©2004 May not be reproduced in any form without written permissio of the author. This includes publishing at other websites.
The new 2006 ML, bigger, wider, more powerful, more comfortable, and with more features than the 2005 ML
Two engines: New 3.5 l V-6, with 268 hp
and 258 lb. ft. torque.
114 in. wheelbase, monocoque body
Things I notice (without proof): There's no console-mounted shift knob. Apparently they've gone to a steering column mounted DNR stalk, and paddle shifters on each side of the back of the steering wheel. E-Class or C-Class type navigation (an option, no doubt), MB style headlight switch (!), steering wheel controls for sound and instrujment panel (trip computer, convenience features, etc. Cup holders look very sturdy and very versatile, but we've lost the dash mounted ones. I love thejm in the summer. The AC keeps my Coke cold. Glove box has a lock on it. Center console looks large.
More Interior at night. Seats look very S-Class-ish
Seat controls are on side of seats like current model
MONTVALE, NJ The first official photographs were released today of the next-generation M-Class, which will make its retail debut in the U.S. in spring 2005. The all-new 2006 M-Class is characterized by an aggressive wedge shape complemented by sweeping front fenders with projector beam headlights, dramatic shoulder lines and a sharply angled windshield. The interior is completely redesigned to provide more comfort and more user-friendly space.
When the Mercedes-Benz M-Class first arrived seven years ago, the new sport utility vehicle started a trend that inspired the entire auto industry to shift toward more car-like SUVs. Virtually the only sport utility at the time with four-wheel independent suspension, the original M-Class was one of the first to be designed from the ground up, rather than being based on an existing platform. The first-generation M-Class also won an impressive number of auto industry awards, including the prestigious North American Truck of the Year.
Sales to Begin in Spring 2005
Scheduled to make its world premiere at the North American International Auto Show in January 2005 and go on sale in the U.S. in the spring, the new sport utility is 5.9 inches longer, 2.8 inches wider and 0.4 inches lower on the road than its predecessor, with a 114-inch wheelbase that's 3.7 inches longer as well.º Beneath the aerodynamic exterior is an all-new unibody platform as well as redesigned suspension that delivers a new level of on-road driving performance and comfort.
New and useful technology abounds in the 2006 M-Class, including a standard seven-speed automatic transmission, an even more effective full-time four-wheel-drive system and optional features such as height-adjustable AIRMATIC air suspension. A revised four-wheel traction control system now incorporates functions such as a downhill driving aid and Hill-Start Assist.
The new generation M-Class will be available with two powerful new engines. The ML350 is powered by an all-new 3.5-liter, four-valve-per-cylinder V6 engine delivering 268-horsepower and 258-lb.ft. of torque. Under the hood of the ML500 is a 5.0-liter V8 engine with 302-horsepower and 339-lb.ft. of torque.
Inside, a completely new interior is marked by a sport-oriented instrument panel, a multifunction steering wheel, rich interior materials and significantly improved spaciousness for all five seating positions.
By comparison, there's over two inches of additional front leg room, and rear-passenger knee and leg room have also been increased by 1.4 inches and 1.3-inches respectively.
Continuing the Mercedes-Benz commitment to occupant safety, the 2006 M-Class will mark the debut of a new active head restraint system that provides increased protection in the event of a rear collision. The new M-Class also includes adaptive two-stage airbags for the driver and front passenger, curtain side airbags and belt tensioners and belt force limiters for all seating positions.
The new M-Class sport utility is being built at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Things I notice from the photos (without proof): There's no console-mounted shift knob. Apparently they've gone to a steering column mounted PRND stalk, and paddle shifters on each side of the back of the steering wheel for more control of the 7-speed automatic transmission. The interior looks much more like European Mercedes, which is a good thing. It has E-Class or C-Class type navigation (an option, no doubt). Also prominent are MB style headlight switch (!), steering wheel controls for sound and instrument panel (trip computer, convenience features, etc. Cup holders look very sturdy and very versatile, but we've lost the dash mounted ones. I love them in the summer. The AC keeps my Coke cold. Glove box has a lock on it. The center console looks large.
Phones
The usual request to not shoot the messenger is enclosed. Please.
Finally some phones are available for 2005 models.
