[W126 Coupe] 300SE meets Sucky Utility Vehicle (SUV)

[Dick Spellman]

Richard:

One other most important set of facts that I know you are all to aware 
of while driving your pristine 380SE.  SUV's sport:
higher bumpers causing a lot more damage where they clear sedan bumpers 
that were initially designed to meet bumpers of equal height;
higher headlamps causing very difficult oncoming driving conditions when 
they are mis-aligned and/or dirty or sport after-market lighting;
a wall of metal in the rear coupled with greater tire exposure from 
increased chassis height causing more windshield stone damage and more 
wrecks due to restricted fields of view from sedan driver's at the rear.

Just my 2 and not likely anything anyone will say will ever change my 
mind.  And I'll add one more wild thought.  The more traffic controls on 
the roadway the more accidents.  I attribute this last notion to my 
driving experience where I have had the majority of accidents including 
today while stopped at a red light or stop sign.  Total lifetime 
incidents: 10.  2 in my youthful stupidity ages17 & 18, and 8 EIGHT at 
controlled traffic points where my vehicle was stopped, planted not 
moving.  The snow plow in 2006 was bad but, the guy who thought he was 
Steve McQueen in the movie Bullet while I was visiting San Francisco in 
99 takes the cake where he totaled my rental at $23k in damages.  The 
only benefit to that event was not having to hassle with the rental 
return at SFO which has to be the worst set-up in the country.

Dick

Shayegan, Richard wrote:

> Two things. Small cars can be made fairly safe actually. Look at the

> test MB did where they ran a S-Class into a Smart. Smart did quite well.

>

> Second, come move to North Carolina where people, even those in SUVs,

> actually care about driving. 

>

>   

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com 

>> [mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Dick Spellman

>> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 7:00 PM

>> To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists

>> Subject: [W126 Coupe] 300SE meets Sucky Utility Vehicle (SUV)

>>

>> Well for those of you that do not know me, I have a 

>> particular rant that simply stated suggests that this 

>> government and US automakers conspired to permit the sale of 

>> SUV's at a time when they realized they could no longer 

>> compete with a sedan or other family vehicle made in Japan.  

>> It started with the Dodge/Plymouth Caravan which was in my 

>> opinion a reasonable compromise and natural evolution of the 

>> family station wagon.  The caravan even made a reasonable 

>> utility vehicle once absent the rear seats.  Gas mileage, 

>> visibility and safety were good as well.

>>

>> But, today we have nothing but gas guzzling SUV's on the 

>> roadways where the drivers are forever thinking they are 

>> invincible and do more stupid SUV tricks than any other 

>> motorists on the road.  100's in accidents from a single snow 

>> event mostly SUV's (snow rare this winter in Btown).

>>

>> Now for today's case in point.  Today while stopped at a RED 

>> light (a long wait I might add) in the left turn lane to 

>> enter a MASS highway the SUV operator in front of me decides 

>> he needs to move to the lanes to my right for local traffic 

>> and not the highway.  Without so much as a glance in his 

>> OBSTRUCTED rear view mirror, he throws the sucky utility 

>> vehicle in reverse and slams into the front of my 300SE Euro sedan.

>>

>> I was polite enough given the adrenalin rush from the stupid 

>> event (that's why they call them accidents I suppose) but, 

>> had he been driving a sedan or other similar passenger 

>> vehicle his glance in the rear view ( I won't bother to 

>> comment on not checking his side view mirrors) would have 

>> given him the visual clue that a line of cars was in fact behind him!

>>

>> Anyway, rental car tomorrow for the rest of my weeks 

>> business, then the insurance hassle etc.  Just another day in 

>> Boston where driving is always an experience.

>>

>> By the way, last winter it was a city plow truck that drove 

>> into the trunk of my other MB sedan at yet another red light 

>> where traffic was clearly stopped.  There's no escaping the madness!

>>

>> Dick

>> rant off and a glass of merlot in hand.  By the way I don't 

>> care if you own an SUV, it's all a part of the conspiracy and 

>> marketing hype that says everyone's gotta have one, not much 

>> you can do about it.  If I had been in a lean, efficient 

>> SMART Brabus car it would have been trashed by the SUV and I 

>> might not be writing this piece at all!  So, no way I'm 

>> getting a smaller car where the roads are nothing but SUV's.

>>

>> The MB Coupes Website!

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>> Postings remain property of MB Coupes, L.L.C.

>>

>>     

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>

>