(first posted 11/16/2015) There was a time, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, that Mercedes-Benz was producing some of the best cars the world had ever seen, meticulously engineered and crafted to the highest degree. During this time, the German automaker earned the flattering reputation for “over-engineering” its cars, a by-product of its perfectionist no expense and effort spared approach. But the mid-1990s through mid-2000s saw a noticeable lapse in this reputation, with visible cost-cutting and subsequently, diminished quality and reliability. While several factors contributed to this, this change in ways was largely the consequence of Mercedes’ most ambitious new car yet, the W140 series S-Class (1991-1999).
Introduced in 1991 as a 1992 model, the W140 S-Class was by all means an engineering and technological marvel. Yet in many lights, the W140 is also seen as a car of over-excess and the point when Mercedes-Benz “jumped the shark”. A car deemed too large, too expensive, and too inefficient, the W140’s development ran considerably over time and budget, and resulting sales were far lower than Mercedes-Benz’s targets. Following the W140’s grueling development, it became clear that Mercedes could no longer afford to carry out operations in this way, and the bean counters made sure of this.
(Early design sketches and prototypes show the evolution of the W140’s design)
Moreover, for all its astronomical development costs and considerable development time (beginning in 1981), the W140 was not as reliable as its predecessor. W140’s were laden with a far greater number of finicky electronic and technology features, some of which were not perfected as they were rushed into production at the eleventh hour, resulting in their proneness to premature failure. Another adverse effect of Mercedes’ most expensive ever new car development program, was that this great expense was passed on to the consumer. Retail prices for the new S-Class were increased by some 25 percent over their W126 predecessors in order to make up for this outpour of resources. Price sensitivity to this was even prevalent among the typically upper echelon buyers of the S-Class, and sales in markets such as the U.S. were resultantly lower. There were even reports of Mercedes dealers offering discounts on S-Class models, something previously unheard of.
(A 1992 400SE for sale I also photographed)
Intentionally designed to look vast and imposing, styling of this new S-Class only exaggerated the car’s excess, which proved a major detriment to its acceptance in European markets. Looking like an upsized W124 in many ways, the W140’s design broke little new ground. Styling certainly did have its strong points, mainly in the front, where an aerodynamic fascia was highlighted by large wraparound headlights and an untraditional recessed grille, originally intended only for V12 models, but ultimately implemented across the board very late into development.
While the W140 was certainly impressive looking, its overall blockiness didn’t emit the same kind of grace and elegance of its immediate predecessor (W126) or successor (W220). More so, from some angles its slab-sided styling gave it a somewhat clumsy and awkwardly tall appearance. Even its lead designer, Bruno Sacco, stated in a 2009 interview that he was unhappy with design, feeling it was 4 inches too tall. This look was particularly true from the rear and side views, where smallish wheels and tall side glass tended to give the car a top-heavy stance.
The W140 was by all means a big car, and it certainly looked it. As late as 1987, height and width were further increased for more interior volume. In the end, over its W126 predecessor, width was up three inches, height two inches, and depending on model, length was up by approximately four inches. More alarmingly was that the W140 gained considerable weight over its predecessor. Once again, this varied by model, but the W140 was typically 700-800 pounds heavier than comparable engine models of the W126. For example, curb weight for a 1991 300 SE (W126) was 3,745 pounds whereas for the 1992 300 SE (W140) it was up to 4,520 pounds. Curb weight for the long-wheelbase only V12-powered 600SEL/S600 came in at over 5,000 pounds. This featured 1995 long-wheelbase S320’s listed curb weight is a still very hefty 4,610 pounds.
What these high weights translated to, of course, was dismal fuel economy that was on par with many pickup trucks and SUVs. A new 5-speed automatic (in all six-cylinders from the start of production; V8 and V12 models beginning in 1996) helped offset the thirst for fuel, an in fact, most new S-Classes posted fuel economy numbers equal to or even slightly better than their predecessors. Yet fuel economy was still nothing praiseworthy, especially when a V8 Lexus LS averaged 25 percent better fuel economy than a six-cylinder S-Class.
In any event, most people who could afford the S-Class’s sticker price and gas guzzler tax probably didn’t care that it averaged in the low teens around town, and the low gas prices of the 1990s likely made American S-Class buyers’ attitudes towards fuel efficiency even more laissez faire. In other markets where gas wasn’t quite as cheap however, the S-Class’ bulk and thirst for fuel played a larger negative, in some cases drawing considerable backlash. Mid-cycle tweaks to the car’s fascias and lower bodyside moldings were aimed at making the car look smaller, but predictably did little to downplay the W140’s big boned-ness.
For all its inadequacies, the W140 S-Class did introduce a plethora of new technologies and features, many of them Mercedes and industry firsts. Among many novel features included chlorofluorocarbon-free air conditioning, double insulated side window glass, power-folding side mirrors, power-folding rear headrests, power rear sunshade, 12-way power front seats including adjustable seat cushion length, four-zone climate control, pneumatic-assisted soft-close doors, side airbags, high-intensity discharge headlights, and rain sensing windshield wipers. The S-Class also featured rear-parking assist, initially in the form of two antennas that rose out of the corner of the trunk. In 1996, this was replaced by Mercedes’ more advanced Parktronic, which used sonar-based sensors mounted to the bumper.
Like the exterior, interiors also did not break new ground in design and familiarity, but were nonetheless a very elegant, comfortable place to spend time with several types of upholstery and wood veneers based on engine model. In North America, lower models featured standard leather and striped Zebrano wood trim while 500 and above models featured upgraded Napa leather seating surfaces and burl walnut wood trim. More upholstery choices such as velour were available in other markets.
In terms of powertrain, the W140 S-Class offered American buyers the choice of five, dual overhead cam, 4-valve per cylinder engines: four gasoline in six, eight, and twelve cylinder form and one inline-six diesel. Starting at the bottom, and generally considered somewhat underpowered for the car’s weight, was a 3.2 liter inline-6 making 228 horsepower and 229 pound-feet torque. A 3.5 liter diesel was also initially offered, making 150 horsepower and 310 pound-feet torque. Moving up were a pair of V8s that were better-suited power plants: a 4.2 liter making 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet torque and a 5.0 liter making 315 horsepower and 345 pound feet torque.
The flagship of the standard S-Class engine lineup was the 6.0 liter V12 found in 600 SEL/S 600 models, making 389 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. This engine was not part of the original plan, but once news got out the BMW was putting a V12 in the redesigned 1987 7-Series, Mercedes ditched plans for their 5.6L V8 top engine, and scrambled to develop a V12, substantially increasing costs and pushing the W140’s release date back by some two years. AMG models received their own larger V12s, and a smaller 3.0 liter diesel was sold in other markets.
Furthermore, for all its bulk, handling was generally praised as being fairly nimble for such a large, heavy car. The W140 used a four-wheel independent suspension consisting of double-wishbone front and 5-multilink rear, along with speed-sensitive steering to heighten the S-Class’s handling. A number of additional features were introduced for V8 and V12 models, such as electronic stability control, an adaptive dampening system, self-leveling suspension, and an advanced anti-lock braking system that could deliver more stopping power to the rear wheels. Zero-to-sixty times for the V8 and V12 models are unimpressive by today’s standards, but for their time, low-7s for the S500 and 6.5 seconds for the S600 were respectable.
