Has anyone else noticed this? Sorry if it's been discussed, but I did a search and didn't come up with a thread.

MBUSA has done it again! First they killed the C320 wagon in the USA and now the website shows no C-class wagons at all for 2006. If they weren't about to give us a C55 wagon, a C350 would have been nice, but now there's nothing. Not even the C240.

A visit to the UK site shows a variety of engines and trim levels, so apparently this is a decision of the geniuses in NJ. Do they expect owners to move to an E-class wagon, or did someone decide that the B-class would take its place? Not for me, thanks! Have they heard of the A4, or even better the S4 Avant? What about the BMW 325xi? Those would seem to indicate that there's a market for a small, upscale (and preferably quick) wagon here.

Unfortunately, Bangle ended my years of BMW ownership (OK, so I ended up in a Benz, which was a good thing!) and de'Silva's gaping mouth on the new Audis isn't my cup of tea. Maybe it's time to start saving my pennies and selling harder to get a Range Rover Sport.

End of rant. Opinions on this decision to drop the C wagon?

 

C class sales in the US are down almost 20% because of the competition, mostly Audi and BMW cleaning the face off the clock at DaimlerChrysler. In the UK, and most of the world a Benz is sold in a boutique setting, with tremendious personal service and attention to the needs of the customer. While my US experience was not bad, buying a car in Hong Kong was quite a pleasure. In the US, a lot of cars are sold by Autonation, the K-Mart of car dealers, and you pretty much have to sell the car to yourself. Germany would rather have NAFTRA area buyers pick up a Pacifica or wait for the R, where the profits are jucier than the very low priced C class in the US.

Most C class buyers are younger, and typically don't want to drive in the "Poppa lane" with a wagon. As a diver and surfer, I prefer a wagon, but they are very rare even here in LA. I usually see about 50 C class cars a day going to work and back, but the only C wagon I see is mine.

 

I can't imagine that many potential C wagon buyers are going to consider the R-class a viable alternative. Both its size and price are in a different category. Even if there's an AMG version, or when Brabus gets their hands on it, I don't think it's going to be a competitor for an S4 Avant, and as soon as you say "AMG" or "Brabus" you're in a different league price-wise.

I'm a semi-serious cyclist, and my C is a great bike and gear hauler, as well as being very convenient for carting large items in my business without feeling like a soccer mom. BTW, my kids are grown and I'm divorced, so it's nice to have something that's practical, sporty and doesn't get sneers when I'm on a date.

FWIW, here are the choices a UK buyer has, and if none of those do it for a customer, Brabus will be happy fix that.

 

The reality is that 2006 will be the last year of the W203 body style. As you can imagine, the last year is probably the worst year for sales. A lot of people will wait until the 07 comes out. With the wagon not being a big seller in the US, I imagine that they want to focus their efforts on just the sedan.

 

Wow, they killed the best looking W203. Sure C class sales are down 20%, that's probably because of 2 factors, one was droppping free maintenance, a huge mistake for MB, a great opportunity for BMW and Audi (I wouldn't buy an MB just for that reason if BMW/Audi/Jag do it), secondly, BMW and Audi's are new for 2006. Luckily Audi still has the wagon and the wagon like A3.

 

That seems quite wasteful(??) to revamp the C Class for '05, only to switch bodystyles for '07?

 

Typical arrogance of MBUSA. They saddle us with their bad decisions, just like the Motorola-only cellphones while the rest of the world gets a very broad choice of phones.

Oh yea, and forget Parktronic or Distronic on a C class. Another brilliant MBUSA decision.

 

Here here! Couldn't agree more.

BTW, the C-Class wagon went out with the Coupe for us in USA. Hmmm...sales are down...Gee, I wonder why? These idiots at MBUSA turned away 20 thousand customers just by dropping these ALREADY PAID FOR MODELS. There was no dev costs associated with either car. They were here, certified, and tested already. Tooling and dies paid for. Cars are even still sold elsewhere. With the new 6, they FINALLY give both cars enough power, great new interiors and better handling...and then discontinue the car in the US.

But, MBUSA made the descision for us. Same brilliant descision makers that gave us so many other product blunders.

 

Sometimes it seems that MB (and they're not alone in this) creates self-fulfilling prophecies. They make erroneous assumptions about what buyers want, then don’t give them appropriate choices, the cars don’t sell and they say, “See? We were right. That model isn’t selling.”

E.G., don’t offer a Sport Edition of the wagon and take away the 320 or 350 engine. Don’t even think about the C55 wagon. The volume couldn’t possibly be there to justify that. Oh, wait. How many E55 wagons are coming in? The freakin’ car’s already on the world market so there aren’t any development costs. Watch an F1 race on SpeedTV and what’s the medical car? A C55 wagon. If there’s an incident you see that thing hauling butt around the track, think maybe a wagon isn’t just a soccer mom car after all and go to your dealer to find that the only thing you can (Oops! could) buy is a …….C240.

If the average age of C-class buyers is, in fact, lower than other Benz customers, haven’t they failed to bring in the versions that would be most likely to appeal to them? Maybe they can’t afford anything above the entry level for their first Benz, or have different financial priorities, but when it’s time to replace that car….. Try to sell the stodgiest version of the C-class wagon to a youthful, at least in heart, audience and they don’t want it. What a surprise!

