Mercedes AMG Posts Record Sales in 2008

35000 Corvettes, 4000ish Vipers, 8583 GT500's in 2008. You might find this link of interest... then again... I bet not even an organization as important as SAE could change your mind... http://www.sae.org/automag/bestcar/10.htm

I knew that comment would bring out the Limon. I know the specs on the vette and S500. I would be curious Joe to see how many of them were actually registered with the DMV or MTO, dealer buys shouldn't count. I find it hard to believe that they sold 4000 vipers, last summer i walked into the biggest Dodge dealer in the GTA and they had two vipers and were trying to con me into buying one by offering me 40k off the sticker price.

Man, you're dense. Did the article name "best engineered car of the 20th century" honestly do nothing in your head? Or are you just not wanting to admit anything that might seem positive about an American company. Haha, I also love the fact that you say they were trying to "con you into buying" a viper. That reminds me of last time I walked into a Porsche dealership to buy some parts and they tried to "con" me into buying a $120,000 car with carpet rear seats ;)

reading their website tells me they can built around one hundred engines a day, thus 250 working days account for around 25000 engines per year! but 34% in Germany alone!....awesome!

65k yes...but far from loaded.With all the optional extras it gets up to 95-100k...

Not all Ms and S class come with manual.

That's because AMG has developed a transmission that is far faster and more efficient than that of any manual. Unfortunate they don't offer one for the driving enthusiast, yes. But on the track, it's simply better...

True, not all S, RS and M cars come with manual transmissions but at least Audi and BMW have the option of a manual transmission on their cars. I've heard that for some reason, it is nearly impossible to get a good resale value on a manual Mercedes and the manuals come on the cheapest of the brand's models only such as the entry level C, SLK and E. There is a reason that companies like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche and Audi offer manual transmissions on many of their cars; it's not all about the rapid shifts or convenience, but more about the feeling of control, tradition and pure driving that constitues the appeal of these stick-shift performance vehicles. I would've liked to see Mercedes put some manuals into all levels of their range, but I guess the demand is not sufficient.

Absolutely right, In Europe one is able to find 2.0L Turbo CLK's and such. Quite a different market... In addition to your comments on lack of demand for a manual is that the costs would be so much higher to develop, produce and distribute manuals amongst all or some Mercedes, more specifically AMG's. I will admit however, that I would think twice about buying an AMG because of the inability to have a manual. This would definitely raise my consideration towards an RS or M regarding a manual transmission as I love actually driving the car, not being driven.