A reply from MBUSA
I guess this depends on point of view. If you believe in the long-term reliability of HP through cubic inches vs forced induction, then I think the C320 Coupe will sell very well. Especially if it's equipped standard with MB-Tex seating, Climatronic and Bose.

Looks like no bose and no climatronic. I guess the only difference is the engine and the leather inserts.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=26873
Leather is optional. It seems to be a $2,xxx upgrade just for the v6.
Erik
According to the sticker on this thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=26873
Leather is optional. It seems to be a $2,xxx upgrade just for the v6.
Erik

I just went back and looked. I was talking about leather inserts, not full leather. I didn't notice that both cars had leather. So then I looked in the standard equpiment list and it says cloth upholstery, so now I guess all you get is the engine for your extra couple thousand.
Erik

I just think $2000 for an engine upgrade and only adding 25hp and a little over 25ft/lbs. of torque is a ripoff. Now if they at least included the power seats and climatronic and Bose for about $2500 that would have been a deal breaker.
Erik
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
The 2 statements kinda conradict themselves...
The C230K sedan and C320 coupe might have a market for the inbetween people, wanting to mod the vehicle and have a sedan, or looking for a long term vehicle but want aggressive styling... how big this market is, who knows... but I see a lot of older C230 Kompressor sedans around town...
C230K Coupe = Young individuals or couples (<30) who want a tunable (S/C) sporty, yet practical 2-door Coupe for 3-4 years purchase or lease. Don't care (never learned) about "hatchback" dogma.
C320 Coupe = Older folks who want a 7-10-year car, want more creature comforts with sporty pretentions without S/C or Turbocharger issues, and were brainwashed to see 4-cyl hatchbacks as "cheap Pintos." They have been waiting to buy til now.
C230 Sedan = Younger individuals, or couples (probably with infant children who must have a sedan) but want to play with chips, wheels, etc. 2-3 year ownership, lease car. Entry level MB sedan. Like all the older C230Ks you see today. Different demographic (older) in Europe.
C240 Sedan = The younger set will migrate to the C230 Sedan, leaving the C240 as entry level MB for it's originally intended demographic (40-49+ $90K/year--figures from MB).
C320 Sedan = Same Demo as C240, but more experienced crowd who learned the buyer's remorse paradigm of buying a lesser car and trying to mod it into something better. Money less an issue, or willing to stretch to buy. Long term (6-10 yr) purchase, interest in operational economy (compared to C32) bridging to 1st E-Class later..
C32 AMG = No-Holds-Barred performance enthusiasts, any age, economic level, prob individual management professional with or without Sig. Other... no kids. Money no object, fuel economy not important. 3-4 year car then on to next hot ticket.
This is just my opinion, based (somewhat) on years in product development jobs (albeit not in automotive). I'm sure others will disagree, and that's fine with me.
Last edited by MB-BOB; Jan 10, 2003 at 02:18 PM.
The Coupe only offers leather inserts, so leather is leather inserts.
Erik
No, leather means full leather. It would say leather inserts if it were leather inserts. It better be full leather for an extra $1400 or so.
Is that inserts mean just the leather inserts, the rest MB-Tex...
"Leather interior" means Leather Inserts, remainder of upper surfaces of seats in leather, side bolsters, etc, (all parts which contact your body when seated) with the seat back and lower seat bottoms, map pockets, etc in MB-Tex.
A previous thread on this subject pointed out that full leather everywhere would become too loose over time. The synthetic parts of a "full leather" interior help maintain a taught, stretched finish across the visible surfaces. That made sense to me.
Someone correct me... I'm no expert.

MB-BOB - Companies do offer 'full leather', ie. every part you touch is leather.
The sedan has full "leather", the coupe is only inserts.
Erik
Matt230K - Full leather is not offered in the Coupe. Only inserts.
MB-BOB - Companies do offer 'full leather', ie. every part you touch is leather.
The sedan has full "leather", the coupe is only inserts.
Erik
MIB2 was a C.
Erik
Hopefully it will sell well. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to put this engine into the coupe. I just think it is a bad idea to have so many variants of a car that already doesn't sell too well, at least not in my neck of the woods. The 320 will probably be a great car, I just hope they don't build as many of these as they do 230's. And it doesn't seem like much will be standard. I think the pictures of it from CME4BENZ did not show a climatronic unit. And who knows if Bose will even be standard. I might have to get my magnifying glass and study the pic of the window sticker that he posted.
Last edited by CitronC230K_03; Jan 10, 2003 at 06:15 PM.
here in southern california it's hard to have to many variants of a car. just count the number of MB dealerships in southern california alone. there are more in LA County then some have in their entire states. there are so many people with so many different tastes, MB is covering all bases really. i not saying they are focusing on southern california exclusively, as there are other cities and states in the country with people with their own tastes. just my $.02.

was definately the new (W211). i read an article a few months back about it being a first for MB the way they kinda pre-advertised the car thru a movie, like how bmw did with bond, james bond. :p
Erik
Matt230K - Full leather is not offered in the Coupe. Only inserts.
MB-BOB - Companies do offer 'full leather', ie. every part you touch is leather.
The sedan has full "leather", the coupe is only inserts.
Erik
Also, as Kwik said about there being some cloth, even on sedans. This cloth is on the front and sides of the seat bottom, where is wraps around the seat. It is here because past cars have had problems with the leather squeaking against the plastic trim on the sides of the seat. The CLK was notorious for this problem. So this is why they now use cloth on these parts.

I still don't think this is right. I agree with Bob that the entire seat cannot be leather as it could lose its fit. But the coupe's leather is just as much full leather as the sedan's full leather. I have never seen or heard anything to make me believe otherwise. Sure there may be some parts that are not leather, but they are more than just leather inserts.
Also, as Kwik said about there being some cloth, even on sedans. This cloth is on the front and sides of the seat bottom, where is wraps around the seat. It is here because past cars have had problems with the leather squeaking against the plastic trim on the sides of the seat. The CLK was notorious for this problem. So this is why they now use cloth on these parts.
1. Cloth
2. Leather
3. Leatherette (plastic)
Look at your seat (coupe). The center ovals are leather. Next to it (hip area) is fake leather. Don't believe me, call the dealership or MBUSA. I threw a fit when they told me that when I ordered the car. I ordered it because I didn't want cloth. The leather seats on the coupe are all leather...
Erik

http://www.edmunds.com/news/autoshow...1/page010.html
Erik
The leather seats on the coupe are all leather...
And that article about the sedan talks about the leather inserts because sedans come standard with leather inserts. Full leather is an option. Just like coupes come standard with cloth. And full leather is an option. I think we need someone else's opinion too. I still believe that it is full leather, just like the sedan, and if it were leather inserts, it would say so.

Call your dealer and ask. If they say its full leather let me know, I will write to MBUSA. As far as I have ever heard its inserts in the coupe. You can feel the difference when you touch the seats.
Erik
Call your dealer and ask. If they say its full leather let me know, I will write to MBUSA. As far as I have ever heard its inserts in the coupe. You can feel the difference when you touch the seats.

Well, I work there, so I will try to get some more info. But if you build the cars on MBUSA.com, it is the exact same cost to upgrade to leather on a sedan as it is on a coupe. And it says leather upholstery for both. I can't see them charging $1440 just for leather inserts. I'm sorry, I just have a problem with believing this. I wouldn't really be mad if I found out that I paid this much just for leather inserts, I'm just not willing to accept this since I was always under the impression that it was full leather and everything seems to say that it is.
Erik


