All Entries Tagged With: "performance"
Engineered to Popular Perception
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Daimler, AG + Infiniti USA
PERCEPTION is a funny thing.
Add a “hybrid” tag to the back of a Cadillac Escalade and what was once a gluttenous, bruttish SUV from the supersize era is transformed into a green, eco-minded angel.
Hey, there are such things as gentle giants!
Same was true in the 1980s for any car that donned the magic “Turbo” moniker. Saab exploited this turbo=fast craze like it was it’s job (which, of course, it was).
And what about performance metrics? Of course the benchmarks have heightened with time and technological progress, but what might we perceive as quick today?
Consider, if you will, the 1970s Mercedes-Benz 280E W123 gen. Bristling with the righteous – ahem – power of 137 hp and 142 lb-ft of torque, the three box Benz weighed in at a then-considerable 3,565 lbs.
Now, if I were to explain that the gas version of the world’s taxi musters 60 mph in 11.4 seconds – you’d yawn and suggest that the driver could get out and sprint faster.
However, if I told you that the same seemingly lazy sedan finds 50 mph in 8.5 seconds, suddenly we can approach the old Benz with a new found respect. Not so lazy, after all. “Decent” you might offer.
Zero to 60 is our current benchmark. Back in the 70s, 55 mph was the US speed limit (as it remains on many highways, grumble, grumble). It meant more for Mercedes to engineer a car that performed well to 50 than it did to 60 due to perception.
Fast forward to today.
The Infiniti G37S posts a respectably quick naught to 60 time of 5.4 seconds. That’s thanks to a 328 hp V6 performing heroically despite a stout curb weight of 3,770 lbs.
Acceleration time is pretty linear to 60, too.
0-30 2.0 seconds
0-40 3.0 seconds
0-50 4.1 seconds
But after?
0-70 7.1 seconds
0-80 9.1 seconds
0-90 11.3 seconds
It seems our entry-level luxury “performance” sedan runs out of some steam at a faster rate on the way to 100 mph.
And herein lies the point. It’s engineering and marketing to perception.
If the benchmark was 0-70 in 5 seconds, Nissan’s boffins would’ve made it happen and cared less for the time it took to find 80 mph.
So, too, for the perceptions of eco-friendliness.
A diesel Mercedes E-Class that gets 650 miles to a tank is perceived far less clean (in these United States and California) than a Lexus RX Hybrid that might manage the average 400 on a tank.
So when it comes to the automobile – perception, truly is a funny thing.
Cadillac XLR-V at Lime Rock
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG by Larry Henrikson for Automobiles De Luxe
TRACK time at Lime Rock is a precious commodity.
Like oil, it was once free-flowing and easy to come by. But when a heightened awareness met an increased demand, the track has begun to command a value in minutes like traders price out gold in ounces.
So, when we initially told colleagues that we were going to test out a new Cadillac on Northwestern Connecticut’s premier race course (the Constitution State only has two), the typical reaction was “huh?”
Cadillac isn’t known for building performance cars. Why should we waste time on something other than the usual German / Italian / British suspects?
The answer to that question is in the next segment. It’s match up between BMW’s E39 M5, E60 550i and Cadillac’s XLR-V.
In the meantime, here’s some pictures of King Caddy taken (on film of all means) by our man Larry Henrikson.
Completing The 560 Range: Benz’s Magnificent 560SEC
By Christopher P. Davis
IN a perfect world, the elves from the Black Forest pictured a three-car garage.
In it sat a 560SEL – which would propel you to your daily slayings in the corporate world – to the right, a 560SL – for open-top boulevard cruising and of course the occasional weekend picnic – and, finally, the 560SEC.
Sporty yet refined. Classic yet modern. Sadly, one of Benz’s best is now just some forgotten coupe. Perfect for a night at the opera, and maybe a Friday car, like the current CL-Class, the SEC was an expensive, low volume choice. So much so, the “E” is SEC should have stood for “exclusive.”
Arriving in an S-Class coupe, you made a statement, frankly, that money was no object and that practicality was for “the little people.” Sure, for a little less money (the coupe’s MSRP was north of $70,000) you could have a 560SEL and two more doors, but who bothered to count? You had accountants for that.
Confronted by a 560SEC, there’s little room to doubt that it is a true Mercedes-Benz. The Tri-Star logo, representing land, air, and sea is prominently featured, much in the way it currently is on the CL and on the new C-Class Sport.
The star has an angular front, which through former Benz Design Chief Bruno Sacco’s genius avoids being overtly “sporty” or ostentatious. Simply told, it’s the embodiment of the balanced design ethic that was part of every model Mercedes produced in the 80s.
On the headlamps rest diminutive wiper blades, a feature that I always thought to be rather cool and somewhat practical, but overall, just plain cool. On top of the hood where a star ornament would usually stand, is a larger blue-white star and laurel roundel that’s featured on nearly every Mercedes two-door.
From the side, your eye sweeps across the car, as the design is completely fluid, there is no rough spot, just one beautiful automobile. The 560 SEC is a pillarless coupe, a fact that greatly enhances that sweep.
In a December 2006 edition of British Mercedes-Benz magazine Mercedes Enthusiast, Bruno Sacco was reported to have recently acquired, as the writer put it, “(A) low mileage 560SEC in Anthracite with black leather and burr walnut. ‘It is now almost perfect,’ he murmured, eyes twinkling.”
From the rear, the 560SEC is very similar to any other W126. The only difference between the rear of sedan is that the coupe sports a slightly larger rear windscreen.
On the interior, a 560SEC has all the sharp fit and finish of its four door sibling.
One novel feature is a seat belt presenter – a think black plastic arm that extends the belt out for you from a chrome ringed cavity beneath the rear window sill. Although novel in the 80s, it’s a feature that time has shown to be just a tad temperamental.
Between the back seats of the SEC was a beautiful burled wood retractable console. Similar to that found on current CL-Class models, although on the 560SEC it is much larger; the amount of burled wood is stunning!
The 560SEC is a big car by any measure. It weighs in at over 3960 pounds and covers just over 199.2 inches of asphalt stem to stern.
In today’s world of Prius’ (or is it Prii?) the 560SEC is a throwback to a bygone era – the decadence of the 80’s.
Supreme excess.
Owning one today is as much a statement as it was then. It denotes success, style, intelligence, and class. It’s a designer tank, engineered unlike any other car in the world and styled to please even the most fashion conscious.
“Luxury cars” abound, but 560SECs do not – with only 28,929 of these beauties made. What’s more, a well cared-for example will mechanically stand the test of time at least as well as its classic good looks.
The 560SEC is the perfect coupe to complete anyone’s garage.
[Images: 1986 Brochure by Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.]
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*Note* An avid reader since early 2007, Mr. Davis is a new contributor to Automobiles De Luxe.
