If you look, the new mercs have been getting much larger logo's/grilles as well.  It stems from the European DOT (whatever it's called) making stricter rules for pedestrian impacts with cars.  They don't want the people laid out on the hood, or getting plowed over (going under the car.  The only way to combat that is to make a larger vertical surface at the nose of the car.....thus larger kidneys/grilles.

Not a fan, but I get what they are forced to do.  Again, so glad the headlights don't touch the grille, I hope BMW goes away from that as a whole, as it really took away from the kidney look.

Grille.

straight6pwr said:

...because the chicks were like "pose with a miata? meh."

I haven't done any first-hand research, but based on what I've seen heard about on the internet, you can get chicks to do pretty much anything for a few hundred bucks. Definitely less than a grand.... wait... What were we talking about?

and whats with asian Russell Brand? why no hot chick? oh, yeah, because the chicks were like "pose with a miata? meh."

And I agree, Z4s age so well that I also hope they go down in price a bit now.