Glad you like it. I have to wonder what you've owned before. AMG-branded Mercs are infamously hard-riding. You mostly been buying sports cars or pickups or some such (or--modern cars which virtually all ride hard anyway)? It better be fast, it wouldn't deserve the badge if it wasn't. Mercedes still has some actual pride.

Modern so-called "Cadillacs" piss me off so badly I could write a long rant entirely about those. That nameplate got sick circa 1981 and died circa 1994. All that's left is a long-dead zombie that GM refuses to allow to pass away gracefully. The modern incarnation of the brand has thrown away its crown and laurel wreath off its badge--a not-so-subtle admission that even the folks building them know they're junk. Bury it already.

Danth

Didn't 90's Saturns use that type of hard plastic panel for the outer bodywork so they wouldn't dent and rust? I never owned one of those but I remember people making fun of the "plastic car." I think we'll see a gradual move to stainless construction as the public increasingly expects their cars to last 10+ years. Galvanized is pretty good--cars don't rust out in 3-4 years anymore like they used to in the 70's--but it's not THAT good. Joy...we'll have miserable dreary rolling torture chambers, but they'll last forever. Good idea, 30 years too late.

Danth

I've owned BMWs mostly before. I have a GMC 1/2 ton truck too.

The new AMGs have a comfort, sport, and sport+ settings. Changes everything from suspension stiffness, gear shifts, exhaust, etc.

Rides plush in comfort, stiffens up in sport+. And man oh man does it sound good in sport+. I haven't even broken it in yet...only about 400 miles so I haven't opened her up fully. The 155mph limiter was removed...but its still only 385 hp...should get to 150 pretty fast but after that its going to start running out of legs whereas the big V8s in the C/E/GLS 63 AMGs will keep pulling.

Stock cars were making ~400 HP during the worst of the restrictor plate era and could stagger up to 180-190 if they had enough space to do so, but it took them awhile to get there. Those are basically similar weight as your Merc, different drag/aero and gearing though. I wouldn't expect a road car to match a purpose racer but you should be able to well exceed that 250km/h german mandated limiter and likely get close to the above if you have access to someplace with enough space. Report back if you ever get the chance; not enough dudes who buy that type of car ever actually use it for the job its meant for. Contrary to my thread title (which really was in reference mostly to daily-driver and family-type autos) serious performance cars are one of the few areas where modern autos are generally quite good, except maybe for those of us who dislike electronics and prefer a purist environment, and even then tires and brakes are dramatically improved vs years past. Stiff rides and confining seats are forgiven--expected, rather--in a track-first car.

I assume there's some sort of voodoo bypass trickery or some such in the exhaust? Turbos are not generally known for making a nice sound.

Danth

didnt read

I drive a dodge 3500 mega cab. It has an insane amount of room.

But I agree with you that most modern cars tend to be smaller.

New trucks these days also cost 50k-100k

Lol’d