The MY2005 compatible V600 had to be reconfigured to meet the requirements of the AT & T/Cingular merger (one of the reasons for the delay) and is now ready for launch. A single V600 GSM handset that can accommodate new and existing Cingular GSM customers as well as customers of the former AT & T GSM network. Although not required to make phone calls, it is suggested that AT & T GSM customers update their service contracts to Cingular to enable all of the latest network features that the V600 offers.
In areas where GSM service has already been implemented, you are advised to choose the V600 GSM handset instead of the Cingular or AT & T V60i TDMA handsets. GSM service is continually improving and the V600 handset will provide the maximum service life due to its compatibility with the newer GSM network. Locally Cingular has not activated TDMA phones for several months, requiring GSM phones. (You should have heard some of the explanations they gave our customers, such as "that phone isn't digital." Huh?)
The V600 handset is compatible with all MY2005 MHI (Multi Handset Interface) phone kits. The V600 cannot be used with MY2005 M-Class, G-Class, SLR, Maybach, or MY 2004 and older phone kits because a V600 compatible coil cord cradle is not supported.
V710 Handset Launch Information:
Due to additional testing specified by Verizon Wireless, the release of the V710 handset has been pushed back by a month. Final qualification of the handset is expected by early January. The currently available V60s handset will be available until then.
The upcoming V710 handset is compatible with all MY 2005 MHI (Multi Handset Interface) phone kits. The V710 cannot be used with MY 2005 M-Class, G-Class, SLR, Maybach, or MY 2004 and older phone kits because a V710 compatible coil cord cradle is not supported.
Where did I put that Kevlar vest?
Progress
Consumer Reports complained mightily that the "back" button on the navigation system of the S430 was defective in their test sample. It made me think. I remember too far back. I remember cars without dual circuit master cylinders, with drum brakes that needed adjustment every 3,000 miles, with suspension grease fittings that needed filling frequently. Cars didn't have seat belts, much less shoulder harness and 8 air bags. Suspensions consisted of a live rear axle, even on the most expensive Cadillac. Headlights were 37 watts, and night driving was dangerous for the most eagle-eyed driver. Our 1st year of production Ford Mustang had no windshield washer tank. Tires were bias ply. Good handling wouldn't be considered legally acceptable today. The "Wide Oval" tire, from Firestone, was 70 series. We sell cars now with 35 series tires. That means the height is 35% of the width-wide tires. 13-15" wheels were the norm. Shock absorbers lasted 10,000 miles. When I bought a car I had to put decent radial tires on it, European headlights, and Koni shock absorbers. I added fog lights. They weren't even an option from Detroit. I had to add seat belts. Shoulder harness were unheard of. I installed competition shoulder harness in that Mustang just to get some kind of harness. 2 HPD cops pulled me over and ticketed me on a pretense because they saw the red harness and thought it was too strange to understand.
Freeways were a rare thing. A drive from Houston to Dallas was a 2 lane ordeal on U.S. 75. It took almost all day. Head on collisions were common, almost always with fatal results.
Air conditioning came along. It was dealer installed. A big unit sat under the dash and leaked into the floorboards most of the time.
Anti-lock brakes? Mercedes had built some in the fifties, but their time had not come.
Dashboards were metal.
American cars came with 12 month, 12,000 mile warranties. Some European cars had shorter ones. A BMW I bought in Germany had a 6 month, 10,000 Km warranty.
Radios were AM. The first tape decks were 8-track. There were no CDs, of course. For that matter, the high performance car stereo we know of today didn't exist until Dr. Amar G. Bose convinced a GM engineer to let him have a Corvette to tinker with. When I sold Chevrolets in the late 70's, stereo meant one speaker in front, and one in back.
I remember adjusting points that had closed on a Datsun under the parking lot lights of a closed Stuckey's shop.
There were no OEM cupholders, trip computers, fuel economy gauges, steering wheel mounted volume and station controls. There were no car phones.
Since GPS satellites didn't exist, there were no navigation systems, no TeleAid or On Star.
