Obviously I’m not a car guy, but to me and probably to most people, if you took the labels off of a Mercedes and put Ford Tempo emblems on it, I doubt that 98% of people would notice the difference.
Other than the status, what objective features make the car so desirable?
I dare you to just sit in a Mercedes, any Mercedes, then sit in a Ford tempo and then come back here and say you cant tell the difference.
Yeah I had a 1987 Ford Tempo, definitely not the car you want to use as your go-to example for comparison to Mercedes.
Sorry if I misstated. I have never seen the inside of one, but I am talking about its exterior appearance.
You could look at Google images of the two and play “find the difference”
And sitting inside inside isn’t just for seeing, but also for feeling. Same with driving.
But this whole post oozes of “I refuse to even attempt to care or pay attention so you are all stupid” attitude. I can’t and won’t try and convince you the differences are worth the money, but the differences are painfully obvious to anyone genuinely curious enough to wonder.
Granted, my experiences with Mercedes are mostly limited to G-Wagens and I actually owned a 1981 W123 at one point and all I thought was, well, these are nice German cars, but they didn’t seem like anything particularly special to me. I remember about 15 years ago, when I was in the market for a used car, the salesman really trying to sell some Mercedes Kompressor (don’t remember exactly which model) to me. I test drove it. It was okay. But then he showed me a Mazda 3, and I fell in love with that car (and that’s what I drive to this day–bought one from that dealer, but another one a few years ago to replace it, too).
Yup, g-wagons look just like a Tempo. Who can tell?
WAGEN. G-WAGEN!!!
No, they’re a nice, utilitarian vehicle. Comparison to a Tempo leaves a bit to be desired, but I don’t think of Mercedes quite as the luxury mark everyone else does. They have some luxury vehicles; they have some normal day-to-day vehicles. And they’re bloody expensive to fix, from what I’ve discovered. They’re probably most closely analagous to Lincoln here. So, yeah, I guess luxury brand, but I somehow don’t always feel that way with Mercedes cars (nor Lincolns.)
I imagine the Mercedes is of significantly higher quality in the engine, components and also the feel and handling of it.
(I technically own a Mercedes, but I’d never actually brag about my 2009 Smart Car seriously that way) 
Autoincorrection. I feel your frustration.
And ultraV was talking about exterior appearance. And who wouldn’t confuse one with a tempo?
I dunno but I drive a Ferrari and I can tell the difference between that and my Corvette.
If you aren’t a car guy then why does it even matter?
Ah, yes. Indeed. No, they’re certainly not mistakable in that way. I remember back in the 80s, somebody with a sense of humor had his Yugo (remember Yugos kids?) decorated with Mercedes logos (and I’m not making this up for the sake of this OP–this was literally a guy a block up the street from me.) It was pretty obvious.
Why on Earth would anyone who cared about cars be concerned about exterior appearance vs. performance? This question makes absolutely no sense.
What is so great about a Mercedes?
Kugelfischer Injection, My Son.
Currently, the objective difference is in performance, quality of materials and features. The same way high-end models got ABS and airbags first, luxury models have active cruise control, lane departure, self-parking, and collision avoidance - long before they’ll trickle down to a Ford Focus or whatever.
Previously, you got all that and rock solid over-engineering. There’s an old Fifth Gear were they drown a 90s Mercedes, then drain the water out, change the oil and try to start it - it worked. Of course, Daimler worked out that someone whose 500E will never die won’t buy a new car every four years.
Older Dopers may remember Ford’s ad campaign from back in the late 70s or early 80s when “real people not actors” apparently couldn’t tell the difference between a Mercedes and a Ford Granada.
One thing that I notice about mercedes is that independent mechanics, that is anyone outside a Mercedes dealer, won’t work on them. They require too many specialized tools.
Outside that, they seem like great cars. Not worth it to me, but obviously worth it to lots of people.
That is just not true. There are many independent mechanics who specialize in German cars, including Mercedes.
I will attest to the expense of parts though. I have an (older) Audi Q7 and the battery finally gave up last winter. It looks nothing like your standard car battery, and of course it is housed under the driver’s seat (makes perfect sense, right?). It was around $400 or so to replace… and yes, CarX could do it (my friend is the manager of the local one).
But to the OP, as others have said the difference in a Mercedes and a “regular” car is not the body but the mechanics.
MB are wonderful automobiles for many reasons that are obviously not important to you. We have two. Both are a joy to drive. More so, IME, than some other great cars I’ve owned or driven. But then I care about such things.
Several independent MB shops in my area. I have mine serviced either at the dealer or at the MB independent specialist, depending on my mood, job and/or quoted price. I like the dealership because I get a free MB loaner. I like the independent because they’ll put on upgraded aftermarket bushings and modify my exhaust to remove the resonators.
You can probably say that about any luxury car. What makes a mercedes better than a BMW, Lexus, Lincoln, Acura, audi, etc?