Straight six is back

[935k3]

merc 6

[Ace-Garageguy]

Very interesting and a technological marvel...but HMOG, the insane complication of the thing. 

Mercedes has excelled for years at making things complex apparently just for the sake of complexity (work on some of them that are no longer supported by the factory if you want an exercise in frustration and multiple "what were they thinking?" moments), and has almost invariably used 17 specially-designed parts when two off-the-shelf standard ones would perform the same function.

Good to see the Mercedes design philosophy is still alive and well.   

And the article states "Modern V6s are lame; they sound terrible, they’re not especially smooth, and without turbos or supercharges, they tend to lack low-end torque. "

Really?

[Johnt671]

I had a 95 Mercedes C280. It had an I6 that run so smooth that you couldn't hear or feel it run. I gave up on the car when the engine compartment wiring harness had to be replaced. Mercedes in their far seeing wisdom used a biodegradable wiring harness. Almost all the insulation broke down leaving bare wires shorting out all over the engine.

[mk11]

Mercedes in their far seeing wisdom used a biodegradable wiring harness...

For some reason, the old Peanuts cartoon addressing defective baseballs comes back to me... where the phrase and concept of 'planned obsolescence' was first implanted in my young inquiring mind 

 

 

mike

[Aaronw]

I had a 95 Mercedes C280. It had an I6 that run so smooth that you couldn't hear or feel it run. I gave up on the car when the engine compartment wiring harness had to be replaced. Mercedes in their far seeing wisdom used a biodegradable wiring harness. Almost all the insulation broke down leaving bare wires shorting out all over the engine.

Volvo had the same issue in the 80s. They got rid of that wiring about the same time Mercedes started using it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Mercedes has made some truly wondrous machines over the years, like the '50s Gullwings. Their higher-production engines were also industry standards for a long time, and their older diesels longevity is legendary.

One of the first Mercs I ever did an alt-fuel conversion on was a '67 250 SE, and talk about a really lovely inline six...and smooth. A very impressive vehicle overall; a little more complex than many of its contemporaries, and very German in feel and fit and finish, but there always seemed to be a good reason for the way they did things.

Sadly, from my OWN perspective (your opinion may vary), Mercedes has lately become pretty much the world-leader in over-complication simply because CAD allows it. It seems to be fashionable now in vehicle engineering circles to find the most complex way to do anything, but engineering "elegance" used to strive to get the job done in the simplest way possible.

The engine that's the subject of this post is surely quite an achievement, but when it's 20 years old (or as soon as it's out of warranty and no longer factory-supported) forget fixing it.

[om617]

The engine that's the subject of this post is surely quite an achievement, but when it's 20 years old (or as soon as it's out of warranty and no longer factory-supported) forget fixing it.

This is what you have brand/enthusiast forums for.