Be sure to drop by the Mercedes-Benz Museum. It’s like the Fortress of Solitude operated by Disney. The elevators look like something out of Minority Report. The actual design is a double-helix and the lifts are meant to symbolize time machines complete with motor sound effects. There’s a Boeing turbine engine on the ceiling used to clear out smoke. And the V-2 launch pad is really nifty. I joke about the latter but the structure and the tour is very German. Clean lines, Ordnung. I have never seen floors more gleaming. And then there are the cars. From the 1902 Mercedes Simplex 40PS to the current S-class, car enthusiasts can easily spend a few hours marveling at the (mostly) authentic models on display. And yes, they don’t skip over, say, the period between 1933 and 1945. The folks at Mercedes fully own up to their participation in the war effort and even display slave-labor worksheets. Our well-versed guide, however, did not dwell on the dark days, commenting that a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 770 “Tourenwagen” was “popular with certain politicians.” Which ones? The Social Democrats? They also showcased Mercedes that were owned by the rich and famous. Bizarrely, a Mercedes belonging to Ringo Starr was seen here. (It was a 4 cylinder and the engine sounded a bit nasally.) And now a brief note about politics. My Free Democrat friends are a bit anxious about the Sunday vote. Although one very prominent FDP politician assured me over the summer that Chancellor Merkel expressly prefers a government of her fellow Christian Democrats (CDU) and the FDP, the rumors now swirling (including from Spiegel) is that Merkel would actually prefer a continuation of the Grand Coalition. She would remain above the fray, an alliance with the Social Democrats (SPD) would inoculate her from labor union attacks, and her policies on Afghanistan would not come under more intense assault. And if the last available polls from this past Sunday are accurate, while the FDP would earn 14 percent, the CDU (and her Bavarian sister party CSU, or Christian Social Union) would now only garner 33 or 34 percent. This would leave them, at best, with 48 percent, barely enough to govern. There are still a good number of undecided voters as well. One industry insider tells me that no matter the result, there is a general feeling that the election will be followed by a series of cutbacks and layoffs. Then what will the government do? One sign that the recession continues: Last year in Germany, Mercedes-Benz subsidiary Maybach sold a grand total of 50 cars. Thank God Usher bought one.
