MRS - I own a modern Merc, my father-in-law has also has and has had modern Mercs (new(ish) c class, 200, 230 and now c220 cdi) and my uncle had the C AMG for a few years.
Merc lost their way from late 90's to mid 00's - rust, bad trim and general non Merc-ness in many cases. Glad they have recovered since!
On the BMW / Audi point - I'd have a Merc over either of those, mainly because of the cocks that seem to drive them!
Kinda lost at your point then
I used to think Porsches were old-man's cars - mostly because it was older guys driving them - mostly because they're the people that can afford them.
Totally agree on your BMW/Audi point. Agree too about Merc quality control (having owned two Mercs & a Smart from that era) though they've recovered well: my 08 E-Class has been almost totally fault-free - my only gripe being the Sat Nav occasionally being slightly wayward and still not having my road in it despite me having lived in the house for 7 years (and the map updated this year). The Comand system, in general, is a connectivity & useability tour-de-force.