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Mercedes-Benz: Future Models
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Comments
M
My 2002 C230k Coupe lease is up in September. I can extend it on a monthly basis until the car gets here, but would rather get into that new car sooner than later!
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2050404.006
and some pics:
Now keep in mind that in Europe the CLK500 doesn't wear the AMG package that we get standard here. The "sport package" talked about here is for European market cars so I'm doubtful there will be any real changes to the U.S. market CLK. However I don think the CLK350 will be available with the same body kit that the CLK500 wears as standard, just like they did with the last few years of the previous CLK320 vs the CLK430. There is new sport package for the E-Class too in Europe, but our AMG Sport and Appearance packages didn't change here so I'm thinking the same will happen with the CLK. All I can see is them offering the AMG styling kit as factory option for the CLK350 models. Suspension tunning, different seats, and exhaust like on the C-Class I don't see happening for the CLK. Then again you never know. Stroudman will probably get the info first whenever the dealers are told in detail about the 2006 CLK.
M
M
thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
C.
I'm bloody giddy. I'm this close to driving down to the dealer to reserve mine now.
If I could just get some performance data for the CLK 350Cab. Anyone know the 0-60 for the '06 CLK350 Cab?
Has the CLK350/CLK350Cab been test driven by one of the car magazines yet?
The cars will be on the lots by then, at least the C-Class should be.
M
That could be over 5 months before I get my car! Now, it I could order the thing now, I could have it by October at the latest. But if they make me wait until June with the C350, or even later, to order the car because it isn't "on sale" yet (even though they are making them now, most likely), that would push me back to November or later...
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2050421.004
Looks good to me!
M
This traditional MB color combination caught my eye when I saw it on a 300 SL years ago.
I have not yet seen a car with this color combination - have you?
M
Yep, that was the first thing I noticed a few months ago when the S350 all of a sudden appeared on MBUSA.com. I guess a 268hp V6 is too close to the 275hp V8 of the S430. More importantly we'll get the new S350 with the new V6 it seems otherwise I don't see why they'd bother giving us an S350 so late in the current S-Class' model run.
M
In my opinion you understand what Mercedes stands for and what its cars should be. Current Daimler management seems to be adrift in this regard.
My favorite German and American car marques (Mercedes and GM) have lost over $2 billion between them in the last quarter - hard to believe.
Well I've done my part. I've written letters and even talked with Maybach and Mercedes reps at various autoshows (mainly Detroit where I really did have an important ear for a few minutes), but its up to them now.
They seem to at the very least know that they have a problem. I've read the statement about earnings and 1 Billion (gulp!) of that was for Smart, which I say they should dump, but they aren't. So that mean Mercedes lost a mere 200 Million! Right. At the prices they charge they should make more money than just about anyone else, at least in the luxury car business.
The demons have come back to haunt them and they've got to spend big time for at least all of 2005 and the first half of 2006 to get things under control. I think as new model roll out they'll make a profit this year, but it will be a small one thats for sure. They're spending millions and millions to make cars already on the road "right" as Cordes said, an admirable, but costly thing to do.
Look for 2006 to be a much better year, but forget about 2005 because I don't think you've heard the worse yet.
Now GM, imo is much worse shape because they have a lot of new models and they simply aren't selling up to expectations. Unlike Mercedes, GM has a design problem. From engines to styling they seem to be behind the curve and just plain lacking even on their brand new models. I personally think GM is just too big to properly fund all of their divisions with the quality of cars each one needs.
M
I think huge losses will get the attention of Mercedes manangement in a way customer complaints never did. It is human nature to be complacent until crunch time.
As to GM - GM has a structural cost disadvantage of $2,500-3,000 per vehicle that won't go away until union contracts are reopened. Eventually management will have to face this unwelcome truth and be tough.
Oh well - one can't be a fan without some losing seasons. Right now 2 of my 3 teams are down.
What is the third team?
M
I'd read that it will be available for special order staring this Spring. True?
M
M
My third team is Rolls/Bentley. I know they are split up but I still think of them together in a similar sphere. I love the way they have been true to tradition while keeping up with technology.
If I remember right, you were smitten as I was by the new Phantom convertible coming out late this year. There are pictures of the Phantom convertible at:
http://car.kak.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1574
-BTW, I'm really suprised that luxo wagons don't sell better on this side of the pond. You're not really compromising any of the driving dynamics of a sedan, and you're getting most of the utility of a midsize SUV, with good mpg to boot. I don't understand what's not to love, but whenever we get one in our inventory, it just sits around until we have to whore it out.
As for the AMG models, living in SoCal, all the dealers seem to have lots of them, since people out here can afford them (or believe they can).
The dealership where I am ordering my C280, for example, had an E55, C55, SL65, CLS55, and S55 sitting in the showroom, as well as a few more AMGs outside. They also had a Maybach 57 inside and plenty of new MLs, including an ML500 inside. This dealer is only one of many, many in my area. About 10 in a 30 mile radius of my house, with more not much farther off.
according to Edmunds, it is a 2005 model already available.
Bentley is growing by leaps and bounds, but the only "true" Bentley to me is the Arnage and the upcoming convertible version. The Continental GT and Flying Spur have way too much VW in their DNA to be true, of course imo.
