Mercedes-Benz at NAIAS 2k7

It's been a couple weeks now, and things have settled in. No more mint-chocolate mousse, no more drinks, no more fancy lighting effects ... time to look back with a mind at ease on Detroit's stands.
And let's start with one of my favourites, Mercedes Benz.

Right as you enter the show floor ... a cold breeze hits you ... uh? Smells like an arena in here? As a canuck, it's an odd feeling, you're in Detroit ... and yet it smells like a hockey game is about to start. Minus the fans shouting Go Habs Go! And indeed a hockey game it is! What has this world come to? I flee Montreal, only to have hockey players catch up to me! What next? Moose running wild carrying a 6pack of Molson Dry? Ok ... enough with the canadian cliches.

But still ... there are those guys, skating around on the Cobo Hall floor, slapshooting the puck between cars. "Step closer, you must" says a little voice in the back of my head ... well I'll be damned, but an ice rink it is. And pretty large too! Big enough for an S-Class to drive 8s all across. And there's an ice wall too!!! Suddenly, no more hockey, enough of this nonsense (seriously ... it was the first time I saw hockey and no fights!), half a dozen skaters hop on the ice and just zoom around, quite gracefully, if I may say so.

Perfect time to go to the MB hospitality, sit down, grab a coffee and croissants (excellent, BTW). The furniture is awesome, your usual semi-modern chairs and tables ... covered in furry baby seal skin. The damn thing looked like it came straight out of a corny movie ... I felt like an actor sitting there, on my fancy furry chair, right next to skaters sharing the rink with a Mercedes. Surreal. But fun.

On this first day, there is no car worth mentioning ... as they were all to arrive on day two (don't ask why, I have no clue). Day 2, the end of the skaters. Some grippy substance (salt?) is everywhere, and we're free to roam on this now surprisingly un-slippery ice. And there's a red carpet straight in the middle, laid on top of the ice. Cars are now parked and we can finally check out the MB cars. Actually, there's only one I have to check out, the SLR. Everything else is either boring or old news. What can I say, I'm 24, I'm too young to be seen in an R-Class! I'm being a bit mean, here. I like the G, love the completely digital S-Class dash, and the CLS is as beautiful as ever. But R, GL, E ... it's only for people with walking sticks and dentures.

I mentioned the carpet laid on the ice ... did I mention they put sofas on the carpet too? Let me tell you that at the end of the day, sitting on the sofa, with your feet on the cold carpet almost made me want to buy an R-Class. It was that close.

Now the Ocean Drive unveiling ... that's what the red carpet is for. I must say I just love all the irony of a convertible, called Ocean Drive, being unveiled on an ice rink in Detroit of all places. Some things you just can't make up. On to the concept car ... I'll be blunt, I don't get it. Fit and finish is rather poor, the headlights seem dull like a 15 year old truck (if they had LED lights ...), the global shape is uninspiring, the color bland ... and why is this a Mercedes anyways? I would see it as a Maybach, not MB! Now what did I like about it? It made me work hard, as I spent ages taking pictures and I don't think a single one made it look right. Ok, ok, I have to say I somewhat liked the interior, especially, the cloth inserts in the seats. I'm not a leather fan, so I was all too happy to notice it. Aaaaaaand, that's about it. Don't get me wrong, it's not ugly by any stretch of imagination, it's just uninspiring ... and it's a concept car!

Overall? Well, good thing MB had an amazing stand ...

-Julien

Some extra pictures ...