C Class (W205) C 180 BlueTec,C 200 BlueTec,C 220 BlueTec,C 220 BlueTec BlueEfficiency,C 250 BlueTec,C 300 BlueTec Hybridplus,C 180,C 180 BlueEfficiency,C 200,C 250,C 300,C 400 Plug-in Hybrid,C 400

New C Class ~ Official W205

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Old 12-21-2013, 09:58 PM
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2004 CLK320
So, the C Coupe will be updated. They will also introduce a new coupe named CLK.

This will give MB a lot of 2-door models; C Coupe, E Coupe, CLK, S Coupe (replace CL), SL, SLS.
Old 12-22-2013, 05:03 AM
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No ~ The C Coupe will become the CLK.
Old 12-22-2013, 09:59 AM
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So, according to plan (to be confirmed later), the w204 C Coupe is short-lived. I read that the w204 sedan is a sales success, sold 2.4 million cars. How about w204 coupe?

It will be great if the new C Coupe has the body lines like the w205.

Last edited by mis3; 12-22-2013 at 10:41 AM.
Old 12-22-2013, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by cookstar
The fully loaded CLA45 is $66,000 in Canada excluding taxes, the 2014 C63 507 Edition fully loaded is $75,000.... the new C63 or what ever its going to be called will be AWD and around the same price as todays C63 so possibly a max 10k price difference between the 2014 CLA and New C-class, what do you guys think is the better choice?
To me the C63 would be a no brainer for the difference in price. But I don't play in that arena.
Old 12-22-2013, 11:01 AM
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Originally Posted by MBNUT1
To me the C63 would be a no brainer for the difference in price. But I don't play in that arena.
+1, no brainer for C63.

I did not go inside a new CLA but I read that the fit and finish of the new car is not up to par to MB standards.
Old 12-23-2013, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by mis3
+1, no brainer for C63.

I did not go inside a new CLA but I read that the fit and finish of the new car is not up to par to MB standards.
That's unfortunate if the fit and finish are not up to par. It also makes me really appreciate the c class (even more so). I had a pretty much brand new E350 for a loaner a couple of weeks ago. Yes, it is very nice, but when I got my w204 back, which is also brand new, I thought "wow, this car is just as nice as the e class". The c is obviously smaller, but it felt like the same build quality and solidity as the e.

I'm really looking forward to sitting in a new c next year.
Old 12-23-2013, 10:54 AM
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I remember in the same article, they said MB had to sacrifice fit/finish to meet the price requirement.
Old 12-23-2013, 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by mis3
I did not go inside a new CLA but I read that the fit and finish of the new car is not up to par to MB standards.

I did. A US-version CLA250. Definitely not up to par. And the w204 has a better quality interior, and that is saying a whole lot.

The engine.. excuse me... didn't sound good at all. I didn't drive it, but the car was sitting outdoors and I got to rev it. The salespeople were nervous when I insisted that they lift up the hood. Then I heard the engine for real. Sorry but i've heard of Korean 4-cylinder cars that sound less buzzy. Combined with the FWD, sorry but not impressed at all.

