New list of things to be done

Like all semesters at school, this current semester is proving to be a bit of a challenge. However it's not just for me, but for the 560SEL as well. So here is what I'll be doing once the Christmas holidays come and I have a bit of free time.

Bumper touch up - someone, who most likely is incapable of using mirrors, backed into my front bumper at a 90 degree angle creating a few annoying scrapes which will need some attention.

Tie Rods - or something that causes a bit of play in the steering as well as a subtle clunk at low speeds while turning the wheel

Major Detail - the car isn't filthy, but just requires a deep down clean. The light grey interior shows stains easily, and the carpets should be shampooed. Over all I think I'll go over the car with a tooth brush.

Dent Repair - another dent has been discovered on the driver's door, only visible in certain lighting conditions, but it can be seen from 15 metres away. This makes for three dents overall that I will look into repairing.

Chrome Replacement above the driver's window - Recently someone tried to break into the car in an underground parking lot of a downtown shopping mall. It looks like they attempted to pry the window, which put a small, but ugly dent into the chrome above.

And to give you a mileage update, I am currently just under 108,000km.

The Playlist of a 560SEL driver / Was für Musik hört ein W126 Fahrer gern?

To know what music belongs in a 560SEL, you have to look at the driving characteristics of the car. With it's long wheelbase it offers relaxed cruising, but the 5.6 litre engine enables it to behave like a stampeding bull. Anything with a beat over 60 beats per minute just doesn't suit the car while wafting home, but when you do have the pedal down it's nice to have music emphasize the mechanical characteristics of the car. The third thing to consider is the car's age. Just listening to 80s music isn't the obvious answer but any music that expresses the 80s ideas about technology and sound works well. If it makes you think of an old betamax, then it belongs in the car.

Wenn jemand nach S-klasse Musik denkt, musst er/sie das Fahrverhalten ins Auge fassen. Der Lange Radstand sort für entspanntes Herumfahren, aber der große 5,6 liter v8 ist wie ein Bulle. Auch muss man nach den 80er Jahren denken. Wenn man Musik hört und denkt von Betamax, dann passt diese Musik zu dem 560er.

80s inspiration

1. Fujiya Myagi - Ankle Injury
2. Talking Heads -Wild Life
3. Jeans Team - Das Zelt
4. Zoot Woman - Automatic
5. Sabastien Tellier - Divine
6. Paul Simon - Diamonds on the souls of her shoes
7. Queen - I want to break free
8. Justice - DVNO
9. Css - Lets make love and listen to death from above
10. Zweiraumwohnung - Wir trafen uns in einem Garten

Hunting Honda Civics on the free way / Opel Jagd auf der Autobahn

1. Blumfeld - Diktatur der Angepassten
2. Justice - Waters of Nazareth
3. Kante - Die Summe der Einzelnen Teile
4. Beta Band - Assessment
5. Arcade Fire - Black Mirror
6. Tocotronic - Hier ist der Beweis
7. Sam Roberts - The Gate
8. Air - Dead Bodies
9. Mylo - Rikki

Cruising Music / Musik zum Cruisen

1. Benébar - Le Diner
2. Zero 7 - Morning Song
3. Justice - Valentine
4. Element of Crime - Delmenhorst
5. Air - La Femme
   
6. Paul Simon - I know what I know
7. Phoenix - If I ever feel better

More Pictures, Mehr Bilder

The little things that need attention

No car is perfect, so here are a list of the little things that need to be fixed with the car...

• power rear shade - It works the odd time, but the plastic guide inside has snapped. This means it will go down easily but only up if things perfectly line up inside. I have yet to fix it which requires me pulling the back seat and parcel shelf out!! The shade is currently up and has been since last spring, so I think I'll leave it that way.

• rear passenger window switch - It works just fine, but doesn't light up anymore, small issue

• rough starting - often when the car starts, it runs rough for about three seconds, the revs increase to 1200 or so, it smoothes out and then is fine. Injectors, fuel pump, fuel filter?

• interior squeaks - the plastic, especially in the door panels squeaks like crazy. With mere acceleration and braking you can hear the panels creak.
  

• noisy fan - it's not a big deal, but on the high setting the fan makes a bit more noise than it should. Once it slows down its much quieter.

• head gasket - At this stage its more of an annoyance. A small leak at the back of the engine means I drip a small amount of oil from time to time. It requires a top up of oil every 5 months or so. The more annoying issue has to due with the smell. When stopped, the smell of burning oil makes its way into the interior. A replacement of the head gasket is approximately $2200 and several mechanics have advised me that it's not worth it to stop a little bit of oil leaking out.
  

Safety / Sicherheit

The 560SEL vs The Hybrid Part 2

Recently various governments have been enticing drivers to ditch their older gas guzzlers for new, more efficient and environmentally friendlier vehicles. Which is great if you actually must have a new car. However I'm one to believe sustainability is achieved not just through reducing air pollution. I do agree that global warming is a problem. I'm not running around waving my arms about over melting icecaps, but I realise something must be done. However, global warming is becoming trendy, and while it's great that others share my concern we tend to forget about other environmental issues.

The Hudson Bay Company, known to Canadians as simply the Bay department store, has been following the trendiness of global warming, using it with their current ad campaigns. Mannequins stand in the display windows with text behind featuring tips on how to be more friendly to the environment. You'll see sings like "don't idle" and such, but how about buying less? After all, their slogan years ago was "Shopping is Good". Of course, it is their best interest that you buy their products, but this new campaign promoting a greener way of living doesn't come off as being all too serious from a store that doesn't really promote sustainable products.

