Not sure how you can equate the W140 chassis with the rod bender engine when it was introduced in the W126. People also equate the evaporator and wiring harness failures to the W140 but I suspect there are just a few W124 owners who have had some bad experiences in these areas as well. John
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 7:09 AM, Peter Frederick <psf...@earthlink.net> wrote: > The problems with all modern automobiles is the replacement of analog > mechanical controls with digital electronic controls, and subsequent gross > cheapening of mechanical design. Programmer's disease indeed. > > I suppose the supposition is that a digital computer will "compensate" for > plastic manifolds that fail in 10 years or so, the inability of a person to > properly regulate a mechanical throttle for "traction control" (very > expensive, eh, and reliable? Ask Toyota) that requires an electronic > throttle positioning device (unlike the spring loaded mechanical one on the > W126), self tapping screws used to hold covers on the engine that require > the poor mechanic to helicoil the holes and find bolts to fit when the front > cover has to come off, and so forth. All the engineering is going into > computer crap with mechanical parts just carried along with no changes since > one has to pay so much for the electronics nothing is left to hire > mechanical engineers (and they aren't allowed to be engineers if they "get > their hands dirty" working on mechanical things, eh). Sadly for the > drivers, computer traction control won't do diddly when the undersized ball > joint from a design that weighed 1000 lbs less fails. It's all tinsel, > plastic, and glitz to add profit margin, with the actual mechanical parts > just throw together willy-nilly. > > All those electronic gadgets are EXPENSIVE, and to keep the price of the > automobile reasonable, short cuts get taken in the materials, design, and > engineering. > > The thing that really set me against the W140 was the combination of the > "rodbender" engine and drastically under-designed front suspension. MB has > been making high performance large sedans for about 80 years, and if they > can miss badly on the design of the front suspension of a car expected to be > driven at 140 mph hour after hour and the engine can ear itself with no > notice in normal use, what ELSE is gonna go "sprong" at a really bad time? > Brakes? Rear axle? Computer short out and floor the accelerator at a > red light? > > I personally will pass -- all those electronics will fail in use, and > replacement is more than the car is worth. Mechanical stuff can be fixed, > if not cheaply, but a dead brain box is just junk. > > If this is the new "automotive design excellence", we are all going to end > up on public transit because we can't afford cars...... > > Peter > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
