Mercedes reputation may ride on new S-class

About 20 years ago, Mercedes ruled the world. BMW had not yet gotten serious about building luxury cars, Audi was building hot rally-inspired hatchbacks, Cadillac was best known for the Cimarron and the aluminum V8 debacle, and Lexus didn't even exist. Oh, how times change. Consumer Reports states that the E-class is currently the most unreliable car sold in the US, and Mercedes has dropped from the top spot in the JD Power survey to #27. Many are viewing its new S-class, the latest version of the top-selling luxury car in the world, as the company's only chance to salvage its reputation. The car has numerous new safety features, but it's unlikely that those will mean much if the car isn't dang near perfect in fit, finish, and function. M-B has put nearly 3 million miles on S-class prototypes, and took the extremely wise step of freezing electronics calibration work five months before the start of production instead of allowing work until the last minute. In all likelihood, we'll know a year from now if they've managed to iron out the electronics gremlins.