I do agree that Rolls-Royce has not been at the forefront of automotive progression since the 1930s. After World War 2, Rolls-Royce came to be viewed as an "old fashioned" symbol of an out-dated Bristish social class system. As a small independent manufacturer, the company has a history of tough financial periods so it became an increasingly eccentric small business committed to slightly fanciful notions of "tradition" and "Britishness".
The new BMW-era Rolls-Royce models do keep the ideals of the marque's founders alive but the old class-associations pretty much no longer exist .....Rolls-Royce is now a thorougly modern brand for those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford one. I have given this much consideration and I do believe Rolls-Royce cars are not simply BMWs with a British accent: the experience and feeling of the Ghost is entirely different from the BWW 7, and the Phantom is an altogether unique experience in the automotive industry.
Mercedes has obviously had a much greater (and important) impact on the motor industry than Rolls-Royce .....but so has Ford, GM, Volkswagen, and Toyota. Rolls-Royce stands as nearly the oldest passenger car brand still in business (Renault and Buick are older, Ford is the same age and the Mercedes-Benz brand was created in 1926). Rolls-Royce is a special brand and I'm glad it is doing so well.
You commented on Mercedes' "almost perfect execution" of design strategies ......this is an odd comment considering Mercedes' design "strategy" has been quite erratic since Sacco left.
In terms of fine design, I would consider Mercedes' most beautiful post-war cars to be the ones created under the guidance of Paul Bracq ....which I do not believe is a surprise, the French tend to have a greater affinity with high elegance and refined taste than the Germans (I know this is a stereotype.....but it is so often true). The W100 owes its monumentalism and grandeur largely to its French influence in my opinion .....even Bruno Sacco (who took a much more academic approach to design) thought there was too much chrome .....but Bracq was a man of fine taste and this is why the details are so exquisite.
I do admit RR is a different brand now, however to me the cars still remain the same believe it or not, it would not be rocket science to tell apart an old phantom for a new one or any other model, because this is the way these English brands operate, they are too much entangled in the past, they have not found a successful way to combine historical design elements with modernity like for example MB. and I am sorry, however that comment you made about the other brands GM, Toyota etc being innovative compared to MB, does not make good reading it is an undisputed fact that MB is and always has been the most innovative brand, with more than 75,000 patents to prove this.
You made a comment about the design of MB going downhill since sacco left, well I think otherwise because fair enough that is just like any other brand, you simply cannot compare the oldies to new cars, because everyone knows 'old is gold', however even after Sacco left, MB have still created beautiful cars for example the W211 and CLS or the newest W222 generation incl. the new C etc, almost everyone even on this forum is acknowledging the new design direction by MB, although I do admit the previous W204,W212,C207 cars were a bit disastrous thanks to peter pfieffer. I know Bracq created some of the most iconic and beautiful MB's of all time however he was still following the strict design requirements and strategies underlined by MB, and you comment of style referring to French cars, just does not seem to work, because name me one French car that has the restrained and high quality elegance of a german car, they are simply cars drawn by over enthusiastic designers with not a single trait of following any rules or anything.
However all this been said, I still think design is a very complex subject and is largely individual preferred, where everyone has their own, so one cannot make a definite decision on this subject
