[Z-man]

It's not just the car maker that has changed -- it is also the way folks buy and drive cars these days...

Back then, folks would buy a car and keep it for a very, very long time -- no matter what brand they bought. It just happened that the Mercedes-Benzes would far outlast anything else out there.

These days, folks will buy or lease cars with greater frequency than they buy underwear! People will lease a car for 2-3 years, and get bored with it after only 1.5 years and opt out of the lease via a dealer 'buy-back' option.

Why is this? I think a big part of it is the fact that people want to keep up with the Joneses. "I gotta have the latest and the greatest" on my block FIRST.

Plus they have no brand loyalty. If Lexus puts out the latest car, they'll buy it. Two years down the road, when BMW has a new toy, they'll flock to the BMW dealerships. When Benz puts out the next best thing, it's Mercedes for them! As long as it is newer, bigger, faster, better than the neighbor's car, that is all that seems to matter to those who buy Luxo cars. And sadly, the luxo car makers know this, and taylor their cars to fit their customer's needs.

In the consumer's eyes, quality and longevity has taken a backseat to trendy and 'better than the car next door.'

Me? I've had my Subaru Legacy since 1995, and with 193,000 miles on the clock, it is time to put it out to pasture. I just hope the Ford Explorer Sport Trac will give me at least 10 years of trouble free driving...

-Z-man.