makken85

I was just reading up on the CLS class, when i noticed that mb advertised it as a 4-door coupe..?!

I think they've completely lost their minds, and the coupe designation was put on mainly to market the car as "sporty"

what do you guys think? does it "deserve" to be called a coupe?

my defination of a coupe is a 2 door car with a hardtop permanent roof and a backseat, so to me, the CLS is defiantely a sedan.

MBE55AMG

Who knows what MB was thinking when they decided to consider it a coupe. I don't really mind, and plus I love the styling.

bm75204

I completely agree. To me 4 doors=Sedan, regardless of what they say to try to convince us otherwise.

Chris 45971

Sounds like MB is trying to attract individuals that won't buy sedans by calling it a coupe. After all, those looking for a sedan won't say "I'm not getting that because its a coupe". Both will want the car.

Good marketing I think.

DaCeptak0n

I believe they called it a coupe merely on the basis of its seating capacity. Its a 2+2 arrangement allowing for the coupe connotation to be used. Yet they used it in the wrong sense of the word where coupe refers to the number of doors...

VelocitE55

They called it a coupe because it is a 2+2 seating arrangement as mentioned above and it has a decidedly coupe-like roofline. Look at a side view of the CLS and blur your vision so you cant see the door lines and it looks like a large coupe.

I love it, and mines on the way. Already have 20" HRE's waiting for it!

makken85

i wouldn't call the CLS a 2+2.. it's more like a 4 seater.
a 2+2 designation implies that the extra 2 are merely an afterthought. and a 2+2 doesn't necessary mean that it's a coupe. I know the S-class can be ordered with a rear armrest so that it only sits four, even the maybach 62 is a 4 seater... my everyday car is a coupe, and it can sit 5...

to me, the roofline looks like more those 5 door hatchbacks than a coupe =\
the profile looks even less like a coupe--coupes are suppose to have doors that cover about 75% of the greenhouse, but the CLS front doors look like at most they cover 55% or so, giving it a definate sedan shape...

the only resemblance i can find to a coupe are the frameless windows.

Lov2xlr8

i dont think coupe means '2 doors'. its the styling of the car that makes it a coupe. to me the CLS is a coupe which i like, look wise and all. and a bonus of 2 extra doors so you dont have to move the front seats all the time.

i was thinking of getting a CL but when i saw the CLS with a coupe look for cheaper then the CL and not like a sedan like the S which i think is too big for me, i new i found the right car.

makken85

i guess i can kind of see what you're alluding to, but having two doors instead of 4 is a style element to me

Look at it this way:
the W140 S-class came in both Sedan and Coupe form, and as far as I can tell, the only styling differences between the coupe and sedan is the deletion of the rear two doors and the elgonation of the front door.

The BMW 3 series sedan and coupe also are styled similarily, though the coupe has a few minor changes (rake of windshield, different front spoiler, longer taillight shape etc), but if you rake the windshield, switch the front spoiler, and put the couple taillights on the sedan... it won't make the sedan into a coupe.

GuyUSC350

That car is BEAUTIFUL. Who cares what they call it. But, I agree a coupe has two doors, usually. The three-pointed star folks can call it whatever they want though. It is a beautiful car.

scorchie

Bingo! Finally someone understands.

Coupe is a styling term. There are 2-door sedans as well, and these are often called "coupes" by those who believe 2-door = coupe.

Something that looks like a hatchback but doesn't have a hatchback... well that's not a hatchback. Because hatchback isn't a styling term.

-s-

ZorroAMG

Coupe is the Anglicised name for Coupé, which means "cut" in french, referring to the roofline. We just assume that the term is meant for 2-door cars, because we imposed that name on them.

0-60 Swiftly

nice one zorro!

Sleestack

I'm not a big fan of the CLS. As for what makes a coupe, I'm not sure. that being said, I'm having a hard time thinking of another 4 door car that was called a coupe.

Lov2xlr8

thats why MB calls it the FIRST 4 door coupe.

Lov2xlr8

check out the new CLE coming out soon. its in the automobile mag. its a coupe with 4 doos, but you have to open the frontdoor in order to be able to open the rear door. so there is no handle for the rear doors.

northbenz

The answer to this mystery is that the CLS was origiinally suppose to only have two real doors. The rear doors were designed to open backwards.It was termed a "coupe" back at that stage of the design process. At the last minute the legal guys got yellow and deleted the "suicide doors." AT that point the marketing guys said to themselves, "what the heck, if we call it a coupe people will think it is a coupe anyway." The only true four door coupe on the market is the new rotary Mazda which proves the Japanese are less concerned about the threat of litigation than the Germans. As nice as the CLS is, the original prototypes were better with the backwards opening rear doors and panoramic roof. It is a shame that this car got cannabolized before it even saw the light of day.

Lov2xlr8

i think ur talking about the CLE which is coming out soon based on the C-class

northbenz

The prototypes I saw were in German auto magazines and were identified as based on the E Class chassis. This would suggest they were the early CLS designs. It is true though that at the prototype stage some ideas get swapped with other future products. It looks like the panoramic glass solid roof will end up in the new R Class. Are the suicide doors still being touted on a future auto from Mercedes?

makken85

sorry i haven't been posting in here for a while, just got into an accident last week. becareful out there in the rain guys.

i guess the sucide doors give it the most crediablity as a coupe. What is the current projected price range for this? Personally I don't really see the point of the CLS, i would much rather have a traditional E or S class sedan, or a high end CLK coupe.

I think i can understand why they did it in europe if the E class is being used regularly as a taxi, but i don't think it would be such a hot car in the United States. Also, the design looks like what would happen if BMW designed a mercedes

Lov2xlr8

i think it was in the Automobile mag. where it said that MB is making a CLE with suicide doors. what i dont like about it is that you still see a full door, but with no handle. so it just looks like a sedan, but its a coupe b/c the only way to get the rear door open is by opening the front door first.

cntlaw

If you check the dictionary
Coupe means

"Car of getting on of two door 2-5 people with the streamlined back smaller than sedan"

So by definition , CLS is not a Coupe as it is not 2-door.
And....it does not seem it is smaller than the W211 sedan
Neither its back seatings are smaller than a sedan....

Honesty , 645i is also not a quite a Coupe even it is a 2-door
because its size is huge - may be we can call the 645i a Convertibel....

But...MB do call their CL a coupe because it is a 2-door

yes 4-door coupe very...confusing
Big corps like to put words in our mouth any way....

Let's salute to the MB 4-door coupe, and don't forget RX8


cnt

john evans

Interesting debate going on here. Well, comparing this coupe to the other coupes out there, say, the Passat CC Coupe, which one do you think deserves to be called a coupe more? It's inspiration came from MB.

Bollywood

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