I wish MB designed the 2nd gen CLC (or whatever it ends up being named) as a real 2-door coupe, instead of a 2-door hatchback... Look at BMW's 1-series - looks good as opposed to if it were a hatchback. The front of the CLC is a great improvement, but the rear end all high-up in the air isn't too attractive here stateside... MAybe the looks can grow on many, but a real coupe design would looks sharp IMO!
Vehicle: 2002 E320 4Matic, 101K miles as of 7/2008
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 376
i agree benzbar...people are into smaller cars these days and if they can get a lighter, more fuel-efficient car that looks sporty (Civic, anyone?) they'll be happy. Throw a luxury nameplate on there and they'll even pay more for it. I don't think Benz should be in the hatch business at all...that's for VW and Toyota IMHO.
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2002 E320 4matic, black on beige, 100K w/ 17" sport rims
RIP: 2000 E430 4Matic loaded - totaled 12/9/2006
Our other car: 2000 Lexus ES300, Platinum Edition, 89K
Look at BMW's 1-series - looks good as opposed to if it were a hatchback. The front of the CLC is a great improvement, but the rear end all high-up in the air isn't too attractive here stateside... MAybe the looks can grow on many, but a real coupe design would looks sharp IMO!
I saw my first BMW 1 series coupe today on the road. Looked okay, certainly better than the CLC hatch.
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S.
2006 ML350 white/ash
2008 C300 Sport mars red/black
2004 986S seal gray metallic/black/black
I don't see why MB chooses to try and compete with inexpensive "starter" cars. It isn't their forte' and will just hurt their immage in the long run.
There was a time when the MB badge meant one thing; quality presentation of performance and comfort. Why tarnish that image with an over priced vehicle where every corner is cut to reduce price and in a way that harms both quality and comfort?
I thought MB divorced themselves from Chrysler. Seems they got infected before the divorce and haven't taken the cure yet.
Vehicle: 2002 E320 4Matic, 101K miles as of 7/2008
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 376
The MB Badge still means those things, but MB as a company expanded its product offerings and they need to remain competitive in the global marketplace with their direct competitors - Audi and BMW. BMW went after Mini and Mercedes introduced the Smartcar and is now focusing on some smaller cars. This is natural given the way the market has been moving, with engine-sharing across platforms, etc. We might think it's unfortunate as Benz owners but Benz isn't Rolls Royce; they're not a specialized manufacturer anymore and so they depend on volume to some extent. As a result we see them doing what every car company is doing these days: increasing HP and torque and expanding product offerings.
Notice how the Smart car in the US is not labeled as a Mercedes... You can see how Mercedes approaches the US market in a different way.
But given above, Mercedes sales of the bigger vehicles are suffering in today's climate of high gas prices in the US. Only car here with significant growth is C-class.
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