So I’m at Home Depot carrying out two sheets of 2×8 sheet foam insulation to the car.  There is no way I can transport 2×8 sheets inside Traveler, but I don’t plan on it.  By the car, I take out a utility knife and cut the sheets in half.  Then I open the trunk.  At the top of the trunk are two levers I can pull which unlatch the back seats.  When I bought Traveler, one of the options I made sure to get were the fold-down back seats.

When I owned the Prism, whenever I wanted to transport large items I had to literally unbolt the back seat and take it out.  The Accord had fold-down rear seats but they were awkward.  The latches were clumsy and the seat belts were always getting in the way.  Plus, the opening you got by folding down the rear seatbacks was surprisingly narrow for a car as wide as the Accord.

Why I have been a Mercedes fanboy ever since I was a teenager: every little thing on a Mercedes is engineered with some careful thought and attention to quality and purpose.  It is not just a sumptuous luxury car.  And especially the ‘C’ class.  Think of the ‘C’ not only as the baby Benz, but as a really nice, working person’s sedan.  It’s not nearly as sumptuous as the ‘S’ class, or even the ‘E’, but Mercedes-like, it’s deliberately targeted to a particular driving niche, with no compromises.  It’s not a luxury car in the same sense as the ‘E’ or ‘S’.  It’s a really nice four door sedan built as well as possible, for its niche, which are working class folk like me.  We don’t just drive our cars to work or to the beach.  We need to be able to transport things in them.  The car has to be a working member of the family.  Let me put it this way: the ‘C’ class has cup holders in it and you can get it in vinyl upholstery as well as leather.  I don’t think the ‘S’ even has cup holders.  A wine cooler in the back maybe, but not cup holders. You’re not supposed to snack in your ‘S’ class, you’re supposed to stop at a five star restaurant and let the valet park your car while you sit down to a hundred dollar dinner.  And I strongly doubt you can get the ‘S’ in anything but leather upholstery.  Most ‘C’ class owners actually prefer the vinyl, known as MBTex, as it is just as nice looking and feeling as the leather, but lasts longer and is easier to take care of.

It’s a working person’s car.  But built as well as you can build one.  And yes, with some very nice touches to it to pamper you.  But not at the expense of functionality and purpose.  Mercedes never does anything at the expense of functionality and purpose.  So I unlatch the rear seat backs and they just come undone with no problem and the seat backs pivot down smoothly and easily.  I don’t have to tug on anything or fuss with the latches like I did on the Accord.  I don’t have to mess with the seat belts.  The people designing this thing took the seat belts into account.  They are just not in the way.  And when the seats pivot down they come to rest with their backs Exactly Level with the floor of the trunk.  I put my foam sheets in, close the trunk lid, and drive home and I don’t get the feeling driving down the road that my car is any less solid with the passenger compartment open to the trunk then when it’s closed up (although the stereo does sound a little…odd).  I get home, I unload Traveler, I fold back up the rear seats and once more I don’t have to tug and fuss with anything including the seat belts.  The seat backs just pivot back into the upright position smoothly and latch firmly and solidly back in place.  Done.

Everything in the car is like that.  This is why you pay the extra bucks.