SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: AMG Performance studio?
I think AMG should open a center (or maybe three) in the US. I think they'd do very well.
Last edited by Sharkster; Aug 2, 2006 at 05:07 PM.
Parts can be bought here in the USA, and some tuners can either install the parts or obtain the parts and either install them for you or not....
But it does seem to be getting more difficult to get the performance parts from AMG to here in the States; and there has been talk from Affalterbach about stopping the flow of parts and modifications to the USA....
Now with the AMG Performance Studio, they are obviously announcing to the world - and to the USA by extension to some degree - that these mods (and an even higher level of personal-choice performance and other customization) will be readily available through the new Performance Studio....
I have always had my work done at AMG Manufaktur in the past -- but this seems to me to be mass marketing, or mass customization, being taken to a new level by AMG....
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Apparently HWA and Mercedes see room for more 'customizaiton' and special editions together. And apparently AMG isn't exclusive enough anymore for the realy wealthy people (to which I have to agree although I'm not 'realy wealthy' at all).
Props to Hans Werner Aufrecht for selling his company to Mercedes and then basically mounting a new enterprise (joint venture) that does the same as the old company which he will sell to the Mercedes Car Group in the future
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Parts can be bought here in the USA, and some tuners can either install the parts or obtain the parts and either install them for you or not....
But it does seem to be getting more difficult to get the performance parts from AMG to here in the States; and there has been talk from Affalterbach about stopping the flow of parts and modifications to the USA....
Now with the AMG Performance Studio, they are obviously announcing to the world - and to the USA by extension to some degree - that these mods (and an even higher level of personal-choice performance and other customization) will be readily available through the new Performance Studio....
I have always had my work done at AMG Manufaktur in the past -- but this seems to me to be mass marketing, or mass customization, being taken to a new level by AMG....
Yes, MBUSA is a major pain in the butt to deal with, and yes they try to - or at least - limit the information that they have or give to you about available customization-- but AMG Manufaktur in Affalterbach is happy to take your money and modify and customize your car for you - be it ROW or US-Spec.
That is how I do my MBZ's coming to the USA: go through a US dealer, and then arrange with AMG Manufaktur to perform the modifications and customizations desired on the car before it is shipped here to the US.
A year or more ago it was ea$y (
) to get any reasonable mod done. In the last year or so AMG Manufaktur started to hedge on certain performance mods like VMax delimit on a greater range of models....Now with AMG announcing such as availability of the 030 Packages, with VMax delimit, etc.- and with the new AMG Performance Studio - I might assume that the menu options for modification to US-bound AMG MBZ's might be once again fairly unbounded -- but that is an assumption which would be unsafe to make, at face-value.
I intend to be meeting with these folks in Affalterbach in the very near future to order some more vehicles (both ROW and US-Spec); and fully intend to share and report on my experience with that here on the forums....
Stay tuned....
Apparently HWA and Mercedes see room for more 'customizaiton' and special editions together. And apparently AMG isn't exclusive enough anymore for the realy wealthy people (to which I have to agree although I'm not 'realy wealthy' at all).
Props to Hans Werner Aufrecht for selling his company to Mercedes and then basically mounting a new enterprise (joint venture) that does the same as the old company which he will sell to the Mercedes Car Group in the future
Your info on the TS is also not exactly correct. While I am not 100% sure that HWA had nothing to do with the project, I was told that most of the Black Series parts stemmed from the SLK55 Safety Car program that was developed by AMG not HWA. They were being built in the Performance studio while I was there by AMG personnel.
Your comments on HWA being focused on DTM are certainly correct but they are not driving the Performance Studio. Mr. Aufrecht has been focused on DTM for quite a while and the initial piece of AMG was old to mercedes long before 2005. I believe the complete deal closed in 1999. Mr Melcher was gone long before that.
The need for complete customization has been a focus of AMG's all along. It appears that they are just taking it to the next level with an expanded offering. Give credit where credit is due to AMG.
Great job AMG, now just bring us all this stuff in the US!!!!!! It is about time!!!!
Last edited by Schiznick; Aug 8, 2006 at 03:53 PM.
I love what AMG has dome for Mercedes. So the more studios the better
Sweet !!
http://wardsdealer.com/latest/amg_upping_exclusivity/
Sweet !!
http://wardsdealer.com/latest/amg_upping_exclusivity/
Your info on the TS is also not exactly correct. While I am not 100% sure that HWA had nothing to do with the project, I was told that most of the Black Series parts stemmed from the SLK55 Safety Car program that was developed by AMG not HWA. They were being built in the Performance studio while I was there by AMG personnel.
Your comments on HWA being focused on DTM are certainly correct but they are not driving the Performance Studio. Mr. Aufrecht has been focused on DTM for quite a while and the initial piece of AMG was old to mercedes long before 2005. I believe the complete deal closed in 1999. Mr Melcher was gone long before that.
The need for complete customization has been a focus of AMG's all along. It appears that they are just taking it to the next level with an expanded offering. Give credit where credit is due to AMG.
Great job AMG, now just bring us all this stuff in the US!!!!!! It is about time!!!!
In 1999, the HWA team was housed in one building and the new AMG-Mercedes was across the road with separate and distinct management teams. HWA of course reported to Herr Aufrecht who had a direct line relationship to Herr Norbert Haug, chief of Mercedes racing then and now. AMG-Mercedes Affalterbach reported directly to Mercedes-Benz marketing management in Stuttgart.
Previous to 1999, Mercedes road cars were AMG-modified and sold by several select specialty dealerships in the US but not owned or controlled by the MB North America. The AMG authorized dealership here in Southern California was the Beverly Hills Motoring Association owned and run by Andy Cohen.
Of course those were fun days and years for me but now, DTM rules have outlawed use of our parts. However nowadays, I still get to visit and work with the Ferrari Gestione Sportiva team on their F1 car development in Maranello, in the old area where Enzo Ferrari built his race cars. I've also been privileged to visit the McLaren-Mercedes facilities in Woking, the former BAR (Honda F1) faciilites in Bracken and the Toyota F1 factory in Koln. How cool is that?


Last edited by BUTCH A; Apr 10, 2008 at 03:07 AM.