In the end, the W140 S-Class was still indeed a very impressive car. But right from the start, it was clear that Mercedes had miscalculated the market with a car that was too big, too expensive, and too inefficient. Conceived during a decade of frivolousness, when people were becoming richer and wanted to flaunt their newfound wealth, a panzer-like symbol of excess was something the world no longer wanted by the time the W140 S-Class finally went on sale in 1991. Although not a flop in terms of sales, the W140 failed to achieve the acceptance and iconic status of the W126, and its sales numbers did not reach Mercedes’ targets, with annual sales figures less than 75 percent of its W126 predecessor. Given its lower sales and higher development costs, the W140 never made M-B the kind of profit its predecessor did either.
Mercedes-Benz replaced the W140 in 1999 with the new W220 series S-Class, a car that while improved in many ways, was soon left with a tarnished image due to some common quality and reliability issues early on. Regardless of these issues, Mercedes did succeed in addressing some of the W140’s biggest flaws by creating a lighter and leaner flagship that took substantially less time and money to develop. Unfortunately, with the W220 and subsequent models developed in the immediate years following the W140’s launch, cost cutting went just a little too far, damaging Mercedes-Benz’s reputation somewhat permanently in the eyes of many. The W140 has since come to symbolize the end of this “No Expense Spared, Over-Engineered” era at Mercedes-Benz.
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I worked for a guy who had a W140 3.2. One day he had trouble with the keyfob and the car had to be towed away for the problem to be fixed. Neither the W116 and W126 predecessors could really be described as graceful, however I have always found the W140 shape to be excessively slab-sided.
I have to agree that this was certainly the last “no expenses spared” Mercedes that had the old school line of thinking. The results show, as I’ve seen a lot more positive buzz for this car than I have for its successors. (Though it’s predecessors are definitely more fondly remembered, for good reasons)
I know a lot of people are not fond of this generation, but this is always my favorite S-Class. Being born in 1996, this was the car that I had the earliest fond memories of. I don’t remember seeing one in person, but I do remember having Matchbox and Maisto versions of these as a kid and they were always the cars that were my favorite. I never paid much attention to it’s successor, as the W140 was the ultimate status symbol to me. I vowed one day that if I ever got a car, it would be that generation of S-Class, so these certainly hold a lot of nostalgia for me.
Of course, looking back on it now, my childhood love for the W140 certainly planted the seeds for my tastes as I got older. Larger older luxury cars are definitely something I gravitate towards (albeit with more American tastes than that from Stuttgart) and this W140 was certainly one of the largest cars that was being sold on the road today.
I also think the other problem with these cars was that they were introduced in the decade when the SUV boom was becoming full-force. The idea that SUVs were the new status symbols and more importantly, the new luxury symbols, meant that this car never stood a chance. (Another thing I will save for another day, growing up in the decade where the Escalade was considered the ultimate status symbol and a “real Cadillac” was a proposition so ludicrous that the tackiest and cheapest of Broughams looked like paragons of good taste and class in comparison) Of course, the fact that if you wanted a full-size luxury sedan and you could get the similarly luxurious LS400 for a lot cheaper (plus the new Lincoln Town Car if your tastes were more domestic than import) was another huge nail in the W140s coffin.
Personally, I think this is one of the last good looking passenger cars Mercedes ever made. I know some people are not fond of the styling, but I think that this translates some of the boxy language of it’s predecessors in an appropriate aero way while still looking modern. By comparison, it’s successors never looked right to me, I always felt like they got rid of a classic design language to appease the gaudy, overly blinged out tastes of their newly acquired Nouveau Riche consumers in the process. (That’s not even getting into the reliability faults that they had as well.)
All these thoughts aside however, the W140, for all the criticism it gets and for all its faults, is still a car I hold dear to my heart. I certainly hope to drive one someday (maybe even own one, although I would be wary of what might happen when the costs come to). There’s just so many happy childhood memories I have of this car and what it means to me that getting to experience it one day is something I would love to do, maybe it could be good, maybe it could be a case of “never meet your heroes”. But for this car, the risk, might just be worth the reward.
Your comments about the competition the W140 faced are significant in terms of why this car would fail to match the sales of the W126.
The W126 was a sort of beacon calling to lost Americans stepping out of their broken down steaming Cadillacs. Lincoln was struggling to be more than a fancy Ford. There was money to be spent in the late ’80s America, and Mercedes found itself in the place where Cadillac (and Buick and Oldsmobile) had been in the ’60s – the choice of the established professional.
Toyota obviously saw the success Mercedes was experiencing with high margin cars, and focused on the heart of the premium market – meaning that Lexus was suddenly the established professional’s car, while Mercedes seemed to be chasing the wacky dictator / rap artist / oil sheik market with blinged out V-12 cars – designed for people with more money than sense.
Undoubtedly, the large SUV also began to erode this market. The successful business owners I knew in the ’90s introduced me to the loaded and sometimes customized Suburban. These people were not always polished professionals, and had a buy American sensibility. The problem was, the big boned and high powered American sedan was dead, and the Suburban was the closest thing available. Ford had it’s Lexus moment when it introduced the Lincoln Navigator in the fall of 1997, and the big luxury sedan world has never been the same since.
I’m glad someone mentioned the 1990 Lincoln Town Car as well. If the W140 styling was a swing and a miss at a conservative update of the previous decade’s concept, the TC was a bases-loaded home run (at least in my opinion – it was immediately recognizable as a Lincoln Town Car without the frilly Brougham-Era fussiness of the ’80s car PUT DOWN THAT OPTIONS LIST, GRANDPA. Ahem, anyway.
Speaking of which, Lincoln actually sat down and realized who buys big luxury sedans – late-career professionals who don’t have time to relearn to drive and black-car services as obsessed with TCO as any other fleet operator – and debuted the experimental ancillaries elsewhere.
I agree whole-heartedly! The ’90-94 & ’95-97 TC (separately listed because of the mid-cycle refresh) are by far the most attractive Town Car made. The 1998 redo was awful in my opinion. The refresh in 2003 helped. I sold Lincolns (and Mercury/Mazda) in 1994-96 and had no problem moving TC’s and Continentals (after the ’95 redo). I also like the ’93-96 Fleetwood and Fleetwood Brougham, though I preferred the Lincoln. If you check pricing on many of the ‘cars-for-sale’ websites, the Caddy sells for an astronomical price (sometimes upwards of $20,000 for lowish mileage example) and are in short supply due to the limited run of 4 years. Perhaps this is why prices are high. Lincolns (TC and Conti) bring nowhere near these numbers which is a shame. Anyone looking for big, spacious, comfortable, car with a massive trunk and fair MPG’s would do themselves a service by checking out a one or two owner Town Car with low miles.
I can remember being shocked how clumsy it looked compared to any of the other M-B cars in production at the time.I would never have been able to afford one of these new, but a second hand W126 would always be welcome in my garage. I couldn’t say the same about these.
Plus all that grey leather inside- it always looked like the vinyl shoes sold at K-mart in the late ’80s….
Hehehe. Kmart grey. Spot on.
Hey, I used to have some of those K-mart grey shoes!
Oh Pete, we all did!
So it was MB that came up with rain sensing wipers, my 98 406 peugeot had them good idea but light drizzle seemed to fool them into frenzied activity then actual rain would have them not going at all untill prompted then they’d work ok I dont miss them on the Xsara at all.
I don’t know that a vehicle with excessive amounts of unproven, finicky, failure-prone yet expensive gadgetry should be called “over-engineered”. Perhaps “over-spec’d” and “underdeveloped” are more accurate unless there is a link between over-engineering and Rube Goldberg-itis.
