Xeon

brabus c...

face it...

companies are more into financial statements, profit margin stuff then uphold the prestige of their company.......

look at enron....worldcom...whats the mission statement..and what happen?

Mike T.

I LOVE THAT SONG!!!!

Anyway, the allegedly recent move downmarket of Mercedes-Benz is not quite as new a phenomenon as some here seem to think. Do any of you know what a 180 D cost in 1960, compared to the 220 S that was externally very similar? Or compared to a Volvo, Peugeot or Opel? Maybe not.

Let me just say that it has almost always (certainly since WWII) been possible to buy relatively inexpensive Mercedes in most countries. And by this I mean cars that are similar or BETTER in price/value to today's C 230 K and C 240 Classic. These cars have always been fairly technically advanced for their time, no matter how inexpensive they were.

The whole upper crust image that Mercedes-Benz seemed to cultivate in the USA is only a marketing myth, based on the types of models that they chose to import (the expensive ones that represent poor value for money). They've been doing their damnedest to dispel that myth in recent times and this will become even more apparent when the new A-Class becomes available down there.

My conclusion therefore is: if you bought any Mercedes-Benz mainly for its snob cachet you are a misguided bozo who has bought into the marketing myth hook line and sinker. Sorry for the mixed metaphor If on the other hand you bought your car because you like driving it and you like its features, great. It's only a car after all, no matter how cheap or expensive it was.

brabus c

matt230k. my point was that people get so caught up in what kind of car they have... if you read what i wrote people are comparing their c230 to the sedan. saying that the c230 is a peace of junk not in those words... and to mike t. yes i have heard of the 180 and the other cars... and i do know that in other countries mercedes are taxi's. but in the United States people tend to think of Mercedes as a high end car. Also in the United States Mercedes Brand Equity is high and by venturing into the lower end market like the lower end c-class it does hurt their brand equity. And to Xenon quote "companies are more into financial statements, profit margin stuff then uphold the prestige of their company......." Im not sure if that is a smart move by mercedes or porche... in the long run its going to hurt the company's image. They are going to lose the image of their higher end car which will be comparible with their lower end cars. People who buy lets say the S class i would like to think want to be somewhat exclusive. and along comes the C class which can be compaired by appearance to look simular to the S class, BUT WAIT the S class cost around $40-50,000 more IF you pay that much for a car... i would like to think i dont want another car to be compaired to it. especially one that cost that much less. and to AMDEUTSCH since when did i have to have perfect grammer to write in a forum... im writing how im feeling and im sorry if i dont think in correct grammer.....AND for the record the reason why i bought my C class is because i like it... i just dont like it when people around here (from what iv seen) get a big head from what they drive. arguing on "cheep interior", interior fabric... read the other posts first before you responc to mine.. mines mild compared to the others iv seen. I compare this forum to the E46fanatics forum and the differecne between the two is that the E46 forum is the people on their are nicer... they dont HATE on each other commenting on other peoples cars in a really negative way... they get along.... thats how it should be... but if you read this entire forum and some others you will see that a lot of people do hate on peoples cars....

MR325iT

Funny - all this started with a pic of some car with a giant wing and now it's all marketing and social dynamics and coupe v. sedan and "real mercedes" and ...oh, nevermind

The only way I'd get all worked up over something like this is if someone snuck up on me and put that crazy wing on MY car. If it's onsomeone else's car - fine.

mongoman

What else is new at K Mart ?

trench

Good point. Some people get worked up by how others mod their vehicles. Some people argue that now that MB has gone downmarket it's attracting more of the "ricer" element, which is then going to hurt the value of their car somehow. People forget that even when Mercedes was still "top-dollar" there were still plenty of gaudy ones out there. The mid-80s AMG 500SECs come to mind with their huge, snowplow airdams and big wings. I also remember a mid-80s coupe from the factory that came with waaayyy too much gold trim for anyone that doesn't run girls on the side.

Later, BT

shtatc

I dont know if anyone here remembers what Koenig did to MB SEC500 - with the body kits. Made the SEC look like the TestaRossa with the "cheeser grater" slats. If you are talking about "ricer" then MB is definitely not immune and MB can look in its backyard for tuners who do this.

Oh well...what were we talking about initially? And where did we brach off to?

trench

Oooo...I'd completely forgotten about those Koenig body kits. Or perhaps I was just surpressing those memories.

Topics are a crutch for those unable to keep up.



BT

amdeutsch

They now started selling knock-off C320s. Don' worry. They are easy to spot. Just look on top of the dash and you will find missing pieces.

amdeutsch

I like'm too. For anybody else here is a comparison with some that the tirerack sells (next to AMGs) in silver.

forums.mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20407

shtatc

Trench...
I guess the older I get, the more reminders I need...plus having grown up in the Bay Area(east bay) - I think I got exposed to too many radioactive waves from the naval ships at Alameda NAS. Too many dead brain cells.

Scott

CitronC230K_03

its kinda funny when you think about it. in europe mercedes are just another car. sure they are luxurious and expensive, but many models are the ford focus' and honda civic's of america. thats the way it is. america is so stuck on mercedes being an image. its the same thinking that drives many to buy bigger and attain the least mpg, meanwhile when gas prices get above $2 per gallon they are the first to complain to the government about outragous gas prices. this topic has gone way off of the C24 rice conversion which started it all, but all in all i think its funny. why cant someone buy a car for the engineering, safety features and a great deal for the dollar (then again COMAND isn't the buy of the century), yet somehow it all gets turned around to who has the least expensive becuase as typical americans we want to be better than all the rest even if that means putting down your neighbor. the same train of thought goes into those with the 2.3L vs. the 1.8L in a C230. the 2.3 has more torque and hp, sound tougher, and you can perform more mods on the engine. yet the 1.8L is rated as ULEV vs. LEV the 2.3L was, is quieter and gets better gas milage. then again most americans dont care about the gas milage rahter than the price at the pump. also if you want exclusive, pass up the S and CL, and just get yourself a Maybach. might cost a bit more than the $.02 im putting in. if you are ready to order, check out their website. http://www.maybachusa.com/microsite/.../main1000.html

heres a bit of article that says good things about the coupe.

Being one of those cars you have to drive to love, the new C-Coupe is destined for yet another niche in the market. Should there be a surge in sales, look for a BMW 330ti to go head-to-head with the new Benz. But for the money, there isn't any better of a euro-cruiser. No other ones have as much elegance, class, and panache as the new kid on the block. And for a less than 30k, what more do you want? AZ/AutoNetDirect.com