Impression: IM VERGLEICH

IN COMPARISON, that’s what the title means in English, it comes from Mercedes brochures from the 80s. Since then, Mercedes has been producing these brochures comparing their cars to competitors and distributing them to sales departments. For this school, two of them are meaningful, one is the S-Klasse vs. Audi A8, and the other is the S-Klasse vs. BMW 7er.

Why is such a booklet needed? Officially, to help salespeople better understand their competitors. Unofficially, to convince your own employees first. So why 1994? Before the two booklets introduced in this article appeared, the 140 had not received its honor. I suggest going back to 1994 to put myself in its shoes. For those who enjoy gloating, 1993 was a tragic year for Daimler AG, with a historically loss of 1.08 billion USD in Deutsche Marks. Anyway, on the positive side, everyone was sad, 1993 was the worst year for European car sales in decades.

The S-Klasse has more to worry about. For the past few years, the S-Klasse has looked past the aging BMW and any Japanese followers, but now there is stiff competition from Germany. The existing rival, the BMW 7er, is about to receive a complete update, plus a brand new one: the Audi A8. The S-Klasse thought it had brought the paradigm of the 21st century automobile in 1991, but BMW, long-time critic of the 140, is now sticking to its guns and telling everyone that Mercedes was wrong. VW is ambitiously entering a class they have never touched before, and bringing some cutting-edge technology that has never been seen in this class. And our beloved S-Klasse, which was facelifted early in 1994, was considered a sign of panic by observant people. It’s time to compare the midlife crisis S-Klasse with these newborns!

Apparently, the German competition for the S-Klasse comes not only from Bavaria, but also from Stuttgart. Some executives in Daimler are arguing about the 140. Well, now it’s not even that controversial… the new S-Klasse will go into another future. But the 140 still has 4 years in showrooms, and the sales department has to get its act together. Has the company been all wrong in the past? Are people forcing answers that have already failed? Are they just passively waiting for 4 years to pass? These brochures are going to dispel any suspicion.

As an outsider, I suggest looking at these from multiple dimensions. First, the booklets score different designs, it has its own evaluation system. This is of course subjective, both technically and aesthetically. Even if something completely wrong in the eyes of most people, there will be a few people crazy about it. But since Mercedes bravely produced these materials, the answer to who is better may not be suspense from the beginning. Therefore, it is not necessary to be convinced of all the opinions in these evaluations. Secondly, the booklets do provide plenty of exclusive information. The creators carefully compared the competitors, giving readers the opportunity to understand many details that the sloppy auto journalists have never noticed, these comparisons are valuable. I have come into contact with the E38 and D2 that appear here, but there are many atomic differences that I have overlooked. Finally, photos are objective, and evaluations are subjective. After reading all the content, you can put yourself in the shoes of Mercedes and experience their views. It is more interesting to feel the state of Mercedes at that time from the perspective and the attitude of the description than the competitors themselves.

The malice begins in the catalog, just one part of it:
About aluminum: The brittle material that Audi dreams are made of. Pages 6-7
How to hide a 2 billion investment under an old car. Page 6-7
The BMW likes to show what it has, the S-Klasse what it can do. Because the human sits while driving. Page 8-11
About quality and details of the exterior: At first glance, the A8 has no rough edges, but you come across them where they hurt the most. Pages 20-21

The two booklets were issued in December 1994 and January 1995 respectively, BMW was earlier, but almost at the same time. Mercedes chose the S 420 (140.042), 740i and A8 4.2, which is also the lineup most used by German auto journalists. It’s just that Mercedes is a little late. Why is it the V8 range? Because at the beginning, the E38 only offers V8 and V12, even the entry-level 730i is V8. The A8 offers 2.8 V6 and 4.2 V8 model. The 4 liter V8 range is the only common power option, Therefore, facing these two challengers, Mercedes sent out the standard-wheelbase S 420 to fight for fairness. Fairness is more reflected in displacement rather than budget, because the 8-cylinder 7er is only priced at the same as the 6-cylinder S-Klasse.