+1
Over engineered describes the old mill buildings in New England. They have walls of stone or bricks and mortar, three feet thick. They are so well built they get refurbished instead of being torn down.
The W140 really didn’t have any of that though. The electronics were solid and there was very little in the way of actual gadgetry. The most complex system on the car was the hydraulic suspension, but that was only standard on the top-spec models. After that it was the vacuum system, but that’s no different than any other Mercedes, and they were quite reliable.
Other than that it was traction control, ABS, fuel injection, and an electronic throttle management system. Not exactly a ‘Rube Goldberg’ setup by any stretch, even for that era. And all the computer control units were totally modular and easily accessible, meaning if one did go bad it was just a matter of unplugging it and plugging a new one in. Certainly nothing I’d call ‘finicky’ or particularly ‘failure prone’.
I’m not saying they weren’t complex cars, because they certainly were. But not much more complex than what came before, and much, much better than what came after.
+1 for where’s the excessive, unproven, finicky, expensive etc. and complicated technology???
There’s two additional buttons in the interior vs the W126… for the climate control.
There isn’t a trip computer, no steering wheel buttons… Even the odometer was analogue until 1995.
The W140 is the W126 with substantial handling, suspension, engine and NVH refinement, and larger.
My Dad had a 97 S320. Brendan was exactly right about two things:
1) Physically, it was an impressive, imposing battleship of a car. It felt heavy and substantial with an absolutely cavernous interior. I loved the thick double paned side windows..it felt like riding in an armored car.
2) Realibility was not great. Very early on, the electronics failed spectacularly. Everything from the automatic rear view mirror to the radio and climate control. Eventually some kind of electronic module went south that prevented it from starting. Soon after, it developed very bad oil and coolant leaks. Interior trim pieces and upholstery began to disintegrate or fall off. Finally the transmission failed. Dad sold it on eBay and now drives a Volvo.
I was never a fan of these oversized Mercedes. Even though gas prices had dropped (at least in the U.S.) when these came out, it seemed like such a retrograde step to have such a huge, heavy car. IIRC, owners actually had problems with the tires flat-spotting due to the weight.
My wife’s aunt got an S350 diesel in 1996. Even in black on black, it looked gargantuan. The minor styling tweaks intended to make it look more lithe did not work at all. I’m 6 feet tall, and I felt like a kid when I got inside–everything seemed two sizes too big. That said, she drove the car for years and years, putting about half a million miles on it. The longevity and lasting solidity were impressive, so it did retain some of the key characteristics that earned Mercedes-Benz their reputation for excellence.
Of course, the reaction to this car sent Mercedes in the wrong direction, switching from too much engineering to not enough. Subsequent S-Class cars, while much better looking, didn’t possess the same sense of solidity and durability. I feel that Mercedes is only just beginning to get back to where they belong with the new S-Class, which reminds me of a 21st century version of the great W126 from the 1980s.
This is my favorite S-Class out of all of them. Though boxier than its successors, its appearance is classy and timeless, which is hard to balance. I’m sure that the inline-6 diesel is pretty rare, being that most would have opted for the V8 or V12. As someone who prefers durability and efficiency over horsepower, I would have chosen the diesel any day.
I’m afraid the old Mercedes is officially gone with their current lineup. The current models look like something like a Hyundai (especially with the sport grille) and aren’t as distinguished. The last generation (W204 C-Class, W214 E-Class and the W221 S-Class, in addition to the last-gen GL-Class) were well-executed in their appearance.
Not only did the W140 produce less-than-stellar results for Mercedes-Benz, the car also had an adverse impact on its imitator from the Orient. While the first generation Lexus LS was a great riff on the W124 (boringly polished for Gen 2), the 3rd generation LS used the W140 as the styling benchmark. Not a great call, as it resulted in some of the worst looking, most boring big sedans on the road, and really took the wind out of the LS sales success.
I’ve always felt the 3rd generation LS is one of the worst Lexus designs of all time. Basically taking the worst attributes of the W140 (slab styling, high roofline, tall windows) and grafting a homely generic front end on it, it always reminds me of a Chinese knockoff design. The interiors were unimpressive as well, with their very Town Car-like flat, wide seats and orange tone wood. Thankfully the 4th gen, while long in the tooth now, was a huge improvement.
+1000.
Why are large windows, I.E. good visibility, a bad thing?
Glen H is correct about the seats; I’ve seen taxi cabs with better looking seats.
There is one of these for sale at a low-end used car dealer near my office. A white 1995, the grease paint on the windows touted it as being a $95,000 car for only $3,750. The car looks great so there is a reason for that price. Looking at that Mercedes makes me thinks some new owner will soon be whizzing money down a rat hole.
That said, I do like the exterior looks of the car and have been tempted to take it for a test drive just out of curiosity.
Take it for a spin, Jason. Your reviews are always entertaining and informative. Just leave your wallet at home.
The dark gray 1992 400SE I photographed for this article was at a used car dealer in Boston. I actually went intending to take it for a test drive but it was literally wedged in the back corner of their indoor storage garage. They said they didn’t mind moving cars around so I could take it out, but that would’ve required moving at least 15 cars and taking at least an hour. As I was not going to buy the car I wasn’t going to be a jerk and make them do that all. In any event, the car was beautiful and in remarkable condition, only 60,000 miles. I did start it up which was kind of cool. Those doors seriously felt like they could’ve been armored as they felt like weighed 300 pounds each!
http://www.broadwaymotorcars.com/1992_MercedesBenz_400Class_Somerville_MA_257050933.veh
The nineties must have been a rough time for MB. The generation of great leaders were retiring and obviously MB had not done enough to train the next generation. Hence the idea of what to do next after the W126 was, we have no idea. The same type of thing happened at Jaguar with the XJ40 replacing the XJ6 series 3.
Remember when MB did not have cruise control and then when it finally arrived in 1974, they bragged that it had been 10 years in the making. It acknowledges that Detroit had it long before but implied that MB would not have it until the Detroit systems could be improved upon. That they could make this of course specious argument with a straight face and have their customers lap it up shows their reputation was golden. Could they really say something similar about electrically soft closing doors? If they did people would think they had been recent hires from Cadillac, and look foolish.
Lucky the LS400 came out right before the W140 and Toyota’s best was able to prove the emperor had no clothes. Thanks Brendan, this was an intelligent write up.
Actually, many senior executives, engineers, and others were “forced” to retire at much earlier age like 50-60 instead of 65 as to free up the job market for younger people. The unemployment rate amongst younger people in Germany during the first half of the 1990s was dangerously high and could lead to nasty situations like it did in 1968.
It turned out to be horrendous mistake with so many inexperienced young people assuming the positions without mentoring and tutelage from most seasoned people. Mercedes-Benz wasn’t only one to be affected. Many German companies suffered the consequences as well.
Interesting….. Comments like this are why I appreciate CC so much.
I sort of wonder if the W140 suffered from its long development cycle. As with the BMW 8-Series, the W140 has the vibe of having been designed with 1986 in mind — a 600SEL with big alloy wheels and a body kit would have fit right in on Miami Vice. It’s like those multicylinder luxury cars of the early ’30s that were designed before the Crash, but had the misfortune to debut after it.
You touch on a key point that was missing in the post. Mercedes had bad luck on timing, with its S Classes. In Germany, the W116 was criticized for being too massive, wide and heavy, especially so when the energy crisis hit in 1973.
In response, the next S Class (W126) was decidedly slimmer and lighter too. When it first came out, its timing was perfect. But as the 80s unfolded, it was rather too small and modest.
