Why I admire only OLDER MBs

[jvcn]

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/62b860d0-80...00e2511c8.html

I used to think Mercedes's problems were primarily in the US, but I guess even the Europeans have gotten the message.

Highlights from the article:

Visitors travelling by taxi to the DaimlerChrysler headquarters in Stuttgart used to have one choice of vehicle: Mercedes. The same was true throughout Germany. But on visits in the recent wintry months, the taxi rank has usually been headed by a Volkswagen, Opel or - worst of all - a Mazda.

and

For Germany's taxi drivers, this comes as no surprise. "Opels [made by General Motors of the US] are half the price of Mercedes and the quality is now the same," says Anis Ahmad, a Frankfurt taxi driver with an Opel Zafira.

The clincher:

However, secondhand sales of older, more reliable Mercedes models are booming in the German taxi market, says BZP - with the result that 70 per cent of all taxis still bear the famous star logo.

I fear that they need to go down more before they go up, but I sincerely hope for the sake of all auto lovers that they get their mojo back within a decade.