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Showing posts from January, 2008

News: New CLC C-Class coupe

Ooops, they did it again... While looking for today's news, I was presented with the second official press-release related to the C-Class Sports Coupe’s successor: the new CLC . The first press release , which went public on January 9th, only revealed the front design of the car: very nice, indeed. Things looked promising, but, on January 21st, the first (leaked) photos of the ’08 facelift SL appeared. And I was, simply, shocked. So, as the Sportcoupe’s back always looked somewhat weird to me, I started to think that, maybe, it wouldn’t be a very nice job, either. I’m afraid my suspects were founded. All I can see is a restyled 1997 Ssangyong Musso, with hints from some old Lexus, or Nissan, or something like that… How is this possible?! What’s wrong with Mr. Peter Pfeiffer? Am I being too conservative? Maybe... But aren’t most Mercedes-Benz clients, as well?

Driven: Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI Elegance ('04 facelift)

Hello once again! The car I will be talking about in the next lines is the ’04 facelift, W203 Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI, with Elegance trim. It was bought in August 2004, and I was the second person driving it. As another Mercedes-Benz was traded (a 1998 C 220 CDI, also in Elegance trim), I remember, back then, to think “ This is soooooo much better! It’s as easy to handle as my Rover!!! ” Really, as I was the last person to drive the old Mercedes, the difference was very obvious. Today, the very same car seems to have changed. No, the car is the same, apart being three years old and with almost 90k kilometres (56k miles) on the clock. As I have driven many sportier cars after that first drive, now, the first thing I notice, is the steering’s complete absence of feel. None at all, you have no idea of what’s going on with the front wheels. The brakes are also indirect, somehow, they do not transmit much confidence to me, and the gearbox is very easy to handle, has nice gearing ratios, but...
Hello everybody! Today's post is dedicated not only to every car fan, but above all, to Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts in particular. For those who like photography, and actually collect them, as it is my case. So, here I leave some nice webpages, where you can find many, many nice pictures. Enjoy! http://www.emercedesbenz.com - a very nice blog, with all relevant press releases from Daimler AG, photos and links to interesting articles over the internet, like new car reviews. http://www.mb-w140.de - the best website for 1991-1998 S-Class fans, with all specs and lots of pictures. http://www.500sec.com - perhaps, the biggest online Mercedes-Benz photo collection available. http://www.fan-gallerie.de - website with lots of Mercedes-Benz pictures, test-drives and other relevant information. http://www.seriouswheels.com - some of the best pictures available over the internet. A must-visit for photo-seekers. http://www.rsportscars.com - more of the same, but most models are current pro...

Driven: Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Trendline Pack ('05 Facelift)

Hello everybody! Today i'm posting the review of a car I drove back in May 2006: a Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Trendline Pack '05 Facelift. It is a rented car, first registered in September 2005, painted in brilliant silver. I find it good looking, every panel is painted silver (except the lower ones, which are black), the wheel covers are simple (no light-alloys here...) and it's interior, even if not innovative, looks simple and well built. But - and here start the (bad) surprises - it's cheap plastics everywhere! Not a convincing, rubber-feeling single bit, no. Only hard plastics. I know the previous generation Polo had different interior materials depending on it's equipment level, what meant that, the more expensive trim level, the better the plastics. Later, I discovered that even the top-of-the-range GTI has the same hard plastics : Bad politics, VW! That is not the way to go, and I know that the Golf V and Passat '04 are more of the same, which means that the Go...

My car: Rover 214Si

Greetings everyone! As I am 25 Years old and have this passion, you would guess, correctly, I have a driving licence. I do. Back in 2002, this dream became true, and I found myself in an all-new level: the steering wheel was mine! So, what was I going to drive? Here at home, there were only two cars: a 1997 Rover 214 Si, and a 2000 Diesel Mitsubishi L200 4x4. The rover was the obvious choice. Right? Not so fast... OK, it has a nice engine, with a power-to-wheight ratio of about 11 kg/hp (with hp I mean "german" ps , not english bhp - although similar, it's not exacly the same). And small. And practical. And good-looking. I'll be back to this later. Trouble was to manage the clutch, specially when stopping while going uphill. As a new driver, that was quite a (big) challenge. So, the pick-up was the choice for most of the times. Despite it's gigantic dimensions (the square back simplifies a bit...), it's as easy to handle as a vacuum cleaner (as Jeremy Clarks...

First message

Greetings everyone! Here I am, writing my first message. First of all, let me apologise for my not-so -perfect english (you might call it rubbish sometimes...). The intention is the best, I guarantee you. With this blog, I intend to do many thing: first of all, post links for all the news I think are relevant; of course, post links for new photos I find in the Internet (mainly Mercedes-Benz, my biggest passion...); and, last but not least, share reviews of some cars: not necessarily new ones, just the ones I get to drive. Keep in-gear!