The W140 was of course dramatically bigger and heavier, and arrived during another recession. And by the early 90s, there was a cultural shift in Germany; the Greens were in the ascendancy, and it was now seen socially irresponsible/uncool to drive big piggish cars. The w140 developed a negative image in germany, and ordinary folks mostly shunned it. It was no longer an aspirational car. The E Class essentially took its place, for those that wanted a nice Benz.
And then when suddenly-rich Russian “gangsters” took up the W140 as the car to have, its image suffered that much more.
Prior to the W140, many every-day Germans still aspired to an S Class late in life; no more. It sends all the wrong signals.
I actually love the looks of these, represents a median stage where Aero-Styling hadn’t yet morphed into the full jellybean excess (of which its successor is a sterling example).
Wouldn’t consider owning one due to the expense and unreliability though.
Another plus these cars have is the whole Henri Paul association – they played a pivotal role in one of the great tabloid events of all time.
Every time I see a W220 with rusty doors and fenders, I just shake my head. How the hell did MB get SO far off the rails? W126s don’t tend to rust except behind the headlamps where the bumper cover bolts up, W140s don’t tend to get rusty, how on earth did they regress to the point that two generations later, their flagship model becomes a rust magnet?
Lexus must have just spooked the whole company so badly that MB went haywire.
A few points:
One of the photos of an early design proposal shows a car that looks substantially similar to a Ford Scorpio.
Like many here, I’ll never be able to afford ANY S-class….except perhaps as “lawn art”. But even as a driveway decoration, I wouldn’t buy this model of Mercedes as I agree: IT’S UGLY.
I realize that building THE most sophisticated production car on the road means “packing” it with features (some of dubious value), but this car smacks of “if a little is good, A LOT is going to be great”.
While it’s not British, this is the kind of car I imagine Hyacinth Bucket would dream of being chauffeured in.
Remember her sister Violet with a Mercedes,(W126, with hub caps) and room for a pony.
“Keeping up Appearances” is a great show.
I figured Hyacinth would love this car because she could boast that the windows in both her house and car featured double glazing. Plus, she strikes me as the sort of person dazzled by all the latest modern conveniences to be found in any car. And being a woman with “unusual” tastes (those hats), she wouldn’t care what this car looked like, the fact that it was THE top model Mercedes was the most important point.
It’s true what you say Howard, but when it was time for Hyacinth to top her friend with a XJ40, she had her husband test drive/steal a Rolls Royce.
This car’s predecessor is probably my all-time favorite luxury car. In my opinion, a late-80s 420SEL still looks classy, imposing, and perfectly at home in a high-class setting. The W140s, on the other hand, seemed to have aged much faster, and now look like Yesterday’s Fad. It’s similar to what I imagine the garish McMansions that are being built today will look like in 20 years.
That said, I remember being bemused by the back-up antennas when the cars were new. I derisively called them “dork sticks” at the time, and they seemed an attempt to solve a problem that never really existed in the first place. Features like that, and the power-operated inside rear-view mirror (if I remember correctly), etc. seemed needlessly ostentatious, even for such a high-end car.
Yes, they had the remote controlled inside rear view mirror, which is nice as a novelty when you know, but not so nice when a valet moves it by hand and breaks all of the little plastic bits inside causing $1200 in damage! This event is followed by high pitched screaming when any hand moves toward the mirror/ sunroof area and in my case a series of post-it notes when ever any one else would be driving it- “Don’t Touch” and ashtray adhered “Joystick to Control Mirrors”. Post-its are CLASSY 😉
My mother borrowed one of mine once and refused to drive it again because “all those buttons are bullshit” (and she is not one to curse).
“The rear placing antennae”- I called them “dumb sticks” were discontinued in mid ’95. Before I got mine, a colleague had an early 140 with them and I thought it was interesting in concept, but fairly useless in real life and problematic in that they used the same pump as the doors and trunk and were prone to leaking both air and water when gaskets dried out.
Fine article. I personally think that the W126 is the best looking Mercedes sedan ever – it has just the right amount of aero to give the otherwise boxy shape some sleekness. The heavy chrome grille surround keeps a long-standing tradition that the W140 began to lose with its recessed grille.
In its home turf, this S-class generation was from the beginning associated with Helmut Kohl, the German prime minister at that time, a very tall, corpulent, heavy man indeed. The great Helmut Newton chose to portray him in front of a massive oak tree in the garden of the old chancellery in Bonn, just to convey his size.
Herr Kohl and his W140. Der Dicke and Der Kathedral were the nicknames. For the W140, of course.
They were made for each other.
I did test drive one back in 2003 or so….a 1999 S420 if I remember right. What still sticks out is how it drove like a small car–almost tossable and very easy to place on the road. We didn’t buy it; I feel like we dodged a bullet.
my business associate has a 98 S320 (i think) since new. he still drives it daily. although he has replaced the transmission and the heater core, the car has 300,000 miles and is still rock solid. the interior looks good. the leather has held up well but the seats do need new stuffing.
All these comments an not one about the rotting engine harness. I looked at one of these used back in 2001 but google scared me away.
Mercedes proved the truth of the old saying that there can be too much of a good thing. It seems to me that the two things that proved to be the undoing of the car were its complexity and unreliability on the one hand and the Lexus on the other.
Mercedes had proved that there was a market for ungodly expensive cars, so long as they were better than the more reasonably priced competition. As long as folks got what they paid for, some were willing to pay a lot. Lexus, however, provided the kind of reliability that folks used to think Mercedes provided with a lower price as well. More for less is always a winning formula.
Take away one of those two issues, and the car would have been more successful.
What really killed the W140 in the US was the Lexus LS. The LS arrived with a $35k price tag, fully equipped and with a creamy-smooth V8. A W140 S320 six cost *twice* that, $70k. The S420 was $80K. And the S500 was $95k.
The Lexus LS simply destroyed Mercedes’ hegemony in the luxury sedan class in the US, and re-wrote the rules. And of course Mercedes responded with price cuts and drastically under-engineered replacements.
Yes, there were some that had to flaunt their wealth with a V12 S600. But who in their right minds would pay twice as much for less car? Not folks who actually worked for a living. The LS was one of the true game-changers; the luxury sedan market was never the same, and then it was weakened further by the move to luxury SUVs.
The Lexus LS was a bargain @$35,000. Probably was sold below cost. In 5 years the price was more than $50,000, which is a lot of inflation. Both the Lexus and Infinities were put together exceptionally well, which set a new standard for luxury.
Still to this day, when my brain is low on clarity, I think I may wish to have one in my drive. That is, the Lexus, not the MB. Then I think, what on earth do I need a 20-25 year old car for? My 20 year old Diesel pusher MoHo was bad enough a time and money suck, bad enough to punt as soon as I could. But hey, regarding the W140, at least I know where they pulled the design for the original ML series from!
The price inflation of the LS400 was due primarily to shifting exchange rates. The JDM prices of the home-market Celsior, which was functionally identical to the LS400 except for being RHD and offering different trim/equipment combinations, went up a little bit over the model cycle, but no more than you’d expect given the usual rate of inflation.
I think Toyota priced it near cost to get it established. Then raised the price. But currency exchange rates probably did have an impact. I know that imports from Japan were less of a bargain at times but I never had much interest in imported cars. I see that the Yen was high in 1995.
