the West-German and Austrian military.
And that's because the G-Wagen is actually a product of that-generation....indeed, even some time before that, if one considers that the basic design goes lack to 1979, as a military vehicle for the West-German and Austrian military.
#15
Lexus Test Driver
![Default](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
i certainly have a soft spot for this era SL, very comfortable and surprisingly boat like which i appreciated since i can see this being a great long distance cruiser
as far as being the 'last great mercedes' i don't think i'd go that far, and the power roofs on these could have issues and end up spewing hydraulic fluid everywhere
as far as being the 'last great mercedes' i don't think i'd go that far, and the power roofs on these could have issues and end up spewing hydraulic fluid everywhere