…or Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder. Traveler is in the shop right now for repairs to its rear bumper (described in This Post). They’re saying two to three days. Maybe. I’ve been driving Traveler now for a half year. I suppose it was too much to ask that the rental car the other guy’s insurance company gave me was an ‘E’ class. Another ‘C’ would have been nice. What I got was a Volkswagon Jetta.

The warning a friend gave me shortly after I bought the Mercedes…how it would change my idea of what normal is…has kept popping into my thoughts every time I sit down behind the wheel and drive. At some logical analytical level I thought I understood this. When I bought the Mercedes, I started living in a different world. I knew that when I sat down in it the first time. And at that rational logical level it has not been hard to remember all these weeks. The car is so goddamned tight, yet it handles like a dream. I Know no other car I’ve ever owned has been as well made as this one is. But as time goes on I also knew I was starting to take it for granted.

Never mind…just never mind…all the nifty gizmos the Mercedes came equipped with. Never mind how much of its engineering seemed specifically designed to entrance a geek. I just learned the other day for example, that the headlights operate at a higher wattage level when you accelerate to highway speeds. Never mind all that. Traveler is way more solid, and way better fitted together then any other car I have ever owned or driven. That was what I bought it for. That solid, vault-like Mercedes feel. I thought I was aware of how used to it I was becoming. But it wasn’t until the nice lady with Enterprise Rental Cars introduced me to my rental Jetta that I realized how different my idea of normal had become in just six months.

I got in. I tried to make myself comfortable in the driver’s seat. I knew there probably wouldn’t be any power seat adjustments and there weren’t. Fine. This isn’t a luxury car…it’s a practical one. I reached down under the seat for the adjustment lever…found it, and set the distance from the steering wheel. Then I found the backrest adjuster and fixed the tilt of the backrest. There was, of course, no height adjustment. Fine…fine…I can live with this. I found the controls to adjust the sideview mirrors. Then I fixed the tilt of the rearview mirror. I got everything adjusted to suit my particular physical size and shape. Then I sat there for a moment, and looked around the cabin.

Wow…this isn’t…right…

I drove the Jetta out of the parking lot at Valley Motors and as soon as I put it into gear I knew what I was missing. The car felt…a tad rickety. And at a rational level I know that’s not fair. It’s just…my baseline has changed profoundly. The Jetta, let it be said, is not a poorly built car by any means. At a glance it seems as well made as your average sub compact Honda or Toyota. Since it’s a rental car it’s not exactly pristine on the inside. But it’s feel is no less solid then my Geo Prism or the Accord and I loved those cars. It’s a tad noisier then the Accord but still, the Jetta is a very nice car. And I’d have died to own anything half as good back when I couldn’t afford to own even a $500 junker. But what a world of difference with the Mercedes. The Mercedes really is like a goddamned vault compared to the Jetta.

I’ve been stealing glances at the ‘E’ class lately and I’d forgotten how good I have it. My friend warned me about that too. But now I have a cure for it. Whenever I catch myself seriously considering trading Traveler in for an ‘E’ class when I get it paid off, I’ll just go rent a car for a day or two. A nice Accord or a Camry. A really nice one. That should cure me of it.

In the meantime…here’s a nice C300 review from a British gent who really gives the new ‘C’ a lot of love. What really impressed me about that is the old, well used, Mercedes wagon he owns and is apparently still devoted to. It’s those folks, the ones who remember how rock solid Mercedes use to build them, that the company needs to win back. And it looks like this new ‘C’ is doing that.

[Edited a tad...]