I really don’t think so. To put this in perspective, the price spread of the JDM Celsior at launch (late 1989) was ¥4.55 million to ¥6.2 million. (The latter included some options aimed at the chauffeur-driven set, which I don’t think were offered in the U.S. at that point; a C Type, which listed for ¥5.5 million, was more closely comparable with a loaded LS400 in terms of features.) On a straight exchange basis, the JDM prices are pretty close to the U.S. MSRP.
Fast-forward to the beginning of the 1994 model year and the JDM price range had gone from ¥4.81 to ¥6.54 million, which is an increase of around 5% — pretty nominal for four years. However, because of the weak dollar, the exchange rate equivalent in USD is again pretty close to the much higher U.S. prices. (Estimating historical exchange rates is never a particularly exact science because floating exchange rates can vary significantly over the course of a given year, but the general trend is clear.)
Comparing the Celsior to other contemporary JDM Toyotas (like the V-8 Crown, which used the same engine, or the Soarer, which was the JDM equivalent of the Lexus SC), it doesn’t look particularly under-priced. It certainly wouldn’t make much sense to assume Toyota under-priced all their high-end home-market models!
A little of the difference in U.S. base prices appears to be due to more equipment becoming standard on U.S. cars later in the run, presumably to help justify the higher sticker, but otherwise, I think there was mostly just a modest amount of typical sticker price inflation over the model run multiplied by the difference in the exchange rate.
I’m stressing this because people have been repeating the under-pricing allegations for 25 years now and I don’t think there’s any real basis for it. The value of the dollar went from around 150 yen in the late ’80s to 100 yen (or less) by the mid-90s and that ended up being reflected in the prices of a lot of high-end Japanese cars — the math isn’t that hard.
The average exchange rate in 1989 was 138 yen to the dollar. In 1995 the rate was 94. Top of the line Cadillacs in 1990 were over $30,000. The Lexus was a much better built car, and should have cost more, but perhaps Mercedes and BMW were gouging?
AUWM: Thanks for that analysis. It’s become an unchallenged assumption that Toyota sold the 400LS in the US at below cost; I’ve read it numerous times. And I’ve always been skeptical of that assumption, seeing as that isn’t exactly the Toyota way.
Now what’s your take on Toyota selling the gen1 Prius at a loss?
One thing I had forgotten is that in the mid 80’s the Nissan Maxima was a very nice well equipped mid-sized car. Many thought it was a nice as a Cadillac. So apparently Japan had an advantage on cost over US automakers.
@Paul: I’ve never looked into the pricing of the first-generation Prius, so I really don’t know one way or the other.
I will comment on the Prius. My sister and brother in law bought one. They got a tax incentive, which was subtracted off the Federal Income Tax due that year. What this means is that the government paid for a portion of the car. This made the Prius quite attractive.
How Toyota may write off the development costs is probably not made public for the Prius or the Lexus. I think Toyota probably takes a long view, particularly for the Lexus. With the Lexus, Toyota probably did not want to get into the jam that Cadillac did with their 2014 CTS. Cadillac has reduced prices on the CTS.
@SomeOneInTheWildWest: I have no idea how Toyota figured its amortization schedules or what the rules on that may be in Japan. However, when it came to technology, Toyota really spread its investments around a lot. I assume the biggest single expense of the Celsior/LS was the UZ-series V-8 engine, which they also used in several other models and then converted to an iron block for truck/SUV use.
Beyond that, until the early ’90s, export cars still hadn’t diverged that much from JDM models and the home market was still thriving. So, total global sales of even some of the niche products were pretty high. (The Celsior sold decently well in Japan, although allegedly people would pull off the Toyota badges and put Lexus emblems on them.) That obviously helps keep per-car costs down.
Money spent in putting a new car into production is gone. If the car is a success, then eventually it will pay off. Edsel, Eldorado Brougham, Continental are examples that failed, not to mention Delorean. I have looked at price changes at Cadillac for the STS from 1990 to 1998, when the STS was on the G-body (or Aurora body). The price increase is about $10,000, so inflation is quite significant in the 90’s. The G-body was worth more in any case.
“What really killed the W140 in the US was the Lexus LS. The LS arrived with a $35k price tag, fully equipped and with a creamy-smooth V8. A W140 S320 six cost *twice* that, $70k. The S420 was $80K. And the S500 was $95k.”
This is absolutely the case. Ignore all the the S-class pricing; the cheapest Benz you could by was the 190, and they started at $32k in 1990. The LS put Mercedes into a panic. Most of that under-baked overly complex technology the W140 ended up with was in response to the Lexus in hopes of wooing buyers back to M-B. If I remember correctly, the poor results of this strategy cost the job of Wolfgang Peter, their chief engineer.
By contrast, Lexus didn’t make nearly the same inroads in Europe because there it was priced closer to the German competition.
The price of a new Lexus was never the reason why the brand didn’t succeed in Europe. Otherwise we would have driven more big Kia and Hyundai sedans too.
Lexus is, was and will be a North American affair only. And the Mercedes S-Class is, was and will be -at least in the foreseeable future- the Global King of the F-segment.
Russian mobsters and other prospects don’t give a damn about the price, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs of an S-Class. Or Brabus V12.
I would disagree with that. Obviously, the gangsters, pop stars, and celebrity athletes of the world aren’t going to care about costs, maintenance, or depreciation, but they are not the whole market even for big luxury cars. If they were, European manufacturers wouldn’t bother to offer six-cylinder or turbodiesel models of their senior cars.
I’m not saying price is the sole consideration for luxury cars (or any other class of cars) because obviously it’s not. However, being significantly less expensive motivates people to look more closely at what other advantages your product offers. It’s not that American luxury car buyers in the ’80s and ’90s were not motivated by brand snobbery, because they were, but offering a well-built V-8 car for more than 20% less money than a six-cylinder 7-Series (for instance) put the Lexus on the list of possibilities in a way it wouldn’t have been had it been priced with the 7-Series and S-Class.
That said, I don’t think the LS400 or Lexus in general was particularly oriented to European tastes (lacking, for instance, a cheaper-to-run six or turbodiesel option and being more ride-oriented in suspension tuning). The closest Lexus came to that was probably the first IS200, and that didn’t make a strong enough all-around case for itself to get beyond “interesting second-tier choice” status.
I know you have mentioned this several times – this part about how Lexus killed Mercedes. Is there a thorough write-up here that I have missed? If not this is something I would really enjoy reading at some point.
Here in the EU Lexus never achieved more than negligible sales (other than perhaps in the UK). On the other hand, the competition (Audi and BMW) has upped the ante in so far as its big luxury sedan offerings were concerned with. Both of the Audi A8 and the BMW 7-Series of that time were smaller, lighter and nimbler than the S, and it did not help.
Not to mention the fact that S-Class prices had risen considerable over the W126. A 1991 W126 420SEL’s base price in the U.S. was $63k. A 1992 W140 400SE (with the same engine)’s base price had risen to $78k, and that was the short-wheelbase model. $15k is still pretty big hit, even to many of the people who could’ve afforded this car at the time, especially when many probably purchased it outright.
I think it’s safe to say that while most people who drove S-Classes were well-off, I’m sure the W126 was still somewhat of a stretch for many who’d give anything to own the “big Mercedes”. As you said in another comment, the E-Class effectively took over where the W126 left off in many ways. Even in the present day, all the time I still see luxury car owners “trade-down” for a new but lower model (i.e. 2012 LS to 2015 GS), largely due to MSRPs always rising and smaller models growing.
