Mercedes Metris van as a bike hauler

[Sasquatch Jim]

  I have been thinking of buying a Mercedes Metris van.  It looked like what I would want in a van.
  Then I learned the technical details.
  Well the Mercedes is off my shopping list.
 I got the technical details of the van and didn't like what I found.  They have gone too far in their technology.  Their vans have two features I won't tolerate. One is a lane tracking feature and the other is a cross wind control device.  They function by automatically applying brake pressure to individual wheels to control direction in crosswinds.  I suspect that the lane following device works the same system.
I may sound like a luddite but I won't buy a vehicle so equipt and after talking with the Mercedes folks I find I cannot buy one without it or have it turned off.
It may sound silly but since I spend a lot of time going down roads in a wheelchair, I have a lot of understanding of steering a straight line in a cross wind and on a cambered road.  It is done by applying brake pressure to the upwind or up hill wheel.  This means more power needs to be applied to the other wheel just to go forward.  Sometimes the road camber is so bad that even when going down hill I have to apply forward power to the off wheel just to keep forward motion.  Down hill!  What this means in the Mercedes is that the brakes won't last as long as they would in a vehicle not so equipt.  In addition, the extra power that must be applied to the wheel on the other side will mean less gas milage.  It is a device meant to make it easier for an inattentive person to drive at the expense of fuel and brake life.  For me this is a deal breaker,  I won't buy a vehicle so equipt.

[GearheadGrrrl]

One of the wheelchair makers tried something similar with a power 'chair a couple decades ago. The thing would try to compensate for camber by applying power and braking one wheel or the other. Didn't work well, especially with an experienced wheeler who knew how to compensate for camber, etc.- The thing would go darting off into buildings, off curbs, etc..

[Guzzistajohn]

One of the wheelchair makers tried something similar with a power 'chair a couple decades ago. The thing would try to compensate for camber by applying power and braking one wheel or the other. Didn't work well, especially with an experienced wheeler who knew how to compensate for camber, etc.- The thing would go darting off into buildings, off curbs, etc..

^invacare with gearless/brushless motors^ nightmare

[Tom]

No MB dealer on the island.  An appt. has to be made and the vehicle sits till the "technician" can fly into Kona.  2 month wait.  Faster to ship the car to Honolulu R/T for service.     Youngs Brothers will give a discount on the return loop.