Automatic transmissions were 2 speed. They lowered fuel economy and performance drastically compared to manual transmissions, which had 3 speeds. 4 speeds became popular from the European influence of the '60s, primarily from Volkswagen. Now our manual transmissions have 6 speeds, and our new automatics have 7. The automatics can tell how you've been driving and go into the correct mode to help you. If you're bombing down a back road, climbing and descending hills, taking curves at a brisk clip, the transmission will behave quite differently than it would taking your mother-in-law to the airport.
American cars were worn out in 5 years. Well, nothing's changed there.
Current cars have far more computing ability than the Space Shuttle. Many ills are fixed by attaching the MB Diagnostic computer and having the computer fix the problem.
The improvements are staggering, and they have one thing in common, more and more complexity. It's hard to have a TeleAid failure if you don't have TeleAid. Cars today are more reliable than they were then. Ours usually tell you what's erroneous on the dash. Some can even be repaired by TeleAid on the phone. They're more reliable, more comfortable, faster, and safer. By rights they should be much more Unreliable, but they're more reliable and last longer, at least ours do. Thus if some obscure function on your GPS based navigation system goes wonky, try not to pop a cork. That's an awfully complicated piece of equipment you're taking for granted.
2003 was a year I kinda wanted to forget. I wanted to forget the loss of Bear and Merlin, 2 furry friends who left too soon.
2004 was a little better in some ways, worse in others. Business-wise, it was, in many respects, a "holding" year. The new S-Class won't be out until early 2006, not 2005 as we had been lead to expect. That slowed S-Class sales. The new G-Class won't be out until early 2006. That's the BIG SUV. It will be Tahoe sized. Many of my customers have a Mercedes or 2 and a Suburban/Tahoe sized vehicle. Most would prefer the safety of a Mercedes in their big people-hauler. That one will be a big seller.
The ML will come out in March or so. This slowed M-Class sales.
But the SLK came out, and it's a home-run. The E320CDI came out, and it's a home run.
But something slowed things down as if the economy was in a foot of molasses. It wasn't in the rest of the country, but it was here, and not confined to Star Motor Cars. All of the MB dealers in this region felt it.
I did note an almost instant upsurge in sales after the election. Methinks many potential buyers were scared to death that we were in for 4 years of massive tax increases and other measures that would stop the recovery.
Browning demonstrating his talents for cleaning plates to The Redhead
On the personal side, no one in my family died. Most of the people are already dead, and the pets are healthy. Browning turned 16. Browning is a miniature pincher. He has a degenerative bone disease and walks with a skip in his hind feet now. He falls down easily and has trouble getting up. The vet said not to let him jump on/off things or climb stairs. I built a ramp for him to go up and down to get on and off the bed. It works most of the time, but we try to keep pillows on the floor around the bed. He spends evenings sleeping on my Lazy Boy, but now I have to put him on the floor when I leave the chair and pick him up when I return. He and I get good and settled just about when it's time for his 10 PM walk.
Arthur Pendragon
Our new cat, Arthur Pendragon, is doing magnificently. I used to think he didn't like me because he wasn't purring on my shoulder, and he was on The Redhead's. But I was putting him on my left shoulder. It turned out I've lost a lot of my hearing in my left ear this year, not high frequency loss from my misspent youth around gunfire and explosions, but low frequency loss from either a virus or a disease that could be chronic, meaning it could get worse. They can diagnose it for sure in the autopsy. It helps me a lot to know that.
In addition to the hearing loss I get to experience a howling or roaring or whistling in the ear at times, and a feeling of pressure. This is exciting, but I would just as soon pass on the experience.
Mercedes isn't doing a recognition program this year. Thus I can't repeat Platinum qualification. A unit that does not respect its troops is doomed to failure. I figure they'll wake up in a couple of years when the average age of Mercedes rep is in the 20s, and all of their complaints are about ignorant, immature sales reps.
My out-of-the-office hobby is Cowboy Action Shooting. Again I won nothing of consequence. In fact, because of the improper contact lens prescription and no time to practice, my shooting went down hill. It's improved from awful to mediocre since the new lenses came. I shoot in a category that requires percussion pistols. That means you pour powder into the cylinder, insert a lead ball, and ram it down,. Then percussion caps are put on, one per chamber. This and dealing with black powder in general means I'm very busy at every event managing the pistols. Most people don't shoot that category because of that. They ask me why I go to all that trouble. After all, it's the most difficult category. Of course, that's the answer. If it was easy, anybody could do it. But I dare anyone trying to manage a pair of percussion pistols and 2 black powder long guns for 6 stages a day to think of anything else while managing them. If the purpose of a hobby is to get your mind off your troubles, this one works magnificently.