At that price point, I would head towards the German competitors, and that's coming from a lifelong faithful MB owner. I went to the Bimmer dealership in the same town after visiting MB to look at their 3 and 4 series. I was very saddened after that.
Old 12-23-2013, 04:14 PM
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Please note that the Merc A Class & CLA should be compared with the crappy BMW 1 Series & Audi A3 which is quite a nice car.
Old 12-23-2013, 08:34 PM
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Let's reserve judgement about the fit & finish of the W205 until we see what Alabama is able to produce.
Old 12-23-2013, 08:44 PM
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Where does MB manufacture the current and previous C Class? Germany, right?
Old 12-23-2013, 09:28 PM
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Germany, South Africa, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, India, Thailand etc. over time.
Old 12-31-2013, 09:25 AM
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Old 12-31-2013, 01:52 PM
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2013 C250 sport
Originally Posted by nyca
Let's reserve judgement about the fit & finish of the W205 until we see what Alabama is able to produce.
I think the fit and finish comments are geared towards the CLA. I don't think anyone's questioning fit and finish/quality with the w204.
Old 12-31-2013, 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by djejglk
I think the fit and finish comments are geared towards the CLA. I don't think anyone's questioning fit and finish/quality with the w204.
No, but some of us (me) are worried about the reliability of cars coming from the Alabama plant. The new ML/GL's seem to be finished to a very high standard, but they've never done well in reliability surveys.... The GL that Motor Trend and/or Automobile has for a long-term test doesn't seem to be holding up very well, either.
Old 01-01-2014, 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted by alsyli
No, but some of us (me) are worried about the reliability of cars coming from the Alabama plant. The new ML/GL's seem to be finished to a very high standard, but they've never done well in reliability surveys.... The GL that Motor Trend and/or Automobile has for a long-term test doesn't seem to be holding up very well, either.
It seems to me the assembly location shouldn't have a dominant effect on reliability. It isn't like most reliability issues stem from somebody not properly tightening a bolt. Reliability issues are generally engineering problems or component quality control. Now if you are arguing that because the car is going to be assembled in Alabama then lower quality component sources will be utilized then that seems possible.
Old 01-01-2014, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by cookstar
What a great looking car.
Old 01-01-2014, 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by MBNUT1
It seems to me the assembly location shouldn't have a dominant effect on reliability. It isn't like most reliability issues stem from somebody not properly tightening a bolt. Reliability issues are generally engineering problems or component quality control. Now if you are arguing that because the car is going to be assembled in Alabama then lower quality component sources will be utilized then that seems possible.
I assume it shouldn't, either, but I don't know where else the ML and GLs are assembled (for comparison).
Old 01-01-2014, 11:23 PM
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For a long while ML's were built in Graz, Austria. They did a really good job.
Old 01-01-2014, 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Glyn M Ruck
For a long while ML's were built in Graz, Austria. They did a really good job.
Would be interesting to see if there is/was any data regarding reliability of cars assembled in Austria vs. the US.

The fit and finish of the current ML/GLs look quite good, so I'm not worried about that part of the W205....
Old 01-02-2014, 08:40 AM
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The early Tuscaloosa ML's were dreadful. SA stopped supply & took from Graz. We are back to Tuscaloosa now & they are certainly a lot better although they could improve leather stitching alignment & other things.

Local component suppliers will need a big kick in the jack. They need to understand that they are not supplying a US carmaker. Toyota & Honda have done quite a good job with local suppliers.
Old 01-02-2014, 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Glyn M Ruck
Local component suppliers will need a big kick in the jack. They need to understand that they are not supplying a US carmaker. Toyota & Honda have done quite a good job with local suppliers.
This is what confused me the most about the dreck that was being offered by the US auto companies. Clearly there was little/no loss of quality in Japanese products being assembled here (although my understanding is that the engines were assembled in Japan and then shipped to the US?), which made it doubly offensive that the Big 3 were doing *such* a poor job....
Old 01-02-2014, 11:44 PM
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Will there be a W205 Cabrio? Will be getting a GLK350 for the Mrs. in the next couple of weeks, and I love my 2009 C300 Sport - 80,000 miles and still going strong, but starting to wonder what might be next for me.
Old 01-03-2014, 07:27 PM
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The fact that the CLK will return would suggest that a cabriolet is likely.
Old 01-15-2014, 08:31 PM
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Originally Posted by cookstar
The fully loaded CLA45 is $66,000 in Canada excluding taxes, the 2014 C63 507 Edition fully loaded is $75,000.... the new C63 or what ever its going to be called will be AWD
The site Motor Authority did a writeup of an conversation it had with the head of AMG Tobias Moers at the Detroit Auto Show and he told them the next C63 will be RWD, not AWD.

The article also says the regular W205 C-Class will get RWD option in North America in the first half of 2015 in the form of the C300. I had thought maybe they'd reintroduce the C250 badge for the RWD version but it seems like the C250 will disappear, at least in North America.

And it will indeed be rear-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive like the larger 4Matic-only AMG models. In fact, the regular 2015 C-Class will come in rear-drive form as well, in the first half of 2015, in C300 form.

"I think the C-Class is a little bit more fun to drive than the E-Class. The E-Class is more about every day usability," said Moers. "You can have a lot of fun with the car on track with our 4Matic system, but I think the C-Class is more dedicated to fun-to-drive, more sporty, more race track--sometimes a little more sideways. That's the reason it's a rear-wheel drive car."
If only the "fun-to-drive, more sporty" RWD C-Class were available on launch in North America like it will be in the rest of the world....oh well, at least the wait won't be too long.


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