Both great cars, my friend just received the new SL63 and my partner is getting the M6.

 

Your right the mags and car shows get the stats wrong a lot of the time, so do the dealers who sell the cars. We are car freaks because we commit all these facts to memory. But the end result was different then the past, no AMG would ever be called lighter, more nimble, better handling then any M.

The Z8 was a very cool looking car and was ahead of its time in some ways. It was a failure in terms of sales only. But a 125k car for the performance and amenities was not sensical for the time it was in the showrooms. You could get a new fully loaded M6 for that money, or a new SL550 loaded to the tee for that money. Both these cars are at least .6sec faster to 60, much more comfortable, and many more amenities.

I would be happy with either the M6 or the SL63, but if I had a choice I would take a SL.

 

That front of the SL still looks quite sloppy and unrefined to me.

 

The Z8 was indeed a great car, and their failed sales # turned it into a highly desirable classic.
If i had $ in hand and was shopping for a car, id lean towards owning BMW, even though i consider myself a MB fan.

 

the thing is: we don't talk about sales figures, we talk about characteres. and nobody can deny that bmw M is going towards softer, heavier, easier to drive cars! this does not imply that people stop buying M cars, but what it does imply is that bmw M is no longer what it used to be, the brand departed from its core!

 

Except this time, AutoExpress was BLATANTLY wrong which is completely unacceptable. For example, they claimed the SL's roof goes down in 20 seconds when in fact it is 15 seconds - ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS COUNT. Such lazy auto journalism is not only pathetic but downright embarrassing.


I agree. The Camry is still the number one selling sedan in the US, but we all know it's terrible. I noticed that there are some of you here arguing that BMW has great sales but that doesn't always equate to quality. By your definition, Pagani must make bad cars because they only sell a handful of Zonda's every year.

The only people who should care about sales figures are shareholders and executives of the car companies.

 

Please enlighten me.

If memory serves me right the SLR was not sold by MB... It was sold by McLaren, which if we were to bring that into the equation I'd have to bring in the F1 from McLaren (in which case you should feel sorry for the SLR)

The clk dtm... Well lets just say that other than the exclusivity and price rape it doesn't outright beat and "whore" on a regular E92 on a track.

The CLK GTR well were talking about cars that were developed hand in hand for simple homologation standards which BMW simply was never interested because of their F1 involvement which btw at this time in F1 BMW was certainly doing much better than the "AMG MERCEDES F1" team has done so.

I will hand you the SLS is a great achievement but it also took them to hand over a car to their AMG department to be able to make a proper sports car... Not Mercedes Benz. BMW's game is to take a regular production car and give it an edge.

The day "M" makes a bottoms up car from scratch they will not have the short comings the SLS has.

And just for your info, the M3 GTS was sold in less than 24 hours at a much higher price than your current MB C63 Black Series (which took about a month if not more to sell out)

Btw I suggest you check out AMG's website it clearly states the SL63 delivers super car performance.

You should also dig out of the MB world every now and then and check out real statistics.

 

I agree with you. Both brands appear to be going different ways. MB is kicking up the game in terms of sportiness and BMW is in terms of comfort and drivability.

I love both brands to be honest, and my decision to any of these cars would be solely based on driving both of them extensively, and not based on previous history as they both have changed their games in different directions from the past.

 

I was recently able to drive both in Germany (also drove the F10 M5), and I have to give the upper hand to BMW. Both cars excel, but in different areas. Mercedes will give you unparalleled fit and finish and quality in materials (for the money of course), but the driving mechanics and feedback still feel too soft for an 'AMG'. On the other hand, the BMW doesn't have quite the same great quality interior and fit with all the panels, but (in my opinion) gives you a smoother power delivery and is all around a better car to drive. In the end, some other magazine in a few weeks will come out and post a video showing the exact opposite, the M6 beating the SL63. Whether we believe that the magazines support one marque over another, or that the Manufactures provide them with not-quite-stock vehicles (like Chris Harris suggests), it all comes down to preference and what YOU want to buy. After all, its your money, not mine and not anyone else's on this board. We are all car enthusiasts which is why we know the facts about these cars backwards and forwards and know more then most dealer rep's know. They are both great cars, but for a pure sports car, the M6 is better. As a sort of GT car with loads of power, the SL63 fits the bill, and although AMG has caught up in making these cars perform better on the track, the benchmark (in this segment at least) is still the M's in my opinion.

 

I agree with you about spending your money on whatever your heart desires. However, you have to remember that the SL is a touring roadster, it's not meant to have the same driving mechanics of say, a C63 black series. The SL was meant to be comfortable but reasonably fast at the same time and it does that quite well in comparison to another touring car, the M6. Just because a car is from AMG doesn't necessarily mean it will have the same driving profile as other models.

But hey, wait till the new SL black series comes out, that thing is definitely going to be an "AMG" car!