I’m probably not the first to think about it, nor the last to talk about it. But to be honest, I am deeply surprised… The most genuine zeitgeist. We are living in the fuffle age that marketing has led us to.
I never tire of repeating : we are living in an age of total fluff and I am deeply convinced of this.
We are all victims of mass production, gullible victims of effective marketing, of the deceptions of the present mania.
Back in the middle of the 20th century, cars, motorbikes, washing machines, etc., were still being made with a view to long exploitation, we are talking decades!
My mother bought a RIGA washing machine in 1980, planning to inherit it for my wedding. I would add that I was born in 1980.
Today, damn it, everything is different. To my great joy, the concept of ‘progressive ageing’ did not exist at that time. But today, you don’t get used to technology when you need a new one in a few years’ time.
I don’t think it even occurred to Mercedes headquarters at the time to put a W123 or W124 cylinder block in some kind of crap that would fall apart after 20,000 miles. In those days, engines were made from ‘cast iron’.
And nobody’s head hurt that a jerky injector, EGR valve or soot filter flew around. Machines were built on the basis that the first ‘500 000 km’ would not need to be looked under the bonnet. There is no sarcasm in this story, you can cite endless examples and there are no exceptions here.
Other car manufacturers and models also achieved legendary status in terms of durability. And they literally only changed wear parts, brake pads, oil, filter. But what’s happening today…
My husband bought a new NISSAN QASHKAI from the showroom, after 20 000 km the pistons just flew off. Total shit. I guess if the pistons flew after 20 000 km on a W124, the heads of the engineers at the MB factory would be flying.
Nowadays, “programmed obsolescence” is everywhere, and I don’t like it right now. For myself, I have long drawn a parallel: there are cars for the soul, but there are also just liquid assets, expendables, so to speak.
I loved and still love the 463 G-Class, then I look at the new GLS only from a utilitarian point of view, and nothing more. I believe the GLS is great to drive, there are autopilots, low range modes. No I value it as a supermarket car. I look at her and I have no emotion – a breathless piece of crap. An emotionless vehicle.
But looking at the W140 and the W463 G-Class makes my soul sing. There is a soul in these cars, and I love them with all my soul.
But the MBW140 and the TLC 80 are the answer to this fuff era!
Toomas Kuum
tmsauto.ee