PHOENIX — Please excuse my being didactic, but to fully appreciate the 2019 Mercedes E53 coupe, it will help the reader to have a modicum of high-performance automotive knowledge, and an interest that goes beyond getting from point A to point B with a reasonable amount of gas and least amount of trouble-free driving.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The only thing that would prevent me from buying the 2019 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic Wagon is its $65,195 price tag. Or, in the case of the press loaner E450 Mercedes recently left in my driveway, $88,535. It's simply out of my budget. I do find wagons irresistibly appealing. Furthermore, I find wagons with some serious gusto beneath their hoods even more appealing. Dear Dodge: Please bring back the Magnum SRT Wagon.

PHOENIX — Pick any vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio of product offerings and chances are, there’ll be a performance-oriented AMG version from which to choose. In fact, the Barons of Bavaria have currently attached the AMG badging to over 40 vehicles, including 11 SUVs. Two of the most recent additions are the compact GLC43 and GLC43 coupe.

MIAMI — If you’re looking for a vehicle that tells the world “I’ve got it made” yet exudes a more carefree air and fun driving experience than you might ordinarily find in the Super Luxury Class, the Mercedes-AMG S63 Cabriolet may be a perfect fit. After bringing the coupe back to the S-Class portfolio from under the CL banner for 2015, Mercedes unveiled its first S-Class convertible since 1971 with the the S-Class Cabriolet a year later as a 2017 model.

PHOENIX — AMG, the high-performance speed shop for Mercedes, has been hammering out a steady stream of unrestrained, tire-shredding, asphalt-ripping street machines for more than 30 years. The GT R is its latest sports car. If you’re familiar with Germany’s Nurburgring (nickname Green Hell), it’s worth knowing that the GT R got around the track in a record 7 minutes and 10 seconds, which Mercedes claims is a record for rear-wheel-drive cars.

PHOENIX — 503 horsepower, 516 lb-ft of torque, AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT seven-speed transmission. The car is flanked by 19-inch front/20-inch rear AMG forged cross-spoke wheels. It goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and is brought to a smooth but certain stop with large 15.8-inch cross-drilled and vented ceramic brakes with specially painted brake calipers. All this goodness came wrapped in a gorgeous brilliant blue drop top Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 S. This car is the bomb.

INDIANAPOLIS — There’s nothing wrong with owning a Mercedes E-Class sedan.  They’re very respectable, undeniably responsible luxury cars for the respectable and undeniably responsible.   But, chop off two doors, lower the roofline and suddenly you’re wearing a red dress.  Going back to the 1970s, E-Class coupes have been some of the most desirable and timeless cars to dance out of Germany.  The 2018 E400 is especially ravishing.

PHOENIX — The small, compact luxury crossover segment is growing rapidly, with numerous manufacturers flooding the market with a vast choice of vehicles and trim levels. Audi Q3, BMW X1, Infiniti QX30 are just a few, with Jaguar’s new E Pace going on sale in 2018. We last drove the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250, the German automaker’s first compact crossover utility vehicle, shortly after it was introduced back in 2015. It’s actually more of a hatchback than an SUV and is smaller than the company’s GLC compact crossover.