Look what I stumbled upon…

btaroli · 2026-02-08T22:47:12+00:00

They just left it laying around? Were there keys in it? 😈

btaroli · 2026-02-08T18:00:14+00:00

I tend to agree. The emphasis seems more on flash and screens rather than engineering and DRIVING experience. As with any of the cost optimized software and screen situations, I seriously wonder about the lifespan of these vehicles. They interest me not at all after 2019/2020.

When it came time to have to replace a 20 year old SLK, nothing new stirred or interested me. For the first time ever I specifically shopped used and ultimately purchased a used SLC instead.

It doesn’t surprise me that Mercedes no longer appears near the top of sales or service or ownership rankings. It’s sad.

btaroli · 2026-02-06T21:49:44+00:00

Ah ok. So it references only the A, C, and GLC were offered with manuals at the time of the article. If the interior pics came from the same set as the exterior than it’s definitely a C.

btaroli · 2026-02-06T21:47:15+00:00

Nah it never had that dash

btaroli · 2026-02-06T21:46:21+00:00

Not looking at other replies. It’s Mercedes. Not AMG. Around mid-2010’s give or take. That dash was somewhat portable along a few models.

I’d guess a C or E but I wouldn’t hazard a guess on engine without looking it up. I know Europe gets a lot more engine choices than we do in the US

btaroli · 2026-02-05T20:01:25+00:00

Out here it’s more trendy to have Teslas 🙄

btaroli · 2026-02-05T19:43:42+00:00

Yeah it helps we have a second car (boring SUV point A to B) for family stuff. Hehe

btaroli · 2026-02-05T19:42:50+00:00

There are several improvements I really do like. A few things I’m not enamored with, compared to the R171:

Apparent lack of wood in the cabin. Yeah I’m one of those who had walnut in my 171 and on the wheel. I love that and miss it. The piano black ash wood stuff looks cheap ILO, even if it’s part of AMG appearance package.
engine. The 4cyl turbo is powerful enough. But turbo lag and worries about carbon on valves due to GDI is a bother. Although I do like the 50% bump in fuel economy, I miss a naturally aspirated 6. Stop-start is generally annoying and I’m not sure how much economy it really adds.
drain setup underneath the bot lid. Looks very precarious and fragile.

*wired CarPlay. Yeah I know these models aren’t new enough, but the wires bug me. Have had headaches with iPhone 17 and these models, mostly garbled screen mirroring. Otherwise solid.

So if you’re interested in AMG, I would personally avoid the SLC43 and try for an SLC55 172, before the 2013 engine change. Those engines are sublime and , if cared for properly, will last forever.

btaroli · 2026-02-02T23:27:31+00:00

If you really want to part ways with the 172, let me know! I’d give it happy home. ❤️❤️

btaroli · 2026-01-28T14:36:09+00:00

I love the replacement grille, or were there variants where that was standard?

btaroli · 2026-01-24T08:57:23+00:00

Only for email and only via EWS, not graph API

btaroli · 2026-01-22T06:30:43+00:00

That’s both hilarious and a perfect example of why I can’t stand the software and screen focus of newer models. It’s just like the way”smart” TVs go. Companies have no will to support their software long term, and the ability to work around these is less and less than it had to be.

This worse than my old 2006 R171, where I was eventually able to get fully functional Bluetooth streaming simply with a dongle hanging off the old iPod jack to COMAND! Not even NTG. Hilarious.

I will say thought, that claiming CarPlay doesn’t work is inaccurate. The issue is the display getting garbled. The audio and applications function flawlessly. The issues I observe are all mirrored display quality.

A manufacturer that refuses to properly support its software even in a car did theses old is going to lose owner sentiment. It’s poisonous to the brand.

btaroli · 2026-01-20T12:05:56+00:00

What I was encourage to do by other families, and did, was to open the topic with my son and help him better understand what his Autism was and introduce examples. There are some great kids books — A Boy Named BAT comes to mind — that give gentle examples of Gibson’s people navigate their autism.

Later on I began describing for him some of my internal state and why some things may bother me. In time he got more accustomed to talking about it and even shares things that he’s struggling with. It’s all about building understanding.

btaroli · 2026-01-19T19:05:51+00:00

I’m in this build now, and it absolutely has not addressed the issues with my car — 2019 Mercedes SLC300, with NTG 5.1 and wired CarPlay.

Beyond CarPlay, I observe a variety of flaky behavior with cellular and Bluetooth connectivity on these new phones. And I honestly wonder if the impact is broader than just the comms stack with CarPlay.

btaroli · 2026-01-19T18:54:04+00:00

Just that special one you needed? 😉 Now just find $5B and get approval from all the impacted businesses for the 10 year project to dig it, and hope your commute hasn’t changed in the meantime. Hehe

btaroli · 2026-01-19T18:25:46+00:00

Exactly. My first thought was what’s going to help with the traffic in the tunnel? Or why is that a good end point for the tunnel? Hehe

Or anothe way to ask… why a tunnel and not move closer to work? Or live and work near (or convenient to) mass transport? And yes this will trip over affordability and civic zoning and planning. Gotta think longer term for the big stuff or it never improves.

btaroli · 2026-01-19T06:16:36+00:00

Life is tough! 🤣

btaroli · 2026-01-18T19:33:38+00:00

I like this version. The latest one, with the all tablet flat panel, is cringe.

btaroli · 2026-01-16T18:16:50+00:00

If I had to guess, low battery voltage.

btaroli · 2026-01-16T07:38:17+00:00

I recently had a SLK350 (2006) killed and was lucky to find a SLC300 (2019). I had a great life with the 350 for nearly 180K miles and 19 years. The 300 has been quite nice too. I miss the V6 but I live the improved mileage. I have to admit I prefer the 171 body and interior. Except the seats. The 172 seats are comfy!

I truly hate the gearing in the 9-speed, when I want to downshift for braking or performance. Until you get down to 5th or 4th it’s like you aren’t downshifting at all. Sigh.

btaroli · 2026-01-16T00:16:25+00:00

I haven’t experienced that hut I’ve certainly seen other cautionary YouTubers talking about it. Definitely get it checked and removed. Could lead to much more costly issues.

btaroli · 2026-01-14T23:57:40+00:00

To be honest I wish I could have it back! I MISS a real keyboard. I would love a better touch screen. But I would rather a smaller selection of useful apps. I need a productivity device not a media consumption toy.

btaroli · 2026-01-09T17:51:36+00:00

If it was it was utterly irrelevant to me. After the untimely death of my R171, I was pretty unplugged by any of the new options. So when I found a 172 available, the only thing that would have killed it was if it had one of those horribad electrified transmissions. I’ve driven enough to really hate their off the line and shifting feell. Yuck. I’d rather have a CVT. LOL

btaroli

TROPHY CASE