Other factors to consider are the 1991 recession, which always causes people to tighten their belts and become more conscious of spending, and the case of the W140’s styling. In addition to its size and somewhat ungraceful proportions, there was no hiding the fact that it looked like a super-sized caricature of the W124. Considering the W124 came out over 6 years earlier, the W140’s design language already looked dated at its launch.
Calling the LS400 a good value is, of course, obvious. And calling it a good car is not something I’d dispute you on. But calling the S320 “Less car” than the LS400 is just silly. The LS might be a better car (the virtues and vices of the two cars are too varied to really reach an objective conclusion on that), but it is certainly not “more car”. I won’t dispute that it hurt the W140 in the US, of course.
But having driven both cars, I can easily see why someone would chose the W140 over the LS400. The W140 was much solider, safer, and handled better at speed. It had that undefinable Mercedes sense of solidity that has always eluded Lexus by a little bit. The one that stays with a Mercedes after 20 years and 300k miles that isn’t there at all in the Lexus at that age.
Of course, I could also understand somebody buying the LS400 over the S-class. 95% of the engineering excellence, for 50% of the price, and superior overall reliability is a solid argument. But not an incontrovertible one, since people do buy Maseratis.
And anyway, the world has changed. Lexus lost its way a dozen years ago, and Mercedes woke up from their idiocy and has blown Lexus back into the sea, where the cheaply built garbage they are presuming to call luxury cars belong. I don’t count them out for the count, though. If Mercedes can come back from their malaise era, so can Lexus.
Having owned 2 of these beasts, a ’96 S600, followed by a ’95 S500 they are almost perfection when they are “right”. Trouble is, they were so often not right… WAY too often for the perceived “bullet proof tank” reputation at the time. Many people say the 140 was “over-engineered”- no, they were over complicated and under engineered.
By 2002, the 600 was plagued with electrical problems (with only 40k miles) 2 weeks at the dealer and the diagnosis was disintegrating wire harness and rear A/C system issues, estimate to correct 12-$15,000! I traded it for the S500 that was similarly equipped at an indy mechanic/dealer and it was completely problem free… for almost 3 months except for a dead battery and tires leaking air as the chrome on the wheels cracked at the seal. The warning lights on the dash worked themselves perfectly from left to right in illuminating failures and draining bank account. Once they were all attended to, then the real fun began as the attempts to diagnose random problems began, especially the engine “stumbling”- “a course of treatment” that went on for 3 years and trips to service about every 3 months and a $5000 bill waiting at the end, each and every time. ALWAYS $5000 bill it seemed, whether it was keyless entry failure or rebuilt transmission. I ended up selling it for $3500 fresh out of the shop for the $5000 trans rebuild. Not a happy camper and my oath to NEVER buy a Mercedes product again. I previously leased a 320SL that I was happy to turn in because of all of the problems. When Benz took over smart from Penske, I RAN to CarMax to sell my fortwo. I honestly think they engineer problems in.
You can find all sorts of the W140s around here for 800-$1200, or about the cost of the pneumatic pump for the door closure. When I actually see someone driving one now (and not just parked with a “For Sale” sign), I get such a sense of pity for them and want to know their story.
In a bit of nostalgia, I went back to the Lexus brand and bought a ’92 LS400 that I DD to this day. When there is a problem with her, and I think I need to get something newer, I flashback to the Mercedes induced trauma and gratefully toss a couple hundred bucks into her and think *this* is my “forever car” that the 600 was supposed to be!
True Luxury is being able to drive the car more than to the service department. I do wish Lexus had offered an extended wheelbase on the original LS since it does seem a size down from the LWB 500/600.
Just curious, what problems have you had with the LS 400?
Wide and varied, mostly due to age and not bad engineering. Had to have the main ECU rebuilt, source a discontinued ECU for the “comfort and convenience”/ power mirrors, radiator, fans and complete cooling system rebuild, various Engine management sensors, fuel pump, oil pump, front suspension rebuild, alternator, power steering, sunroof leak/ flooding (TSB issued in ’93 and this one still had old/ defective parts), massive trunk leak that caused electrical problems, dash cluster recon, LCD repair and new lighting- eventually replaced factory radio unit with nav unit, exhaust system including cat con, futzed with original keyless entry for years before going aftermarket- which I think is the cause of a battery drain issue that I’m currently having. The AC is now out again and they “suspect” a condenser blockage since everything else was changed when it was converted a few years ago- that can wait until Spring… off the top of my head. This is in (holy crap!) 5 years (already?!) and she now has just over 100k. I feel that the mechanic that I go to here does not know the cars as well as my old mechanic and that’s a LOT of the problem, too. The last time I ventured out to the Lexus dealer with her, I was embarrassed when they said too much of the paint was washing off so they stopped. New DWP paint would be $8500, not sure that it’s worth investing since the paint alone would be greater than the cars loss value if anything happened.
But yet nothing as stupid as the 500 where I was once told that a fault in the fuel filler flap “system” was the cause of the rear seatbelt not working (after spending $900 on a new seatbelt assembly), I still don’t understand how this is even possible.
Thanks for both this and the W140 story. Valuable infor for a guy like me, who is always dreaming about these nineties barges.
I have repeatedly engaged in the search for a cream-puff LS400. But I don’t need it, and my Honda daily drivers are easy and inexpensive for me to maintain.
And you don’t want a beat-up one either, and it seems that Craigslist is full of those (figure $3-4K of deferred maintenance right off the bat).
I think the “bullet proof tank” reputation you’re referring to was to describe their sheer size and the generally heavy and solid feel of components such as the doors, not to describe their reliability.
No, it was originally reliability and dependability and the “promise” of “a million miles of trouble free driving” M-B sales pitch when I bought the 600. At it’s price a LOT of “exclusivity” and ego driven puffery and promises of being treated like the rest of the “royalty” that owned one was used to sell me on it.
When I brought this up in regard to the disintegrating wire harness, it was escalated until a Mercedes rep flew down to my dealer to basically tell me to “get bent”, in person, so that was a nice personal touch.
When I sold the 500, about 75% of the people that called about it asked about the “bullet proof windows”, which was my signal to end the call. The buyer got it for 1/3 of “book value” mostly because he made no mention of bullet proof anything.
And to think everyone here thinks Northstar Cadillacs are bad.
Funny expression, btw. Ideally you’d want all tanks to be bulletproof.
The Smart car was a Mercedes-Benz project when it started production. It was initially Volkswagen, but long before production started, DBAG took over VWAGs share of the operation. It was a co-project of DBAG and what was called SMH at the time (now Swatch Group). Its been a DBAG only venture for ages, though, long before it came to the US.
Penske was just the distribution channel.
In Europe, the W140 was the first Benz S-Class generation that was available with a diesel. All of them inline-6, first the OM 603 (3.5 liter turbo) and later the OM 606 (3.0 liter turbo intercooling).
Here’s a 1993 W140 diesel with 453,000 km on the clock.
Those that survive the wrong owners and early glitches do seem to cover high mileage indeed. Perhaps (if you really want such a thing) the best ones are relatively low mileage diesels with “poverty” specs – here in Austria you can pick up such a car for €3000 – €4000, and with the 5sp manual it is not too bad on fuel.
Lexus was, indeed, the main game changer for Mercedes. But making it worse, the US economy entered recession late 1990-1991, and didn’t recover quickly at all. For example, unemployment didn’t return to 1990 levels until 1996. So with the W140 Mercedes released a car priced substantially higher than the W126 at a time when many people, even rich people, didn’t have a lot of confidence or desire to spend. (Although I like the functional, authoritative look of the W140, it also looks more like a potentate’s car than any other D-B product since the 600, including the Maybach–also a hard sell in tough times.)