We love the 140, but I have to be fair, especially since I hate calling a deer a horse. The Mercedes knight S-LV 3205, isn’t a S 420, but a S 500 (A178813). Of course in the following photos you can clearly see the S 420 nameplate on the trunk lid, in the wrong position. Theoretically, the S 500’s exterior and interior could replace the S 420, if they option the same spec. Hopefully this car has not been used extensively for driving tests, the 5.0-liter M119 is very unfair to both competitors. If you’re familiar with the FIN serial numbers, this was a prototype long before the facelift range, completed in February 1994. It’s built for facelift press events. The most well-known event was naturally this comparison with the competitors. But the car also had other uses, such as filming the promotional video.

In the following pictures, the left trunk lid still has the S 500, the right has been replaced by the S 420 and is positioned too low.

It was painted in 485 rose wood, which was one of the theme colors of the facelift, although it was not very popular in the market. Compared with the two dull black competitors, the S-Klasse is more elegant in this color. The interior is 265 beige leather, which is also the warmest of the three cars and more conducive to photography. For unknown reasons, a considerable amount of these brochures is not in color. Perhaps it is cost considerations, and any cost reduction after 1993 is not surprising. But I must say that these black and white photos make it very difficult to compare the cars. If they were willing to spend more money, perhaps people would be more convinced that the S-Klasse is the better car.

The covers of the two brochures seem to show three competitors instead of two, with two A8s and a 7er. They all have Stuttgart license plates, with the number block S-LY in line with Mercedes cars of the same period, registered at the end of 1994. The license plates show that these competitors are also the property of Mercedes, BMW’s license plate frames also have the mark of a Stuttgart dealer, where the cars were obtained locally. A8 is from a dealer in Fellbach.

Both brochures have 31 pages and have an almost identical structure, so it is better to read them together for comparison. Mercedes could have just put the three cars together, but they kindly avoided the potential disputes between competitors.

The brochure starts with an introduction to the competitors, from the definition of the products to the company’s strategy, this part is completely quoted. I am sure Mercedes also sent employees to the queues for the BMW and Audi press kits. People are praising the new 7er for what it is doing? Mercedes is forcing themselves to smile now, they are still a bit behind us! BMW can indeed compete with Mercedes in Germany, the W 126 even sold less than the 7er in its last days, so there is nothing new.

But they can publicly execute A8 and its predecessor generously. “The Audi A8 will probably have little impact on the general success of the S-Klasse. As much as we have read about it, we have seen very little of it to date. Only 30 examples leave the Ingolstadt production halls every day. This means that the Ingolstadt-based company does not even manage to make it into the registration statistics with the A8.”

For the evaluation of competitors, Mercedes’ usual methodology is to quote auto journalists. This is not even the first time for the 140. Among the 1992 model year materials prepared by MBNA for the North American market, there was a “critical analysis” where a lot of American journalists are used to satirize and criticize competitors. Some are serious, some are just jokes, but when Mercedes quotes them, it’s as serious as the Bible. Even the reviews that are full of praise for the competitors are not without some criticisms, and when all these negatives are collected together, the competitors are nothing. However, Mercedes is not responsible for these attacks, they just forwarded what others said. To put it bluntly, they killed with a borrowed knife.

“7 Series phenomenon” aptly: in a general regret that the new 7 Series is so “modest”. “The new 7 Series is objective…” but offers hardly any optical “buy-me” appeal compared to its predecessor,” is how ADAC motorwelt (8/94) succinctly put it.
“Mercedes has to be jealous: the S-Klasse was widely criticized for its king-size format and its excess weight, but as a first-class means of transport it set standards. This is how customers see it so far. In the luxury class, after initial hesitation, they are buying what they have always bought: mainly Mercedes.” ams (15/94).

The 140 haters love to laugh at its exterior design, but the authors of this booklet have the ability to turn black and white. For the E38, they accuse BMW of a lack of originality and that it is not a car from 1994. And there are some rather sharp comments mocking BMW’s inappropriate design: the rear end is too fat. You must know that the E38 is much slimmer than the 140, but now they have found a good reason to belittle it: the front of the E38 is too thin, while the 140 is equally fat from front to back.

