As the saying goes, the third time’s a charm!  In this case, it’s quite an attractive and muscular charm to boot.

The first generation was just that, the first attempt, albeit a respectable one with spacious room for maturation.  The second generation earned its place of uniqueness, at least when looked upon from its distinctive nose.  And now, the third generation is eminently upon us, otherwise known as the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK class.

Even hotter from the front!

Just as the BMW Z4 has grown up and filled out with each rebirth, so too, and better so may I say, has the SLK.  This new two-seater, retractable-hard-top roadster is simply stunning, taking some obvious styling cues, both inside and out, from its famous and stately uncle, the SLS.

No doubt the third generation SLK will see instant success when it comes to the U.S. this summer.  Overall, I’m impressed by such significant improvement in much of, though not all, MBZ styling in the past couple years.  Perhaps the elimination of Chrysler influence has something to do with it.

In any case, I look forward to spotting the all-new 2012 SLK out on the road, while of course checking it out up close for myself.  Round three will start before we know it!

And that’s my auto-styling opinion.