Exactly. I don't want my Chevy to be built in Germany, and I don't want my Benz built in Alabama. Maybe it's throwing logicality somewhat to the wayside, but it's an emotional thing really, and car enthusiasm is far, far, faaaaaaar from logical.

 

Great - enjoy!

 

I understand the emotion. I guess I grew up with our Benz cars being built here right up to the S Class, SL & SLC's before Benz rationalised production. Never seen it as an issue.

I now have a German built Benz. I'm very happy with it but I do notice little things that we do better here. e.g. The fabric used on door map pockets & A & C pillar covers on SA build is better - less inclined to scuff, mark & fray. The thread used to stitch the leather on German cars always frays on the seat bolsters from contact to the degree of failing. SA leather & thread is better & does not fray. Steering wheel leather thin & hard - not soft & thick as here. SA seat belts are better & don't grow whiskers & fray on the edges. Little things that can turn into an irritation long term. One gets the impression that we have debugged the weak spots better.

That said I would rather have a Lambo with German Audi interference than a pure Italian one.

 

That's interesting, never would'a figured the materials would actually vary. Yeah, I have no idea about who's "better", but it's just a strong "warm/fuzzy" aspect in effect here. Plus, it doesn't sound as "exotic" to know that the Merc you just forked over Luxury/Imported pricing for is delivered all the way from.. Alabama.

 

Yeah - An SA built W204 is about 47% local content by weight. Tuscaloosa won't be a CKD plant. US suppliers will supply a lot of components like here. e.g. They wont be shipping bodies from Germany.

 

The truth of the matter is that the US does not pay luxury imported pricing for a Benz. They are highly competitively priced in the US. Only Saudi Arabia is cheaper due to zero tax.

Europe & ROW pays about double the US price with countries like Finland & Australia paying more than double the US price.

 

+1 on that. There is a funny scene in Top Gear season 10 episode 1 when Jeremy Clarson runs out of gas with his Lamborghini and bemoans the Italian content. Of course the whole issue was operator error.

 

The GLK and G-Wagen are still made in Germany

R Class, GL and ML are assembled in the USA

All power trains are still made in Germany

 

G Wagon is built in Graz, Austria.

South Africa now takes ML's from Graz due to quality issues from Tuscaloosa.

 

I have to point out that only the C-Class and E-Class are manufactured in Mexico in and in small batches. The W140 S-class was manufactured for a time there too but now they only build S-classes in extremely limited numbers from CKD kits for the Central aAmerica market. The rest are assembled from SKD and CKD kits from Germany, with the exception of the M-Class which already has a great deal of Mexican made parts with the rest coming from the US.

I own a Mexican built C-class and it has gone without any major problems the entire time I have owned it. I have not had a single problem with it except for the drivers door window control not responding when it's below 32 degrees, which is likely from a friend spilling soda into the center console. Case in point, I do not believe it makes a difference whether it is produced in Germany, South Africa, Mexico or China as long as MB keeps the quality standards up.

If any of you are wondering why they are assembled in Mexico it is due to a Mexican law which states that car companies will face major tariffs unless the manufacture at least 100,000 cars in Mexico yearly. Most Mercedes-Benz's produced in Mexico are trucks and busses which includes Freightliner trucks made in Mexico which are re-badged as Mercedes-Benz trucks in Mexico. The number of passenger vehicles built in Mexico are built there to reach that 100,000 vehicle minimum. This is what has kept manufacturers like Hyundai from selling cars in Mexico.

That is however expected to change in 2015 when a new factory in Mexico will began fully producing A-Class platform vehicles (many believe it will be the CLA and GLA) and E-class platform vehicles, E and GLK i'd guess, based on their popularity in Mexico and Latin American which Mexico has plentiful free trade agreements with.

We will probably not see any C-classes produced in Mexico after the US factory starts producing them because the United States has an FTA with Mexico and will probably get American built C-Classes. And by then Mercedes will long be past the 100,000 vehicles per year minimum so can import foreign vehicles into Mexico. We probably will start getting Mexican built CLA and GLA models and probably E and GLK's in the US around 2015.