When things got better, the W140 was still expensive, and probably looked like old news next to the BMW E38, just because it’d been on sale for a few years. If they’d introduced this thing in 1998, they might’ve had a chance. A posh, new-looking car that could be mass-leased to Web Van employees…
It doesn’t help that the most famous Mercedes W140 in the world ended like this, after its roof had been cut off and then thrown back onto the body, like so much scrap metal.
True, but when you’re getting people out of a wreck to hopefully save a life, the car, however noble, is just so much scrap metal. And yet…..
Behind the local SES (State Emergency Service, the guys who do rescues) there’s always a couple of wrecked cars for them to practice on. A Daihatsu Sirion has had a roof-ectomy. There’s some kind of Hyundai there too. But one car is a W126 with no obvious damage – yet. My heart is heavy every time I see it sitting there. I kinda hope it breaks the jaws of life, y’know?
And of course, the most effective safety devices in any car…the driver and the seat belts…failed and were unused, respectively, on that particular Mercedes.
For firefighting drills where we cut cars apart to train personnel in extrication, we often requested junk cars from wrecking yards. We had a friend at a tow company who would transport the cars; after we were done with them, the pieces went back to the wrecking yard, which was going to crush them anyway. One year, we saved one for a public demonstration…a red BMW 3-series (E30) 2-door. I never did find out why it was
being junked, because it showed no obvious collision damage. The crowd cringed when we hacked through the A-pillars and bent back the roof.
Another interesting article, thank you Brendan. Like several other commentators anobe, I too found the W140 styling to be clumsy and unattractive. But the worst thing for me is inside: the was the console is in the centre of the car, yet at the top of where it rises up into the dashboard, the air vents are way off-centre…makes my OCD spin out all the time…
I’m glad you mentioned that. I’m extremely OCD as well and the asymmetrical dash has always bothered me a lot. Will Stopford and I actually discussed this irksome detail recently. Believe me you’re not alone haha.
Well, I for one have always loved this car. I think an S-class is supposed to look like something a head of state would be driven to a summit in, and the W140 was the last to look that way. The W220 is an ugly car. I cannot decide whether I like the W126 or W140 better, but it’s probably the W140. Part of this has to do with me being 12 when it came out. BMW had a five liter, Mercedes had a six liter. BMW had 300 horses, Mercedes had 400. BMW would crack 60 in a shade over seven seconds, Mercedes would do it in six flat (according to what I read at the time).
My dad once testdrove one when they were new. I was obviously in the passenger seat and it fully lived up to my sky-high expectations.
An LS400 of LS430 seems like a lightly smarter proposition today, but I still love these. To me they just look right.
i know i’m in the minority view but too me the early lexus was not comparable. it was clearly a knock-off of mb design without the driving dynamics or subtle details. It was more reliable and cheaper, much like the hyundai equus is in today’s market, but so what?
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Lexus and the LS was of course a huge game changer industry-wise, but in terms of being the main reason why the W140 didn’t match the success of the W126, I think it’s a little far-fetched. This is a point that’s been expressed by many before here, but I don’t fully agree, which is why I chose not to bring it up in the article.
Did many people buy the LS in its first couple of years? The numbers of course don’t lie there. But there really isn’t much way now to know how many LS buyers were former S-Class owners or buyers also considering an S-Class at the time. I’m sure there were some, but I’m willing to bet that most new LS buyers had never owned a Mercedes before, let alone an S-Class.
I couldn’t imagine many loyal S-Class owners being swayed by a “luxury Toyota”. Comparable to your example of the Equus (or K-900 for that matter) today. Sure it has many of the same features, but the personality and feel aren’t there, and most who’d buy a Mercedes wouldn’t be caught dead in a Hyundai Equus, even if it soon might wear the Genesis badge.
When I lived in Bellevue (a rich suburb east of Seattle) during the summer of 1989, a Mercedes was still the car to own. I called the R107 series ( xxx SL, 2-door hardtop/convertible) the “BGG” for Bellevue Grocery Getter, as that’s what the oversized-sunglass-wearing Bellevue housewife used it for during the week, having room for about two bags of groceries on the passenger-side floorboard (with the husband’s obligatory set of golf clubs permanently stored in the trunk).
In the mid-1990s when I moved back to this same general area for work, the LS400 was THE wealthy-but-not-flashy car to own – they were everywhere, and it was hard to even find a Mercedes (which started showing up again later once they had a SUV to offer).
So you’re saying that the Lexus LS effectively conquered these Mercedes SL roadster owners?
Well, going on what Paul and I said yesterday, I think part of the issue is that at least in the U.S., the LS400 was better-suited to the climate of the moment than the W140 was. For a recessionary era where people with money weren’t quite so willing to toss it in the air and set it on fire as they had been in 1985, it was a sensible alternative.
“Alternative” is really the key word here. If you try to make your new product exactly like that of your leading competitor’s, people are probably going to shrug and keep buying the competitor — look at what happens every time some new near-luxury sedan tries to out 3-Series the 3-Series, for example. A lot of the early strengths of the LS400 were the ways it was not like the Germans: seamless, near-invisible powertrain; plush, quiet ride; comparative lack of fuss. (Mercedes in this era was still ensconced in the “because ve say so” school of ergonomics.)
In that regard, I think the LS picked up more Mercedes aspirants than Mercedes customers. On the other hand, I don’t doubt that there were some conquest sales — perhaps not so much to S-Class customers, but to people who’d previously had an E-Class or a 5-Series and gotten frustrated with the maintenance costs or dealer attitudes.
Had Toyota followed up the LS400 with a V-12 LS500L — not immediately, but after the brand had been established — they might have become more of a direct threat to the S-Class, but the economy and exchange rates precluded that and they went ultra-conservative instead.
The changing economy and fiscal climate were undoubtably a major reason why the W140 failed to reach high success in the U.S., and why the less-costly, and subtle LS400 was attractive to many. As I said in the article,
“Conceived during a decade of frivolousness, when people were becoming richer and wanted to flaunt their newfound wealth, a panzer-like symbol of excess was something the world no longer wanted by the time the W140 S-Class finally went on sale in 1991.”
I would like to enquire as to whether the author of this article has ever in fact owned a W140 S Class. 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds from a 5,000lbs vehicle in 1992 was industry-leading – the fastest ever production vehicle of all time at this weight point.
At a time when the Ferrari F40 produced 454bhp, the 1992 600SEC and 600SEL models were actually rated at 400bhp – just an 11% difference.
That’s not to mention the double-glazed windows, self-closing doors and impeccable appointments – some of which you cannot buy in production cars today.
It’s about time the facts were laid on the table here.
Agreed. There is a reason why the W140s are still being used as diplomatic/embassy and heads of state cars. The feeling of security and solidity this car gives while behind the wheel is second to none and it is a more comfortable cruiser than many new luxury cars today with their Air suspensions. I bought my first one last year: A 1997 S 500 with 50k miles on the clock. Parts prices really are not bad especially if you go for aftermarket which are the same in quality as the OEM parts. I had originally been looking for a 7-8 year old luxo barge but when i drove the W140, i was blown away by how it makes you feel and i have plenty of seat time in late model S classes and Bentleys.
To those comparing it to a Lexus, the W140 is a peice of precision engineering with qualities that even new luxury cars can only dream of matching while the Lexus is just a Toyota with some leather and wood on the dash.