Hint to MBUSA: Get a customer young. Keep them coming back for the model they bought, a higher performance or more luxurious replacement in the same class, or sell them up a class as their income, age and needs or wants change. Marketing 101: It’s a lot easier to keep an existing customer than to find a new one. Once they buy an Audi or BMW wagon it may not be easy to get them back. Think about that when you bring out the new C-class.

 

I fell in love with LadyWolf's bordeaux red E55 AMG Wagon !


and the funny thing is that the salesman at MBSD from whom I've bought 4 Mercedes-Benz in the past 3 years, is always telling me that their black E55 AMG Wagon sitting in their showroom floor is still available. My parents got a C320 Wagon in 2003, and they love it. It's just the right size and engine for them. I would love an AMG-powered wagon, but don't really need one.

All in all, it's a shame that the Wagon is no longer, just like the C-Coupé, in the USA.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

 

The E55 Wagon is still in the US, i just saw a review on it by Car and Driver.

 

Not really. They have made improvements every year. Even though they know sales will be down, they still need to do something to try and generate as many sales as possible without hurting profit margins.

Well, best looking is your opinion (and not one I share with you), but even still, it did not sell well. As for dropping the included maintenance (it was never "free"), they did this in order to keep the retail price down. And, as you mention, with BMW and Audi having new body styles out, plus the fact that the W203 is in it's last year, sales will be down. They cannot afford to have too broad of a selection at the expense of profit (my educated business opinion).

The bottom line is: If MBUSA thought that they could sell C coupes, Wagons, and Sedans in 06, without hurting profit levels, I'm sure they would have opted for this.

 

Hey jh320, switching brands is the only way you can meaningfully impact Daimler-Chrysler. Your switch doesn't mean anything by itself, but if it is part of a trend, you can be sure your decision made an impact.

Enjoy your car during the time you want to keep it; you are the owner of a relatively rare vehicle. I believe Daimler-Chrysler's Mercedes-Benz cars in North America are in the beginning stages of what happened to GM's Cadillac division when they fell (hard) from their lofty perch of being the best selling luxury brand in the US.

By the way, remember to follow the bulletin boards of Range Rover and see what kinds of problems people run into.
William
2003 E320

 

I disagree. Coupes and Wagons are existing products, that still are produced for the rest of the world. No new tooling or dies, or certification required.

Certainly, I wouldn't expect MB to have loads of them piling up on the lots, like the 'can't give it away' C240's my dealer has...but keeping these cars available for even special order would have been nice. A C350 Coupe, with the new suspension and interior would have been just perfect.

 

Coupes are being discontinued in Germany as well IAW German forums. Looking at the classifieds it seems they are harder to resell as well.

 

I hate these little wagons. I would rather buy an SUV. I can't picture these little cars being wagons.

 

No C-class wagon anymore in Canada either.

However, we are getting the all new 2006 B-class. Its FWD, and will come as the B200 (2.0L I4 with 134HP and 136 lb-ft torque), and the B200T (2.0L turbo I4 with 193HP and 206 lb-ft torque). It comes with a 6 speed manual or a continuous variable transmission. Much more interior space than the C-class wagon (passengers and luggage), and cheaper too!!

Mercedes Benz Canada claims 0-100km/h in 7.6 seconds for the B200T with manual transmission.

 

Wish we got that, I bet my wife would like it.

 

I loved this little wagon (I see very few around). I think a big part of why the wagon "bit-it" stateside (in addtion to extraordinarily low sales volume) could be the exchange rate.

If I recall correctly, the Sedans were/are assembled in South Africa, while the wagons hailed from Germany. The former is a dollar denominated currency, while the latter has experienced relatively big swings over the course of the past couple of years: Low volumes + low gross margins + unfavorable exchange rate = death of variant.

Anyway - I'm getting a company car (company has a deal with GM, so I'm getting a SAAB) - and the wagon must go. You can see my ad in the classified section (only one listed). Price has just been lowered to $28.5K

 

Not so, young padiwan... All Coupes and Sedans sold in the US are made in Germany, with the exception of a few C240s made in Brazil. The South African Sedans are RHD models exported for sale in those few countries with Right-Hand Drive.

Here in the states, station wagons fell out of favor when the minivan rose to power in the mid 80's. The minivan in turn yielded to the SUV in the mid 90's. So it has come to pass that people wanting a vehicle to carry more than 4 people and their soccer gear now rely on the lemmingmobile pick-up truck with a roof, extra doors, seats and windows. Lamentable, it's true. But that is why the Estate Wagon is being withdrawn from US sale. Simple, really.

 

They will continue to build them out for W203. We all know there will be no 3 door coupe for W204. But you already know that was not what I was talking about. Can't be that hard to sell. The C320 sedan that fetched nearly 20K more when new only grabs another grand over the price of a used coupe around here.

 

The fact that they exist some where else has nothing to do with profit levels here in the US. As I said before, if DC thought that they could make money selling coupes and wagons in the US, I'm sure they would.

 

Pick up day C320 Cdi


TipTop Car

 

Ya just had to rub it in, didn't ya! Enjoy!