AZ wrote: "Shouldn't have to "... in a car of this calibar... "

I dunno, seems like that phraseology, straddling some problem niggling or large, is popping up with some regularity re this car, both here and on the Edmund's board.

sub par radio, lack of Nav, lack of memory seats, cheap interior pieces, paint wearing off the console where the elbow rests, after-thought cup holder, foggy headlights, wearing seat bolsters, sagging seats, dusty brake pads, 1st gear popping and now some guys are having probs with the autos, bubbles in the sidewalls, low power within its class, hatch rattles, spotty dealer service, heater fans that don't shut off, skipping CD players, glove box locks falling off, dealer manuals telling them to but 6 quarts of oil in an 8.5 quart sump, gear shift levers coming off in one's hand, lifter noise...

First year glitches? Maybe.

Just what caliber car are we talking about? I think we may be putting a little too much credence to "Yeah, but it IS a Mercedes." If that's so, don't want a Mercedes. (Actually, DID have a 240D years ago...an indestructible, exceedingly boring tank, admittedly.)

I know some of you guys will blow me away, have at it. My training wheels are off. But I've bought/paid for the car, I've paid the price of admission, and have a right to be disappointed, especially with the new product line with a Crossfire Light model that will drive the resale value of our cars down WAY below what would be normal depreciation.

And, as our most prolific poster so aptly pointed out...a forum IS for posting right? Just sharing my view, don't expect anyone to agree.

Guess this actually belongs in the Regrets thread, but yeah...calling for my payoff on Monday, sending in the check, as soon as the lien is released gonna sell her off. W/3300 miles and the general public not being aware of the Crossfire Light model being out (heck, they're hardly aware of the current car at all, for that matter), I MIGHT be able to come through with a couple more nickels than I would a couple months from now, or if the mileage was into 5 digits. Not going to add insult to injury and take an even BIGGER hit by trading her in.

Not alone either, one of the guys on this board who has been the biggest and most vocal Crossfire fan and enthusiast from day one, and who has until recently been a very frequent poster, let me know he's going to be trading his in this weekend.

For me, the attention this car gets no longer offsets it's below the skin mediocrity/lack of value. And if DC is succesful in generating sales with Crossfire Light, the attention factor will diminish exponentially as more cars get on the street, and the novelty wears off and they fade into the scenery. Remember, the styling of the CRX, the Audi TT, the last generation Mazda RX7, the BMW Z3, and others ALL were traffic stopping unique when they first came out...then faded into the background.

Can you tell I had a rough week at work?

Gotta go now...got an appointment at the Michelin dealer to mount the replacement tire for the bubbled sidewall...