Tough but not Terminal Review of Mercedes and the R Class
The following review of Mercedes' marketing missteps in general and with the R Class in particular appears in the latest "Autoextremist.com" weekly auto industry update. Peter M. De Lorenzo is the author and his weekly review and assessment of the auto industry is inciteful, witty, dead-on and he calls it like it is.
While his comments on the R Class are tough to take for those of us who own one, it is not so much an indictment of the R Class as it is of Mercedes poor efforts to launch and market the vehicle. Styling, after all is subjective but a big part of the attraction with the R is that you won't see yourself coming and going. Also, let's face it, if ultra quality and reliabiltiy were the only attributes purchasers of these types of vehicles were looking for, we would all be driving Honda Odysseys!!
************************************************** ***************
Mercedes-Benz. From the sublime (the new, forward-thinking Ford) to the ridiculous (perpetually clueless Mercedes-Benz), the three-pointed star gang is out to reposition the dead-on-arrival R class yet again. Beginning with the 2008 model, M-B is taking even more cost out of the R class in order to beg, plead and somehow convince American car shoppers that their bloated wagon-thingy is worth a look. This after Mercedes blew the U.S. introduction of the vehicle to smithereens two years ago by pricing it into the stratosphere. Then, last year, being forced to cut the price by $5,000.00 just to see if anyone would show up to look at the bloated monsters. Finally, throwing incredible "friends-of-Mercedes" lease discounts out there in a desperate move to clear dealer lots of the things which were - how should we say it - chained to the dealer light poles. Now, they're dropping the R500 and R63 AMG V-8 models in favor of an R350 and a R320CDI in two- or all-wheel-drive versions (this after finally figuring out that 80 percent of the country doesn't need or care about AWD) and standard AMG-style body cladding. The funny thing about all of this is that Mercedes-Benz still isn't addressing the basic problem with the R class, and that is that their idea of what the American consumer wants rarely veers anywhere close to the market reality. But then again, this is a repetitive pattern with M-B marketeers, because unless it's an S class or an AMG-fueled rocket, they have demonstrated time and time again that German automotive market-think rarely meshes with the real-world American consumer. As a matter of fact, Mercedes-Benz marketeers couldn't spell marketing if you spotted them the "mark" and the "ing." So, to those illustrious M-B marketeers who remain lost in a fog of cluelessness, all we have to say is, good luck.
Ouch!! While I certainly agree with his indictment of Mercedes marketing (and pricing), his slam on the styling seems out of line. As I have posted elsewhere, I get numerous compliments on the R class's styling with the added (and telling) comment: "I didn't know Mercedes sold such a vehicle". He also doesn't address why, if the crossover concept is off-base, then how can Chrysler sell so many Pacificas, which I see daily?Also don't agree with statement that 80% of Americans don't care about AWD -- you can certainly see a lot of them in the south where it never snows and Audi and Subaru have certainly done quite well focusing on AWD vehicles throughout the country.
Autoextremist (Peter DeLorenzo) seems to have a hard-on for MB generally and the R-Class specifically. There are many auto writers who denigrate the R for some reason. These are probably those who have helped destroy the station wagon and mini-van classes generally with their dismissal of such un-cool. I have said this many times -- of all of the vehicles that I have owned --domestic,foreign, luxury and utilitarian -- the R is the most versatile, enjoyable of them all. Not faultless (can any MB every be???) but a well-designed and executed NEW concept.
First, this writer is just rehashing an article in last week's Automotive News, part of which simply implied something that is not true. He, and that article, said that Mercedes-Benz was again cutting the price of the R Class. That is incorrect. They have simply brought out a 2 wheel drive version of the R350. The price of the R350 and R320CDI 4-Matic versions both increased.
Second, Mercedes-Benz continues to have year over year sales increases in the United States in the midst of even more luxury car competition. And, as was reported several issues ago in Automotive News, in the true luxury market (defined by Automotive News as $40,000 and up price range) Mercedes-Benz is the clear market leader in sales.
I am not a "mouthpiece" for Mercedes-Benz. They have made plenty of mistakes over the past ten years. But facts are facts. Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the U.S. are some of the most sought after, highly valued automotive franchises in the automotive industry. Smart business people like a Roger Penske do not throw money at "losers".
Who cares about reviews? If you love your car that is all that should matter. Furthermore, my Odyssee is a lemon that rides and "feels" like an empty beer can....transmission is crap. My personal experience with Honda anyway.
It's like that show "Top Gear", for example. Almost w/o exception, one of those elitist reviewers will harp on an American car, but whoa, if it is a W. European made car they're driving that car is raved about!
Overall, I think auto reviewers are a bit over-harsh and biased...almost to the point that you think they're being too emotional about the subject matter.
I agree, however there are many people who don't necessarily have developed taste or preference on what it is that they like. Those people need these reviews in order to make a decision. Besides the reliability and performance specs of a car, everything else is very emotional and subjective. I think if you really like something, you will like it no matter what anyone says about it.
I left my new R class at the airport off site parking lot for the first time. When the shuttle driver asked what kind of car I was driving and I said a "Mercedes" I wondered if he would recognize the car. The first words out of his mouth was, "That looks like a van".
R class is a minivan. People who buy minivans do not care about styling.
Having owned 2 minivans in the past and driven many others, I can assure you the R class is NOT a minivan. In some respects it has less utility than a minivan in that it has only a fraction of the rear storage capacity of a van. You can't walk down an aisle like you can with a minivan because of the sloping roofline in the rear. What it does have however is much better ride comfort and far superior handling to a minivan, much better fuel economy when you get the CDI, not to mention great styling IMHO. Too bad Mercedes hasn't figured out how to market this vehicle properly ...
Tough but not Terminal Review of Mercedes and the R Class 
Linear Mode