Latest Guncart, complicated jointery, folding mechanism, Baltic Birch plywood. Strong, but boring wood
I've also taken up woodworking. I came from a family of cabinetmakers, and I decided early on that I didn't want to do that for a living. It was hot, noisy, and dangerous. Both uncles were missing digits. It helped me stay in college, for sure. But 43 years later I find myself building furniture. It started when I wanted a gun cart that didn't exist. Cowboy Action Shooters shoot 4 guns per stage, a rifle, a shotgun, and two pistols. We wear the pistols, but the guns, ammunition, tools, liquid refreshment, 1880 period correct Digital Nikon, etc. must be carried. Gun carts are built for this. The variety is staggering. I can say building one was frustrating and satisfying, like building anything. It keeps me off the streets.
deck furniture for The Redhead. Nothing complicated about this buckboard chair. Beautiful Red Oak
What's different from my uncle's days? Two words: air conditioning.
I hope 2005 is better for all concerned. We won't have an election causing one side to attack everything America does for 11 months. That's ABC's job. We won't have the Sword of Damoclese hanging over our heads for 11 months leading up to an election.
Mercedes will have several new vehicles we've been anxiously awaiting. First will come the breathtakingly beautiful and unique four-door CLS-Class Coupe (you've got to see it to understand a 4-door coupe). It not only establishes a new vehicle segment, but it establishes the latest design icon from Mercedes-Benz. Expect to see a lot of copies-soon.
The E350 equips the E-Class with more power courtesy of an all new four-valve V-6 engine. Power is up dramatically from the E320, from 221 hp. to an estimated 268.
Extremely timely is the next-generation M-Class, coinciding with the celebration of 100 years of Mercedes-Benz car production in the U.S.
In the fall, the all-new R-Class will help define the "Sports Tourer" segment, characterized by unsurpassed comfort, performance, and versatility.
I hope and wish that your 2005 is far, far better than 2004. I pray for all Americans in harms way. May you avoid the bombs from enemy and "friends", and may you all come home in good shape. It won't be the shape you went to war in. You really can't go home again after a war. Everything is different. It is a natural evolution, though, because forever more you will be members of a very elite club, combat veterans. The world can be divided into combat vets and others. Combat vets can know how others feel, because they were once others themselves. But the others have no concept of what combat is like. They think they do because they saw "Saving Private Ryan." But the difference between watching "Saving Private Ryan" and real combat is like the difference between watching an operation on TV and watching a medic amputate your leg. The best imagination fails. I do pray that the others treat these combat vets better than the Vietnam generation was treated.
Emerald and Arthur. Emerald is 10. Arthur
is 1.
ML Question
I am an avid reader of your monthly emails - thanks for all the information (car-related and otherwise!). Thanks also for sharing the photos of the new M-Class (I currently own a 2000 ML430). Quick question: Will the new M-Class continue to offer the third-row seats as an option? I remember reading somewhere that the third row seats will not be offered in the new M-Class because Mercedes is positioning the totally new G-Class as the three row vehicle for consumers (essentially a stretched M-Class). Please clarify if you can.
Firdaus Bhathena
I'll let you know when they bother to tell me. I suspect you're right. If so, we'll only be absent a 7 seater for a year.
Letter
"Great advice on the "Life Hammer." Twenty years ago on South Polk across the street from the old Houston Trunk Factory's repair facility, a man went underwater in his station wagon with electric doors and windows. He drowned. I would never have anticipated that problem. One of my associates was hit by a truck and he rolled his SUV into the water-filled ditch. Fortunately, his moon roof shattered and he kicked the remainder of it out. He was very active when the water got up to his shoulders!
Ronald G. Bliss
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Phone FAQs
Not sure I will do this, but what would the cost of a phone be for my E320?
Probably $2000 with hands free, and $2500 with hands free and voice activation. You'd have to get a quote from your service advisor.
I have a V600 Cingular GSM phone, will this work or do I need a new phone?