Right, comparing something like a Lexus (Toyota) to an S-Class MB is like comparing something gold-plated to solid gold – it just proves how much some people actually KNOW, when making their remarks. Still, lets face it – ALL complicated machinery will need some repairs at some point of their lifetime and MBs are no exception. However, from what we read here and elsewhere is way often just results of neglect, or misuse, or problems from people not having their vehicles properly serviced – people buy expensive cars and are silly enough to expect them to run forever, without doing anything more than basic oil changes (if that). Then, they complaint about “problematic” vacuum systems, when the problem may be a 2″ piece of failing rubber hose (dried out from age), and things like that. Some complaint about electrical problems, but fail to mention that their cars have sat for years outside, winters and summers and so on. Then, they go on to call systems unreliable, or “crappy”, or “prone to fail”. The biggest problem with most cars are their owners – wrong people, wrong attitudes, and very often…lack of money for the upkeep of their vehicles. All this is generally speaking and it goes for any car – not just the Mercedes. The W140 was the last of the “old school” Mercedes and we may never see anything like that anymore (at least, today there is nothing like it out there anymore). Drive one and live with one…for 25 years and you still have the solid quality there, just as it always has! THAT´S the difference! Does anyone still actually DRIVE an early nineties Lexus? Seriously? A homeless person? (no, I´m not really expecting any reply to this, since it´s just simply so laughable). Nah, I´m happy with a sixties Cadillac and I don´t care if it doesn´t do 150 MPH, or if it needs a few more gallons of fuel than many others, but the truth is that it seldom needs any new parts and it has never left me stranded anywhere! It has always been cared for and it still looks new. It´s the real deal and not some “disposable” plastic crap like EVERYTHING out there these days. But, some people seem to have different views on what is considered QUALITY, nowdays. Yes, not speaking about style and beauty and…
The w140 saved my life.
W140 is King!
Love driving the 1997 S-class with AMG kit!
The best W140 is the coupe V12, best power/weight ratio, and better looking than the big yacht 4 doors. Today they are mechanics’ specials, requiring literally months of maintenance and repairs to get in shape and roadworthy. Too many bs gadgets that break !!! literally 100’s of miles of wiring, and vacuum hoses. all the doors and trunk close with vacuum assist, requiring separate vacuum motors ! what a crock of sheet…they could have just made them electric powered ? and they fail….having said that, the V12 coupe passes as a poor man’s Ferraril or Lamborghini, in that is IS a true V12…and the W140 still ranks far above the anemic late model Jaguar V12’s.
So much misinformation here… there are 2 vacuum pumps, one for doors, one for trunk, central locking, HVAC, lumbar support… minimizes failure points, parts and replacement costs, quieter… they fail, slowly… after 20-30 years? Anything else, just maintain the car. Car was, even at the time of launch, relatively DEVOID of technology.
This is a -real- Mercedes-Benz.
Overengineered, heavy, thirsty, expensive, comfortable.
The way it was meant to be.
No apologies offered or expected.
If it’s too much car, then perhaps you would be interested in our used lot in the back.
We have a nice Suzuki Esteem for sale.😛
Someone mentioned above that MB didn’t have cruise control until ’74. When did they finally offer a tilt steering wheel? The 80s?
Mercedes-Benz had developed the 8-litre V16 engine for W140, calling it 800 SEL. Perhaps, Mercedes-Benz was deeply stung again by a “small fry” from Munich when BMW introduced Germany’s first post-war V12 engine in 1987. The first time BMW upstaged Mercedes-Benz was introducing Germany’s first post-war V8 engine in 1954, fitted to 502, when Mercedes-Benz had nothing more than a 3-litre straight six as its top engine. So, Mercedes-Benz hoped for the bragging right by having Germany’s first post-war V16 engine.
Apparently, Mercedes-Benz “misinterpreted” the memo from the sources that BMW was planning to fit the V16 engine in E32 7-Series (767 Goldfisch prototype) or the next generation E38 7-Series. The BMW 6.7-litre V16 was developed specifically as a proposed engine for Bentley Mulsanne, replacing the Turbo R’s V8 engine. No idea whether the V16 fit W140’s engine bay well without the serious rearrangement as it was with BMW’s Goldfisch that had the cooling system moved to the rear. Unlike Goldfisch, the V16 fit Mulsanne’s engine bay perfectly with no issues.
The recession brought on by the first Gulf War, increasing emission regulations, and perhaps the engineering cost overrun might have led Mercedes-Benz to cancel the 560 bhp V16 engine as too “ostentatious” and wrong fit. Mercedes-Benz was able to increase the V12’s output to 408 bhp for 1992 model year, negating the need for larger and more powerful engine. Eventually, AMG extracted more power from V12 by enlarging the engine to 7.0 and 7.3 litres.
Mercedes engineers also schemed a W-18 engine (three banks of six cylinders each). This featured the cylinder heads and pistons from the existing in-line six-cylinder engine. It was no longer than the in-line six. Apart from the V-16 and the W-18 they also had a V-20 and a V-24. Both of these were for the Maybach. They may have been working up these designs not so much for competing with BMW but for competing with VAG.
Under the auspices of Ferdinand Piech, VAG engineers developed their W-8, W-12 and W-16 engines and took them into production. These were of a double-V layout. For example the W-12 is similar to a pair of VR6 engines on a common crankshaft. VAG also had a W-12 design of three banks of four cylinders each and a W-18 of three banks of six cylinders each. Neither of these two made production however. So VAG had a W-8 engine, two W-12 engines of very different design layout, a W-16 and a W-18.
Putting aside the three bank W-12 and W-18 engines for the moment and concentrating on the double-V engines (W-8, W-12, W-16), we see all these three have common architecture. What is less well known is that the original progenitor of all these was a W-10. Notice that the cylinder banks are set at 72-degrees (with cylinders in each bank splayed at 15-degrees). It was part way through the development cycle of the W-10 that it was decided to make this a modular engines family. The W-8 (with balance shafts), W-12 and W-16 were given the go ahead while the V-10 was not. A colleague mentions that was a great shame since the W-10 had spawned a W-20 featuring a central power take off. It was not as long as the Mercedes V-16 or the BMW V-16. It would have fitted Phaeton and several other models apparently. It was compact enough. Now THAT is the engine I’d have liked to see in scale production.
The V16+ engines as any sort of reality are myths, perhaps PR or even just magazine creations… There would have been no market for them.
The inline 6 is a superior design to a V8 in a larger car from a NVH and cost/maintenance perspective, it has the V12’s characteristics apart from capacity.
The story of the V8s had much to do with the American market requiring more cylinders if the car costs over a certain amount… from around ’94 BMW started offering small (3.0) V8s to overcome the US market’s disdain for 6 cylinders, and BMW’s inline 6’s have always been better than their V8s.
Too bad they didn’t go in the direction of the upper-left-hand corner prototype shown, very Sable like. It would have broken new ground, away from the stuffy and over-conservative Benz look promoted by Sacco for way too long, and appears much slimmer and more nimble. Even the Town-Car-like proposal one opposite it would have been an interesting change.
RAnderson
Those proposals were banal and would not have aged well. Sacco did a good job. His design is a luxury car which appears hewn from the solid. It felt solid too.
What I like about this car is that they can be thrown around in sporty manner if you are so inclined and despite being limousine like, they handle well. These days SUVS and trucks are getting larger and heavier yet. None of them ride as well or handle as well as this Mercedes.