The A8 has no real predecessor, so the ridicule of the Audi focuses on its body materials. Aluminum bodies are disparaged for all their merits: fragile in mass production, more production pollution, difficult to repair. Frankly speaking, this booklet is very unfriendly to the A8, because Audi was not that hostile to Mercedes, it is still a baby. However, Audi did have TÜV witness the crash test of the D2 and 140, D2 had the advantage. Mercedes is concerned about Audi’s slow production and sales, even though it’s hardly bad news for Mercedes. Mercedes must have more information about the current status of its competitors’ product development and marketing, and this brochure only reveals a lot that is already known.

As I said, design is subjective. However, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish whether certain differences are technical or design. For example, the rearview mirror, it is a part that is easily overlooked. When they are put together, the S-Klasse looks like it has less wind resistance, better vision, more integrated feel. But as an S-Klasse school, we will of course have a preconceived idea, maybe Bimmer thinks their design is better, maybe that is a fact.

Door handles are another example. The Bavarian manufacturers are always on the same side.

Look at the rear door, both the A8 and 740i have a clear corner at the rear end, hopefully it won’t have a chance to hurt anyone. The scope of casualties may not be limited to the clothes of the rear passengers. The S-Klasse’s door is quite smooth, not only there is no seam between the window and the door, but the rear of the door itself is also curved. Why is this solution not universal? This may be technical, and the later 7er improved the design. But you can’t ask all cars to be like Mercedes, otherwise they would become Mercedes.

Who has the better trunk connection mechanism? Here, the 7er and A8 are on same side again, they both have hydraulic rods. The S-Klasse has springs hidden in the trunk lining. I remember some journalists praised the hydraulic rods, which they thought cost more. What do I think? To be honest, you can get such things even on the cheapest Volkswagen, and the exposed hydraulic rods are not pretty at all. I certainly prefer the 140’s invisible connecting rods, and adjustable springs, which can even stop the hood at multiple angles. In particular, it never breaks.

A rare color photo comparing the center consoles of the S-Klasse and A8. What is there in this photo that is unique to the S 500 and not the S 420? Nothing, so please believe that this could also be an S 420. In the words of this brochure, the A8 is an S-Klasse copycat, such as the center console. But they have screwed up almost every change. Including but not limited to some buttons being too small, not enough information, buttons being too similar to each other. The A8’s buttons are indeed a bit lousy in my opinion, but at least its chrome shift gate looks better. Also, the 140’s radio and AC buttons are not so friendly to newcomers.

The charge against the 7er is that it has too many buttons. “This is a method at BMW: Typical BMW drivers want to be constantly busy. It is not without reason that 90% of all BMW drivers say that they prefer to drive themselves. The joy of driving that BMW proclaims also includes the joy of controlling, switching and managing.” I would rather comment on the 140 instrument cluster picture, which is clearly not from A178813 but a Japanese car. Its fuel consumption is shown in km/l instead of l/100km. You can tell it’s a Japanese-market V12 by that ADS fault light.

Even though they photographed the 5.0-liter engine twice in two booklets, it’s still described as an S 420. If the photo has enough resolutions, you can see the FIN nameplate over the radiator. In terms of power, the S 420 has no advantage over the A8 4.2 and 740i, the latter two have more power. Outside the engine compartment, the 140 is also much heavier. This combines to make the S 420 have the highest MSRP and the worst acceleration. The text cunningly skips all of the above and focuses on discussing the engines of other models, such as BMW does not even have a 6-cylinder engine. Everyone knows it’s only a matter of time. They will also discuss that the A8’s 2.8-liter engine is outdated, or that only quattro is available.

