35 MPG Bluetec S-Class in the works

A 204hp S-Class? Where's the prestige in that?

204 hp is plenty. Remember diesels have huge torque figures so is will feel like alot more. By the way the first Mercedes S320 CDI had 197 hp and it still performed very well.

And another thing, horsepower doens't relate to prestige. It's the passion and the soul of a car that do!

Will sell like hotcake. :)

Will, an engine doesn't give prestige mate...the name of the company and history do. I'm sure it will sell well.

Exactly.

Although few Americans seem to understand that....

So the whole LS600hL vs. the S600 debate we were having all boils down to Lexus vs. Mercedes and Mercedes wins on their name?

I think I'm finally starting to understand!

Absolutely stunning engineering here! Still it feels a bit strange of having only 2.2 litres of displacement in a car that costs that much.. but then again 204 hp is pretty solid. In fact it is exactly as much as the upcoming BMW straight-4 2.0 litre dual stage turbodiesel engine. Called the x23d.

There is this other car Mercedes-Benz should put into production:

SLK 320 CDI Tri-Turbo.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2005-Mercedes-Benz-SLK-320-CDI.htm

I know it's from 2005 but it has some amazing engineering and performance!

You just gotta love it!

They are obviously making a political statement in response to agitated greenies. I would like to see that 2.2 litre diesel in North America in a non-hybrid C-Class.

Very cool.....combine the torque of a small diesel and the torque of an electric motor. This thing will still move! Very cool Mercedes, very cool.

Yeah they do, because the huge majority of sales of S class type cars are for limousines to hotels, banks, and yes, rich people. And they still want to save fuel and get good resale.
Why spend more for something you'll never want?

In fact, my wife finds the S550 particularly beautiful, and would love to have an S550 4Matic. However, she just can't (in good conscience) get a car that averages 15mpg, when she's getting a dismal 15.8mpg out of the RX330 already.

What is her driving style? The CL500 I (test)drove with the exact same engine averages about 13.5 liters (and I drive VERY VERY fast, probably alot faster than anyone here).

Will they attempt to certify this for CA emissions, then when it cant meet even basic emission standards, pull it like the other MBZ Bluetecs? Or have they finally found a way to finally deliver on the Bluetec promise? If they have, I guess it is by combining Bluetec technology with hybrids. But hybrids are an overpriced, hyped up fad for smug ecoweenies, arent they?

Here we sit literally only WEEKS after the lot of you hooped and hollered, making cases AGAINST the LS600h that nobody buying any of these luxo-barges cares about fuel-economy!

Mercedes comes out of the woodwork with a 204hp hybrid and all of the sudden people care?

*fuming*

Don't even try to reply with the weak responses "the LS600h vs. S600 is a different story" and blah, blah. You all said that all S-CLASS buyers don't care about fuel economy or how much they emit.

Exactly what all us "stupid Lexus fanboys" say has come true in this one shining example. Toyota/Lexus achievements are brushed off and shunned until the Germans catch up and copy (but the market is "forcing" them to do a hybrid, right? Who's holding a gun to their head?).

No, we said nobody who buys an S600 type car (ie for performance) cares about fuel mileage.
Buy it for a limo completely different question.

Why would you compare a tiny little diesel-engined S-Class with an S600? No, S600 buyers certainly do not care about fuel economy. THESE S-Class buyers do.

See what I mean? Now the circumstances change with phrases like "THESE S-Class buyers..."

I am comparing the two because they're both ummm...

...S-Classes.

You all told me that people who buy ANY model S-Class does not care about fuel economy. You all told me that the S-Class is the premiere luxury saloon that rich people buy to be exclusive. There will be nothing "rich" or "exclusive" about a 204hp S-Class.

You Euros can harp all day about American tastes, but there ARE reasons why Mercedes decides NOT to ship their lower-ended models over here. Why doesn't North America get the CLS350? The SL350? Because they know that more people would be able to afford them, and that would make their North American image "less prestigious."

I'll stop ranting 'cause this version of the S-Class most likely will not see North American shores anywaym for those two reasons: it still will have a hard time getting through emissions standards (even with the "mild" hybrid motor attached) and it's a "lower-ended" version of a high-end car (which again, never see North American shores).

the Ls600h kills this stupid 4 banger S-class, 204hp, hahahahahahhahahahaha.

hehe but the 204hp can still kill a trd toyota. :( even my IS

The LS600h in turn is KILLED by the LS460. HAHA

MORON