the unique, eccentric single wipe clears more glass than two individual wipers. IIRC, the single wiper clears 85% of the area where two wipers would clear 70%.

 

I noticed...MFB320CE's Benz has the steering wheel on the wrong side...too far to the right i mean. hehe.

One comment I can add about the single "claw" wiper is that...

its up and down motion reminds me off what i did A LOT when i was a teen-ager.

 

 

... and no doubt doing the work of two... when you were younger, that is.

 

I still would prefer a two-wiper system during a bad snow storm. I've had wiper arms break from icing and unable to move the snow as it piles up along the bottom of the windshield. The piling would occur faster with a single wiper. But then again, maybe MBs aren't meant to be driven during a bad snow storm.

 

MFB329CE: Beautiful car, I have driven in England and Malta and driving sitting in the right or passenger seat opposite here in the colonies is a big disconcerning at first, and driving in the left lane is also disconcerning and is the correct term run around for a traffic circle is quite a thrill in these countries, but at the end of the day, driving is driving. I thing your explanation makes good sense and engineering sense also. As far as snow, Ireland is not particular snowy, but here in New England we can get real Noreaster and I have had no problems with the single wiper, it does pile up on heavy wet snow on the passenger side, but it has to be really snowing and once you knock if off and the defrost are on, it usually is not a problem. Erin get her bra!

 

this is an interesting post, more interesting is the fact that mercedes have since gone back to 2 window wipers :-(
i cant see how you left hand drivers can drive it seems strange, i find it natural to hold the wheel with my stronger more accurate right hand while shifting with the left :-)
my 2 cents

 

Actually when I was in Europe and parts of Asia, Japan, I found once a Yankee gets use to right side driving position and left lane driving it is OK, but I am a righty and shifting with the left hand took a bit of getting use to, but using the left foot for the clutch and left hand to shift also had it advantages, but your correct I am righty so steering was much easiere. I owned a Porsche and key was onthe left side of the dash was one of the great features of the car. I've heard a lot of stories why the key was on the left side, from the LeMans start, the driver starts the car with his or hers left hand and then can shift almost instantly and go, to it's a Porsche thing. I believe the LeMans story more then others. I also like the new button starters some cars now have, old, old idea dating back to the 30's if not earlier, but convenient as the left had side key in a Posche. When I was a child my dad had a Dodge late 40's or 50's and it had a floor starter, turn the key on the dash and press the starter on the floor, Packard used this method also until the end of production. I was very young, perhaps 4 or 5, but thinking about it, starting a car with a foot buttom is most natural postions there is? Almost forget the Dodge had the fluid drive transmission, as I remember my dad shifted it up and down once or twice and that was it, of course there was a reverse. The push button automatic of later years was also a neat idea as well as the rectangle steering wheels on some 50ish plymouth 2 door coupe

 

Perhaps MB have gone back to 2 wipers as a money saving excersice,
would make sense in this day & age when everyone is cutting corners to
save some money, maybe some weight too! I had thought they had reverted to 2
on thier newer models. if only my headlamp wipers where as reliable as the
big sweeping arm. 1 works but loose, & the other not at all, but hey, driving
around in the english summer time hardly contends with the blizzard conditions
of some of you guys.
As to steering wheel on left or right, what does it matter? especially in an auto.
I think alot of F1 cars before the electronics had gear shift on the right! slotted into a very tight small place! I remember my first drive in a left hand drive. Fri Evening Rush Hour In the centre of Barcleona, Spain !!!! not a pretty moment! but I survived!!! just.!!!!

 

Having been down this road..........

My '95 C280 ('95-'01) had the single wiper and my '01 C320 ('01-present) has two wipers, as everyone knows. The main difference is that when driving in heavy rain, the single wiper spends too much time on the other side of the windshield. This can be compensated for a bit by leaning slightly to the right (seriously) but it is a factor.

I don't buy the story about the single being safer. Sounds like salesman's BS to me.