Rolls-Royce on the other hand is much more true to tradition. The Phantom is a new from the ground up Roll-Royce, with German engineering. While impressive, I'm not crazy about the look. It does however command a presence on the road like nothing else I've ever seen. You're correct about the convertible version, splendid machine imo. Looks much better than the sedan because they've tilted the RR grille back and reduced its size.
Now that both brands have the advantage of German owners they are for the first time in modern history "up" on technology. Before they were antiques.
M
None of them approach the simple elegance of the W124 wagon however. Now that was real status symbol back in its day, before the SUV craze.
M
The dealers around here seem to have a lot of AMG models too. I guess AMG made some type of huge shipment recently or something? I've never seen so many AMG models in a dealer's lot before until now. I mean even all three "65" models. The only one I haven't seen yet is the SLK55, either on the lot or on the road.
What do you think of the Maybach?
M
Keeping exclusivity exclusive is a challenge! Once a product becomes popular the trendsetters move on to the next unique/hot thing.
I read recently about an auto journalist who drove a Phantom across the country. The writer was used to arriving in Ferraris, SLs, Lamborghinis and the like but his experience with the Rolls-Royce was unique.
He said that wherever he went (restaurants, hotels, casinos - even gas stops) he received a level of service and a deference that he had never experienced before simply because he was driving the Rolls.
Maybach may be objectively a better vehicle but it doesn't have the presence of a Rolls-Royce.
I do hope they don't start soaking the market with too much of the AMG product, tho. It needs to remain a rare commodity.
Your C280 is probably going to be a pretty cool rig. I'm looking forward to selling them.
I agree, and the Rolls just looks and feels more "special" and custom made. The Maybach really is as you said, a super Mercedes. I personally would have just called it the "Maybach by Mercedes-Benz", which was the original plan until VW and BMW got their hands on the two most valued brands in the ultra-luxury car business.
M
In business sales are the trump card, especially during a slump. I'm sure this is why the AMG option is so widely available at Benz lately.
I sincerely believe the Mercedes sales/quality slump can be turned around within 24 months. Management should accomplish the task with hard work and dedication, not brand dilution.
Mercedes could move into the ultra-luxury range again. They were there for many years with the 600 series in the 1960s/1970s.
Create a separate Mercedes model line (Maybach would be a great model designation) and use the tristar emblem. If you want the series name on the car put small 'Maybach' emblems/crests on the fenders, decklid or wheel covers.
Oh of course. Very people know that Maybach was a part of the Mercedes-Benz story from very beginning.
Maybach, if they're going to keep it seperate brand, needs a seperate look from Mercedes imo. Something with stunning prescence like the Phantom, but much better looking unlike the Phantom. The problem is deciding what a "Maybach" should look like. I'd like to see former Mercedes styling chief Brunno Sacco take a shot at a new Maybach.
M
I think Mercedes has made some progress too, at least by the posts on Edmunds. There doesn't seem to be nearly as many complaints about newer models as their was a few years ago. It seems that way. The new ML worries me the most.
Now you know as I do that once the press and other detractors get it in their mind that a Mercedes isn't reliable, it will take years to fix the damage. Some of the survey toting crowd has become so ridiculous about this to the point of where it isn't worth talking to them anymore because they can't understand that for one a car is not all surveys and that surveys aren't perfect. It has become an idiotic discussion.
M
And worldwide, the "troublesome" C-Class that "isn't up to Mercedes standards" and "isn't sporty enough" has passed the 3-series for sales. Well, who knows about the last month with the new 3-series, but over the last year it had passed the BMW.
M
It just annoys me when people say: your car sucks and mine is great" just because of some bias, not experience.
I can't wait for my C280, even if resale isn't quite as good as a lexus or dynamics are more reserved than a BMW. As an overall daily car that can be fun when you want it to but maintains a level of luxury and eschews overly bling-bling design, I personally think the C is the king. Who knows what the next C will bring (hopefully not the non-mercedes styling inside and out of the SLK), but for this model run, the C is a great car, getting better with each refinement. And in that respect, neither sales figures nor user ratings are lying...
M
With regards to the Lexus Army, I think they are the most hardened of the glitch intolerant drivers out there. I don't think they would ever admit it, but if they could be assured that an S500, for example, that they saw at a dealership were guaranteed to be problem free, they would buy it and love it. They put reliability above everything else, which is fine if it's what they buy a car for, but we all know that Lexus delivers a very anodine driving experience. I guess they get their thrill from knowing there is very little chance of anything malfunctioning. When I leased my C-class, I went into it KNOWING there was a more than average likelihood that it would have problems, but I gladly signed up anyway, and my car has been much more reliable than any other car I've ever had. I think a "value-oriented luxury car" is not really a luxury car. All their arguments seem to center on the problems one car has over another, or how much more one costs than another. Anyway, they've taken enough of my energy, I won't indulge them much, anymore. They're not enthusiasts so much as they are toadies, they just keep clubbing you over the head with the same garbage.
either way, I like my 2002 C class, and I'm just going to like the 2006 C280 even more. and I'm getting the blue leather, which is a pretty rare color in any brand.