CisternaChyli

Mercedes said they will hold the line on pricing; the car and driver article on the interior said pricing will be "stable". The CLA starts at $29,900. The C250 currently starts at what..$36k and change...if anything pricing would go up a grand or so, but thats it...the gap is big enough already.

Glyn M Ruck

Steve ~ you & I are on the same wavelength & don't resist change.

Also ~ some of the "so called" quality issues are due to MBUSA gutting things & finishes from the cars to keep the sticker price down & still have some margin to play with.

In ROW where people pay a lot more for the cars they have all the bells & whistles & perceived quality as a result. A friend in Dallas just had to pay a fortune for stitched leather on the dash of his new ML. In most markets it's standard.

I agree the W205 will likely see the price hiked over time. They are giving them away at present.

alsyli

Was it a Designo interior? My understanding is that the MB tex stitched dashboard for an ML is rather inexpensive (something like $500 for the dashboard + a one-time special order charge of $250).

Richard2011

I can deal with the tablet-like screen, but I don't like how they moved the shifter to the steering column. My mom has one in the her ML, and I much prefer the traditional shifter, even if all I do is shift to P, R, N, or D. I need to learn how to drive a manual. Haha. The new control knob/trackpad/buttons thing looks pretty neat, though.

Pete7874

But then you'd need to move to a different brand since there are no manual MB cars sold in the US anymore.

norcaldrifter

looks like the interior of a scion.........

Sportstick

EXACTLY!

Glyn M Ruck

No. It's an almond leather interior with pearl white paint & he wanted leather on the dash like ROW & not MBTex.

The base price of the Bluetec was US$ 52,000. By the time he had finished spec'ing it, it was 89K & he waited 8 months for it which is outrageous. He in fact bought 2 of them. One in SA for his business here & one in Dallas for home.

MDMercedesGuy

Not true... SLK250 is available in 6 speed. I haven't driven one - I don't want to know what I am missing.

alsyli

Ah, I see. Back when I was first thinking of buying an MB a few yrs ago (and when my salary was higher, but that's a diff story entirely), I contacted MB USA about the possibility of getting an Artico-covered dash in the the E-class (it isn't even a special-order option here). MB USA responded and simply said it would be "very expensive." I remember complaining about the rather terse response here, and YYZ (can't remember the rest of his/her name), who I think works for MB Canada, responded that it *would* be very expensive b/c it has to go through "the Center of Excellence" (or something like that). My impression was, even though the dash is offered in the rest of the world, my request was basically akin to ordering a one-off specifically designed just for me. A friend who had another friend said that a custom-ordered BMW was about 50% more than standard MSRP....

Question for you Glyn. You mentioned that the US price of the C-class is very cheap compared to the rest of the world. One review on thetruthaboutcars.com mentioned that even MB mechanics joke that the C-class is the "cheap class" (implying that it was built to a low standard). I actually think it's got great build quality (even if it's decontented for the US), but I was wondering if you had any thoughts about that.... (since you have access to high-level automotive folks).

Samaral

No disrespect taken. I am not comparing material quality, although I think they are similar in quality. What I think, and this is just my opinion in terms of design it's that the E has a much more "classic" look then the new C that, for ME, looks more like this Japanese cars made to attract the 20's drivers. Again, I know that this is just a matter of personal taste, the C it is still a MB, and a great car.

Germancar1

Not true actually, the SLK250 is still sold with a manual in the U.S.

M

Glyn M Ruck

The US primary supplier until W205 is the East London plant in South Africa with top up from Bremen & Sindelfingen. The SA plant has won numerous quality awards which you can Google for confirmation. It also frequently wins the internal MB quality round robin between plants. I consider the W204 a generally very well built car. Early W203's & W211 E Classes gave MB a poor name for build quality in the early 2000's. They had scrapped on road testing in SA, Namibia & Finland for computer simulated endurance testing. This cost them dearly & soon they were out there testing on the road in arduous conditions firstly to correct W203 proplems & later other new models. The W204 was a product of such onroad testing & materials testing in desert & polar conditions. The W204 has been a very reliable car using good materials & well screwed together.