You would put the sim card from that phone into a V600 Cingular GSM phone from us (included in that breathtaking $ amount shown above) that will work with the telematics of the car.
I do not know enough about how the phone works in the vehicle or what this gives me. Do I now have a phone number for my car and a separate contract with Cingular or does it somehow work with my existing number?
Your number would be put into the new phone, and you would have one phone with your Cingular contract.
Do I just set my phone in a cradle when I am in the car?
Yep. Then it works on the speaker/hands free mic system. Cars with steering wheel controls have a "Answer" and "Hang up" button on the steering wheel. The radio/COMAND/MCS will have additional controls. The radio has a telephone keypad, for example, for dialing, accessing voice mail, etc. There will also be "Send" and "end" buttons.
Sorry for all the questions, perhaps you could answer these as FAQs to your mailing list. Thanks. Ron
Thanks. I'll consider the FAQ, but, with the availability problems of phones, I'm not sure I want to encourage them.
For what it's worth, every manufacturer who sells phones is having problems. The technology changes too of
ten.
Greed
The Houston gumment's greed and dishonesty is worthy of Boss Tweed or the Daily machine. They're going to enact a very dangerous ordinance allowing traffic light cameras. They will be set up like other places, with civil fines of $50 levied against the car owner, no insurance penalties, just massive amounts of cash into the city's coffers to be wasted. Some random thoughts on those cameras:
1. Nowhere in the US are they being used correctly. They're just there for money everywhere, and the officials cheat like crazy to make them more productive, usually by shortening the yellow light time. That's already been done here.
2. Yellow lights in Houston are already way quicker than engineering rules call for, maximizing the number of red lights run.
3. Tickets received 3 weeks after an incident will do nothing to stop a dangerous, impaired driver. With a real, live, human cop watching the intersection, the red-light runner can be pulled over and evaluated, and maybe gotten off the road if dangerous. With this you're going to see someone kill a mother and her baby, and it will come out that, a few minutes before, he had run two other lights. (thanks, David Sprecher for mentioning this.)
4. They will tell you that studies show that these things lower the number of accidents in the intersections. The problem is the studies only cover accidents in the intersection, not outside it. Accidents near the intersection always climb when these things are put into place, because people who would have run a light get rear-ended when they try to stop late.
5. If they want to cut down on accidents at intersections, large countdown clocks visible to traffic would do more than invisible cameras that ticket way after the fact. If the countdown clock indicates a low number, more people will stop. (Thanks, David Sprecher)
6. $50 was chosen for a reason. Lawyers want more than $50 to fight such travesties, so it's easier to pay than to fight.
Last Minute Christmas Gifts
Sirius Satellite Radio-2004 or 2005 car? Come here. We'll put it in, and it'll work in your sound system, with controls on the screen just like AM and FM. You can't believe how good satellite radio is until you've lived with it.
Armor
Yes, they're complaining now about the lack of armor in Iraq. They're blaming the SecDef, the President, the Tooth Fairy. Wrong. Those people weren't in office when the Pentagon approved unarmored vehicles for production. These vehicles were built in the '90s. In Vietnam we knew that we needed armored Jeeps, but such things didn't exist. Our basic armored vehicle, the Armored Personnel Carrier, was under-armored. I lost several men one night when a 12.7 mm round went in one side and bounced around. They stopped sleeping in vehicles after that.
Every second lieutenant knew not to pass the forward edge of the battle area in a soft vehicle. If you did that in a company test, you were "killed" by the referees.
But in Iraq, like in Vietnam, the forward edge of the battle area is Pittsburgh. Everything should be armored-in design, not add on. We have the technology. They just saved money ordering unarmored vehicles-at the cost of lives.
Things I learned from my dog
John Moses Browning is 16. He weighs 6-1/2 lb. It's hard to get weight on him. He has a degenerative bone disease, and it causes him to limp. He looks as if he is skipping. He falls over easily and has trouble getting up. When he falls, he scrambles as hard as he can to get up, and then he continues what he was doing. He doesn't look around for sympathy. He doesn't bemoan his problems. He's the same happy-go-lucky dog he always was.
He pushes the edge of the envelope. He's not supposed to climb stairs. We have to stop him when one of us goes up.