So how does that fit in with cars? Well sure, newer cars produce less harmful emissions, but think of what it took to create that car. The materials, the energy, the chemicals, land, not to mention the energy used to transport it from the factory on one continent to the buyer on another. This is where a proper old Mercedes becomes important. My car has been on the road for 18 years. I am one less person to build a new car for, simply because my current one is still in service and not littering a junk yard going to waste. I plan to drive my car at least for a decade. With my current amount of driving that will be about 50-80,000km. My car well then have well under 200,000km and just half way through the engine's life span despite being close to 30 years old. Where do you think a 2008 Prius will be in 30 years?

Mercedes looks at sustainability is other ways. Recently the German TÜV rated the current S-class as being more friendly to the environment than the Toyota Prius. So how could a large sedan with a 5.5 litre V8 beat what everyone falsely assumes is a green car? The TÜV were impressed with how cleanly it used its fuel, the amount of recycled material used in its construction and how ethically it had been made.

While during the life of a Prius little impact will be made on the environment, the birth and death of a hybrid creates some serious problems. The batteries contain nickel and while mining and smelting processes have improved, and they claim it isn't as bad as it used to be, a large amount of energy is required to mine and refine the material. However take note that more nickel is used for currency and stainless steel. Infact about 1% of the nickel that comes from Toyota's source, is actually purchased by Toyota, which is roughly 1000 tonnes. While this may be a drop in the bucket, you can't claim that the use of nickel in the battery is a good thing for the environment. Toyota does offer a recycling program when it's time to change the battery, which is good, if everyone actually follows it.

Overall a hybrid can be good in theory, but often in reality it's not quite as green as you'd think. What will really make a difference for sustainability is not getting everyone to discard their older cars, but finding a way to make the older cars more friendly to the environment.

The 560SEL vs The Hybrid Part 1

I've never been convinced by hybrids. While under ideal conditions, they can be rather efficient and positive for the environment. For a taxi they can be a good choice in stop and go traffic getting the most out of their batteries. For a driver like myself, few things could be worse for the environment. Over the next little while I'll be writing about how terrible the Toyota Prius can be.

This video clip from the BBC's Top Gear sums up just what is wrong with hybrids.

Pretty Pictures / Schöne Bilder

Here are just a few of the nice pictures that I've taken of the car

Hier sind einige schöne Bilder von meinem Auto.









































At the beach with downtown Vancouver in the background.
Am Strand mit Vacouver im Hintergrund.

23 litres per 100km, built for the city?

Currently most of my driving is done in the city and often for short distances. After putting in approximately 40 litres I drove 171km before my fuel light came on recently. That roughly means I've been consuming 23l/100km or getting 12mpg ( 10mpg US ). Luckily I don't have to drive great distances or all that often.

While the 560 can achieve reasonably acceptable fuel economy on the highway the figures for the city can be rather discouraging. You do have to look at is this way though, while the 560 is at home on the wide and open highway, the driver can be at home inside the 560 during the worst of city traffic. Why be in a hurry to get home and relax when you are already relaxed in the car? Typical drivers sprint from one intersection to another, while the S-class driver can glide from red light to red light in comfort and dignity and make it home in the same amount of time.

Gear changes can happen at rpms as low as 1500rpm, meaning the engine rarely does any real work. A topographical sensor knows when the car is on an incline and will stop you from rolling back the slightest amount when stopped on a steep incline. From a stand still second gear is used to start reducing wheel spin and offering smooth acceleration.

So all in all, you could argue that you don't get to enjoy the feel of a Mercedes at high speed, but low speed driving in a Mercedes can be equally as enjoyable. It gives you a moment to realise just how well the 560 SEL is put together and just how capable the car can be.

Basic Facts about my 560 SEL

Dates

• built on April 10, 1990

• original purchase date and location: June 14, 1990, Three Point Motors Ltd. Victoria BC, Canada

• my purchase date: Sept 23, 2006, Three Point Motors Ltd. Victoria BC, Canada

Mileage

• As of my purchase date 92,555km ( 83,977km shown due to speedometer replacement at 8578km)

• Currently as of March 19th 2008 104,378km ( 95,800 shown )

• I am the second owner, and have put on 11,823km in 18months.

While I haven't found the exact price of my car, a 1990 560SEL had a starting price of $107,000 CDN according to Mercedes Canada.

The car spent its first 16 years in Victoria BC which has a moderate climate with little snow fall and dry summers. In September 2006 it was taken to Vancouver BC and returned to Victoria in the summer of 2007. It is once again back with me in Vancouver and will most likely remain here for some time.


Daten

• Gebaut am 10. April 1990
  

• Verkauft am 14. Juni 1990, bei Three Point Motors Ltd. Victoria BC, Kanada

• Ich habe diesen Wagen am 23. September 2006 auch bei Three Point Motors Ltd. gekauft

Kilometerstand

• Mit 92,555km auf der Uhr, hatte ich ihn gekauft.
  

• Zur zeit gibt es 104,378km auf der Uhr.
  

• Es gabe nur eine Besitzerin, und ich bin mit dem Wagen, 11, 823km gefahren.
  

Im Jahr 1990 hatte der 560er einen Basispreis von $107.000 cdn in Kanada