As for the suspension, the rear axle of the BMW 7er seems to be unable to even cite any criticism from journalists, and Mercedes must admit that it is excellent. Although they will add a sentence at the end: This has not yet reached the height of the S-Klasse, maybe the next generation 7er can catch up. The front axle is also on par, and in this chapter the 140 does not gain an absolute advantage over the E38. The A8 was bombed again, it was emphasized that it was based on front-wheel drive, quattro did not help, and the suspension had serious flaws. Poor A8. I once sat in the back seat of an A8 2.8 and it was much more comfortable than these texts.

Compared to the fine leather of the 140 facelift, the leather of the E38 is called jeans. This is a fair evaluation. For unknown reasons, the A8 did not participate in the interior comparison too much. Just one more look at the 140’s unrivalled trunk retractable handle, what a handy feature, every car needs it. There are two details worth mentioning in this photo. First the handle is black, which means it is a MY1994 part, one of the costs cut in 1993. On the facelift this handle has been corrected to chrome, the reason it is still black is because this is a prototype car and still has many MY1994 parts. The second detail is that the S 420 nameplate looks photoshopped, it has a very exaggerated distortion.

All pictures were taken indoors at the same angle, and I would assume that the practical blue background is still from Staud Studio. As I said, photos are always more objective than words, which is true when the photos are original, but there seems to be an exception on Audi. In a huge photo of the A8 that takes up two pages, it has entry rinms. These rims are lower in resolution than the rest of the car, and the angle even shade is not so accurate. Is it some kind of image processing patchwork?

There are also two A8 rims on the cover, but it seems that there is only S-LY 1575 being reviewed. Even in the photo of spare wheels, the A8 has less spoke alloy rim. Mercedes is not lying here to belittle its rivals, the A8 does have such rims. It is more likely that Mercedes only acquired the A8 with better rims, but they did not want to be so generous and prepared extra entry wheels to photoshop it to the cheap feeling.

There is also a questionable photo of the A8 in the end of the booklet, again with cheap rims. The photo looks like it’s in motion, but there’s no driver and there’s no sign of the tires spinning. Even the front and rear rims are oriented the same, they’re the same patch, another fabricated photo used to disparage the A8. I found the original photo, which has a different background, a driving driver, and of course completely different wheels. It looks like they were forced to replace the moving background and remove the driver due to the lack of a patch of the spinning wheels. Mercedes’ sales department is doing everything they can to disparage the A8, but they don’t have to worry.

There are also some concerns about the 7er’s huge post-maintenance expenses and high depreciation rate, so the 7er is not cheaper than the S-Klasse. Finally, the introduction of the “volunteer drivers” who participated in these tests, they are not editors from the well-known auto magazines, but mostly Mercedes-Benz employees. Of course, they only said nice things about the S-Klasse and lamented about the competitors, or only those were posted. All in all, the S-Klasse is overwhelmingly new to the A8 and 7er.

I want to post the results of a couple of the popular car magazines for the same lineup, they also scored each car and ranked them at the end.

There is an interesting phenomenon in the AUTOCAR test, again the S-LV 3121 being tested is actually an S 500 rather than S 420. Considering the vehicles were actually driven, Mercedes may have cheated. The careless journalists would not notice it unless they noticed that there were two unusual digits in FIN. The test also recorded impressive acceleration for the S 420, despite it being over 300 kg heavier than the A8, and the 740i being even slower. However, factory specifications show both the A8 and 7er to be significantly quicker than the S 420. AUTOCAR seems to be very kind to the S-Klasse. In the five test items, the S 420 got 4 full marks, which is its best performance.

Different media have completely different positions, and the S-Klasse is not overwhelming. The main negative factor was the price, which was almost impossible to change since 1991. Then there was power, the S 420 was the heaviest but had the least horsepower. The latecomer was more than 3 years later and always had more advantages in technology. Auto journalists also always push the newly launched cars to the top, so it is reasonable that the S-Klasse doesn’t became the most wise choice in the magazines. These two booklets are also the response to these test results. They are indeed more informative than short reviews, but they are also biased.

In any case, the market is honest, more people chose the S-Klasse later, even 30 years later. Maybe these booklets worked, maybe Mercedes’s concerns were unnecessary, they should not never be bothered.