Unapologetic as hell: Mercedes S Cabriolet (CNET on Cars, Ep. 102)

Cooley takes you out in a Mercedes's he'd like to move into.

Brian Cooley Editor at Large

Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G, the future of food, and augmented & virtual realities. Cooley is a sought after presenter by brands and their agencies when they want to understand how consumers react to new technologies. He has been a regular featured speaker at CES, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and the Publicis HealthFront. He was born and raised in Silicon Valley when Apple's campus was mostly apricots.

Expertise Automotive technology, smart home, digital health. Credentials

5G Technician, ETA International

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Brian Cooley

Dec. 11, 2016 5:30 a.m. PT

2 min read

Watch this: Unapologetic as hell: Mercedes Benz S550 Cabriolet (CNET On Cars, Episode 102)

23:05

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I have a love/hate relationship with the S Class in general, and this cab by association. The big Benz is just about my favorite car to ride in, but far from my favorite car to drive. Throttle response is like Cadillacs and Lincolns of the 1970s (though the amount and smoothness of power is quite another thing) and some of the controls and ergo in the cabin - things you'll touch every day - will make you wonder daily, should I have looked at the A8 one more time? But when you're in the S cab on a cool night with a good restaurant 50 miles away down a rural highway, life is good. Come for a ride with me and I'll show you.

Other highlights in this episode:

3D printing is NOT coming to a kitchen counter near you. It's been badly over-hyped (along with drones) as the next big thing we'll all have. That said, 3D printing is a bona fide revolution in industry and, after medicine, I can't think of an industry that will do more amazing things with it than automotive. We go to Fathom 3D in Oakland, California, where they work with Mercedes and use just about every kind of 3D printing there is.
Your emails this week include the wish for waterproof cars (very different from watertight cars), itchiness to upgrade your Fords to CarPlay and Android Auto, and concerns about direct injection's one big problem.
This is our last episode of 2016 but instead of running down a predictable Top 5 cars of the year (I'll do that in January) I'll list the top 5 cars that will be off sale in 2017 that I am glad to see go there. Don't let the garage door hit you in the ass, losers.

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