Btw, this piece just appeared on the WRC website, Hirvonen talking about Finland:

True, but the cars itself are not that far away pace wise. As I said, Neuville was a consistent P2 and P3 finisher in 2013, and the cars didn't change dramatically - the speed couldn't just vanish out of the Fiesta. Also, Neuville was faster than all Citroen drivers, with the exceptions being Loeb (well, no surprise).…

Not exactly true I'd say. See, the S-class hack disabled automatic driving assists deactivation, and in the video the driver still was very much in control. He for example was sitting in his seat and could have easily intervened should the systems have failed.

The Fiesta was leading the event last year at the hands of Østberg and Neuville, and Neuville took 7 podiums in it. The cars didn't change, actually they were frozen to ensure competitiveness (except for a joker or two). I really think it's the driver who's the major slow-down.

Interesting. Labour costs are a nightmare at Mercedes dealers.

About 10 grand a year? Damn. So do you think that a pricier cheap Mercedes, e.g. a well maintained S65 in very good condition would be significantly cheaper to run, or is most of the repair work just general stuff that needs replacement after some time?

I always hear how crazy the maintenance is on the 65 AMGs, but have never seen an actual number. Does anyone know what the average costs are after the warranty expires?

25 years of W108 ownership? That's awesome.

Now I get your point. I was trying to figure out what has been modified or hot roded, but it's "just" stock.

Right, always assumed the coupes were W108s as well, but it seems like they are called W111 internally.

Isn't that just a standard W108?

Is there any car not improved by having an Aston next to it?

997s are becoming popular! They are taking overall wins in the german championship, and they are even raced in rallys: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/so-this-is-how…

Mine too mate, but then I'll find a mobile.de offer and the hate turns into desire. http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/m…

I would take a R63 over many, many other cars, but that front end is just horrible.

The R-Class looks like a Van with a Chinese knock-off Mercedes front end.

Do it Porsche. Or someone else. No one cares as long as this exists.

It even comes as an AMG. So beautiful, and it has to sound to match.