Does anyone know why Mercedes asks more for Cls than Ss?
Im guessing there is one, or two, or three main reasons.

 

Good question. It's less car but costs more.
The only reason I can see for the difference is the fact that their are fewer CL's out there so the exclusiveness may be the reason. Also, the new CL model is a fresher model in terms of production dating and is still considered so much more of a new model.

I think the S class buyers are at a major advantage due to this. I don't really like the styling of the new CL. The W215 was much better looking.

 

Is the S or the CL the true flagship of the brand? I've always thought S, but now I'm thinking it's the CL.

 

I would say the S class sedan is the flagship. It is a ship in a sense. We call ours the muthha-ship.

 

The CL has been considered the flagship since W126 days. It usually has a trick or two that is not yet in the S, but lately the two have been very similar.

The prices can be misleading because the CL usually has more standard equipment. For instance the CL550 has ABC, which is an expensive option on the S550. If you look at the prices of the S600 and CL600, both of which are fully equipped, they're within a percent or two of each other. The premium charged for the CL600 is even less when you consider it has the rear bucket seat package standard, which is available only as an option on sedans (and maybe not at all on the S600 now?).

One trick the CL had from the W126 days (when it was called the SEC) is "handing" you your seat belt. Do they still do that? In any case, it's a great car for people who don't need the extra flexibility of a big sedan. It's only problem is that it's about as massive as that big sedan, which makes it pretty anomalous for a coupe. A lot of people would prefer a more sporty car if they go that route. But it's clearly the flagship Mercedes line.

 

I'll buy that!!! Speaking of buying, I found a 560 SEL that I am in love with on eBay. It is a 87 model, black and looks like it was on the showroom floor yesterday. Only has around 75K miles on it. I have always loved that model most of all Mercedes models. Auction ends in a day or two. I've got a bid of $11K on it right now. Very tempted to "but it now" for $14900.

 

The amount of time and money spent on R&D on the CL also justifies its high price. Look at how there is no B pillar, in order to maintain that coupe like appearance. The CL IMO is the true flagship of Mercedes Benz.

 

Few observations.....

MB builds perhaps only 10% as many CLs as S-Classes, so needs to recover the R&D costs of developing/safety-testing the CL via few $K added MSRP....suspect CL is still less profitable on a margin/absolute basis than S-Class is for MB.....

CL has a few tech features S doesn't.....intelligent headlight system, integral seats, no TeleAid shark fin.....lacks safety of a B-pillar in rollover, but S600/65 have included PanoRoof, which may offer compromised roof strength in any rollover....

Suspect CL65 is more perf-oriented than S65.....all-leather sport steering wheel, not the codgerly wood steering wheel; ABC, throttle resp, etc linked to choice of C/S/M mode (unlike S65).....some 6in shorter WB; some 3in lower ht; more ABC/steering/brake-pedal calibr for sporty driving, as opposed to limo duty....

In EU and NYC/LA, see many S-Classes (incl S65) used as glorified taxis/limos.....new CL (used and older CLs attract a different socio-economic buyer) is a common commuter car for senior tech/financial guys in SiliconValley or Greenwich....suspect many high-end execs who drive self have limited use for any rear seat, except in rare instances, where CL is fine (to cart a couple people across town to a dinner, etc)....

Actually, though the 4600lb CL63 is 600lbs heavier than the 599, would argue the driving dynamics/precision of CL63 are simply astounding....a tad short of the 599 in twisties, but prob much, much safer in terms of passive safety.....have several car nut colleagues who use both CL63 and 599 as daily/wkend cars...and tend to drive CL63 90% of time (even on wkends), as they believe that incremental perf of 599 isn't often worth the incremental safety risk to them....

Speaks volumes re: advances in automotive technologies and less conventional views re:role of wt in perf/safety balance when some of the greatest-performing, most daily-useable cars on planet today are all >4000lbs and vary from luxury coupes like 599 and CL63/65 to perf limos such as S63/65.....we live in great times to be a car nut.....

 

Mercedes has historically gotten a premium for its coupes. The last generation CL had much better interior details than the S- leather door panels, dashboard, more stitching, etc setting it apart from the sedan. The same is probably true for the new generation cars.

 

Smaller production run is one reason...but eliminating a B pillar and doing that curved roof is more expensive than the standard sedan design.

 

Simply because MB knows people will pay more for the look and exclusivity of a coupe, and all of the reasons above.

M