He's not afraid of anything. He's had a running feud with a black lab named Maverick for 7 years. I've been keeping them apart. One night I was looking the wrong way, and Maverick got inside the length of Browning's leash. Before I could stop them, the rumble proceeded. Very quickly Maverick was running toward home, tail between his legs.
I have to give him several medications. Most he takes happily, but one or two must taste terrible. I carefully wrap those in cheese, and he gobbles it down. When The Redhead does it, he eats the cheese and spits out the pill. There's an art to the cheese wrapping.
Of course, being a dog, he epitomizes unconditional love. When I get home, no matter how bad the day's been, I can count on him. All of the customers might have snarled at me and cancelled orders. The Redhead might be mad at me. But Browning will be friendly, and if I pick him up, he will curl up in my lap.
So, the lessons are:
Ignore your problems.
Show no fear. It's okay to be afraid, but not to show it. Do what you would do if you weren't afraid.
If you get a bitter pill, wrap some cheese around it.
Offer unconditional love, and make sure your loved ones knows you love them unconditionally.
Thus ends tonight's lessons from a dog.
Diesel Story
A customer went to see her son in a little Oklahoma town. She was driving a new Mercedes-Benz E320CDI. She asked her son which station sold diesel. She wanted to fill before returning. He laughed. "They all do, mom. They have to fill their tractors."
So she went to a near one. She filled the tank and went inside to pay. The lady looked her in pity and said, "Ma'am, did you know you put diesel in that car?"
Every year since we've moved into Castle Rich from Townhouse hell, we've been improving the outdoor Christmas decorations. It got to the point that when I flipped the switch turning them on, lights dimmed for miles, and the electrical meter spun like a top. The trees were wrapped with white lights. The sidewalk had chasers on both sides. The bushes were covered with net lights. The fence had Santa and eight reindeer in living color taking off, all framed in blinking lights. On the roof were animated, flying reindeer, sleigh, and Santa. The lawn had a family of deer, and it grew to two families, 2 bucks, animated, 2 doe, also animated, and 2 fawns jumping about the lawn. Every year a couple of fawns were born, so after a few years, there were lighted wire deer everywhere frolicking and leaving lighted wire poop for us to clean up. The animated flying Santa and reindeer on the roof were getting warnings from the FAA to stay out of flight paths. Whenever it rained anywhere in Texas that circuit would pop, taking out all of the outside lights and half the inside. Last year we got to the point of having so many lights that the fuse popped when I turned the lights on, so I had to separate them into two separate circuits, each with a huge circuit breakers on it.
The Light Company started treating us like whales in Vegas. In January they brought the bill in an armored truck. Their stock went up 20 points every January. A crew came down from Disney and started questioning us on how we managed to do all of that. Of course I ran them off with a shotgun yelling, "get your own lighting people! You'll get my lighting secrets when you pry them from my cold, dead computerized blueprints!"
Putting all of this up began to be a pain. The garage attic was filled with lighted wire deer. An entire closet was filled with well-organized, well-marked large storage boxes of wires, plugs, lights, etc. The Redhead would do the one person low-to-the-ground stuff for about 3 days, and I'd step in to do all of the dangerous aerial stuff, heavy lifting, and positioning of deer.
This year we had had it. Some of the deer were in dire need of lighted wire veterinary services. It was getting expensive, especially with the pay cut. So I invited a lighted wire hunter, put him in the bushes, and got him tags for 12 lighted wire deer, eight reindeer, and one fat guy and told him to keep the sleigh. He was using a lighted wire Remington 700, so the danger to the neighborhood was minimal unless they were lighted wire people. The lighted wire angels at the other end of the block were asked to stay indoors. Unfortunately the hunter saw two lighted wire fawns on the lawn of the lady on the corner and went after them. A lighted wire game warden took him into custody, and I had to bail him out. After 3 days all of the deer, reindeer, and fat guy were gone. Homeland security shot down the sleigh flying above the roof. We didn't bother with about 90,000 of the carefully stored lights and just put out a mere 7,000 or so net lights on the bushes. Then I made 2 Margaritas and asked The Redhead what she wanted to drink.
Merry Christmas
Curt Rich December 2004