Originally Posted by indyjoe
Obviously this is a pointless discussion, but surely you realize that a design and/or feature doesn't have to be unique or new to be influential. The design/redesign just has to be successfully implemented in a way that causes other manufacturers to take notice.
Certainly the SLK wasn't the first roadster or hardtop convertible, but its success did prove that there was a market for an entry level luxury two-seater convertible. It proved that you could have an attractive design with a hardtop convertible, and that customers wouldn't care about the lack of trunk space.
You must be the only person in history to buy their Mercedes thinking it should handle as well as a BMW and Porsche. Mercedes has never been as sporty as similar models from other performance oriented manufacturers. The SLK's flaw was that Mercedes wanted to be true to past roadsters, and thus the poorly designed interior. It was too cheap and lacked amenities.
The fact is that a decade later your beloved BMW is still playing catch-up.
I'm not a BMW person as such, just using an example.
I really don't see what you're doing to bolster your position.
By adding "mass market" to the description you seem to be pointing out that the Z8 was expensive. This is true, but the Z3 still came out a year earlier than the Slk, was about the same price and was successful. It was likely the Z3 that provided the impetus for the SLK, if anything.
It seems that once again you have to come back to the folding roof, as it is the the only (kind of) pioneering feature the car possessed, and I don't think that makes a car "influential".
Possibly it makes it influential in the specific area of convertible technology, but not as a car as a whole.
The first mass-market use of heated seats occurred in the Saab 99 in 1972 Does that make the 72 99 "influential"? More cars have heated seats than convertible hard tops...
Also, on the "outperform" issue-I've driven a standard 3.0 z4, and found the handling to be considerably better than the '6, though of course the straight line speed is not a patch on it.
Reviews consistently praise both the Cayman S and the Z4 for feeling like "drivers" cars while the '6 is usually described as a straight line rocket.
Even that great Road and Track article in which it comes out on top at Willow Springs pointed out that the brakes fade, the steering feels disconnected and the cornering is scary. they made it clear that it came out on top through raw power, that made up for its sub-par handling.
If you are willing to acknowledge that one copied feature is not enough to make a car influential (heated seats), and that an affordable, sporty roadster existed prior to the SLK (Z3), then I ask you again, what was influential about the car?
I bought my '6 instead of either of those others, so clearly I love it.
I am also a realist when it comes to popular opinion.
ps/
Your final comment seems to be regarding the Z8.
If so, catch up in what regard?
The Z8 was faster in a straight line as well as on a track, had a far more luxurious interior, and in the eyes of most looked far better than the SLK.