SA will top up the Chinese plant after W205 production goes to Tuscaloosa. The Chinese plant simply can't keep up with demand.

Glyn M Ruck

You are not missing much. MB MT's are somewhat agricultural & the clutch action is less than pleasing. I think they spoil the cars. Be happy with your Auto.

Sportstick

True, but a relatively useless daily driver. MB has abandoned the original concept of a sports sedan...4 doors/3 pedals...and are clearly headed to a fully luxury/premium position. I suppose they assume AMG covers whatever sporting aspirations may exist among their owners but even those miss the point of light/nimble/fun in favor of monster engines with similar price tags. I can't wait to read the inevitable road test of CLA vs 228i Gran Coupe vs A3 sedan in another year or so.

Sportstick

Yes, it is less than slick, but I differ with your conclusion and am certain from driving boring C Class loaners that it improves the overall entertainment of the car. An automatic is more able to allow "contented", than create "happy". However, it does seem with MB bailing out that they took their slogan seriously..."The Best or Nothing".

Glyn M Ruck

I know we have discussed this elsewhere but it is going to be interesting to see the long term reaction to even manufacturers like Porsche dropping MT in favour of PDK. The technical editor of our local "Car" magazine recently did a well researched 4 page article on the death of the MT. He sees the MT only possibly surviving in East Asian, very small engine runabouts designed for 3rd world markets.

Glyn M Ruck

It's only MBUSA that is bailing out.

For me to enjoy an MT it has to be something like the slick Aisin units fitted to the Boxster S with similar perfectly weighted & progressive clutch action or I don't want it.

MDMercedesGuy

I could deal with stirring a stick in the mud, personally. I don't like how automatics shift normally, I don't like delayed upshifts for catalyst preheat when cold, and I don't like something second guessing me when I put my foot down. Few things infuriate me behind the wheel as much as my car waiting 1+ seconds to downshift when I stand on the accelerator trying to merge.

The automatic in my car is a concession I made to get the engine and interior I wanted. This is the first true automatic I have owned, and since I am planning on replacing this car with an E250 diesel in the next year or two, I am stuck with an automatic. I've put a halt on my W202 hunt for now - and am thinking about picking something like a used Boxster up to scratch my itch.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes. It seems that Benz has selected a rather lame MAP for the W204 & derivatives in NA. My CLK is nothing like that. It kicks down instantaneously as an example.

I wonder if they have selected that for their CAFE homologation there.

Strange things happen to US bound Benz vehicles. e.g the American version of the ML 350 Bluetec diesel develops less power than the same unit in ROW. No one can tell me why.

MBUSA is known to be a loose cannon in the MB empire. e.g the C Class Coupe in the US apparently has a full memory driver's seat & a manual passenger seat. (see thread on fitting Coupe seats to W204 sedan) Who the hell makes those sorts of decisions?

Pete7874

My feelings exactly and this is why I will not own an MB car. The C300 belongs to my wife who doesn't care about these things. I try to drive it as little as possible because the AT infuriates me.

MDMercedesGuy

The 14 way power passenger seat is optional on the coupe, though.

Sportstick

Good point....and MBCanada as well, I believe. We North Americans have rarely been known for our collective finer tastes.

As to holding up a Porsche as an example for a car ripe for a stick, I know I need to make some compromises. I need a sedan for my primary vehicle, and I already have a Jeep for some special purpose uses, so I'm out of space in addition to my wife's car. So, the sedan has to do it all, therefore the sports sedan genre is my perfect solution, which the W205 is even further away from. I will be quite happy with someone else's well-executed version of this formula now that MBUSA has decided to bow out. Pity, though. My MB dealer is clearly the best dealer/service organization I've ever dealt with......ever!

Sportstick

Look what just showed up on the AutoWeek web site (more photos there) ....the new 2 Series. Note how the nav is far more integrated while achieving the same sight line as the MB "whoops, I dropped it in" approach.

Just need to order the proper gear shift when the 4 door model follows next year and we have a car about the same size as the current W204 from the early "spy" reports.

Pete7874

Yup. And the new 3-series is very similar in that respect as well. Out of all the implementations, I think BMW's is the most tactful/seamless, with MB and Mazda being the worst, IMO.