Mercedes-Benz A-Class Refresh
03-14-16, 07:30 AM
#16
Lead Lap
That is funny. So defensive of MB on a low end product that even MB is willing to outsource to Renault / Nissan to eventually build in Mexico. What's readily apparent is that MB is now realizing that building "low end luxury" also results in low end margins. They are tapping into the know how of mass market manufacturers that can help them with that challenge by sharing their engineering advantage for their high volume production capabilities. As someone on a MB forum said, "it's not a $35k Mercedes, it's a $20k Nissan dressed very well".
MFA platform designed by MB? Actually co-developed by both and built by both depending on intended market with a view to extend to other Nissan / Renault product,. Look at the shape of the tail light opening in the sheet metal of the CLA sedan , they look nothing like the one sausage look between the C/E/S class tail lights, but look very similar to Infinti and Nissan ones. The MB engines? Eventually to be built at the Nissan factory in Tennessee. The odd shared parts from each other's parts bin? Off course, they would use the most cost effective source. Wait until this platform shows up on a Ford product soon enough.
If you understood MB's design language, it would be wiser to ask why the CLA's rear light design doesn't look like the bigger MB coupes. Regardless of that design difference, just because it is "closer" to a Nissan/Infiniti design in your eyes means absolutely nothing. What exactly are you trying to infer here? The GLA and A-class are on the same platform as well and have different shaped tail lights. You also seem to have a loose understanding of what constitutes a platform.
Yes, the MB engines will be built in the factory outside of Nashville. What's your point? It's still a Mercedes design and was part of their agreement. No one was hiding that in secrecy. And if you looked at the parts costs, you'd realize that some of the things that carried over were not cost effective outside of the fact that Infiniti would've had to re-engineer their own setup. They literally took the already existing MFA platform and reskinned it as cheaply as possible. If they had truly codeveloped this car there would have definitely been differences. Take the windshield wipers for example- that expensive articulated link design on the passenger wiper is absent on any other Infiniti for a reason.
Lastly, not sure where you were going with the Ford product comment but OK. I do expect the MFA platform to eventually make its way under some regular Nissan products, but not before MFA2 comes out in 2018.
03-14-16, 10:06 AM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
06-20-17, 04:39 AM
#19
AutoNews
http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...to-u-s-in-2018
Mercedes brings its 'A' game: Entry-level sedan coming to U.S. in 2018
June 19, 2017 @ 12:01 am
Mercedes-Benz USA officials confirmed the car's arrival, slated for around September of next year, to U.S. dealers at a meeting in Miami this month, according to dealers who attended. Dealers saw the actual car, which was described to them as the brand's new entry-level model slotting below the CLA 4-door coupe.
"It's a very nice-looking vehicle," said Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board and owner of 4 Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Texas. "I'm sure it will be competitively priced."
The A-class sedan could start in the sub-$30,000 territory. The current base price of the CLA is $32,700 before shipping. When the CLA was introduced in 2013, it started at $29,900 before shipping.
"I'm very excited about it," said Jeff Aiosa, a Mercedes dealer in New London, Conn. "It just gives us another opportunity to bring that youthful buyer in and have them grow up with the brand. It looked like it would be very appealing to the millennial buyer."
Aiosa described the A-class sedan's interior as "cutting edge and techy." He said Mercedes could conquest more than half of the A-class sedan's buyers from other brands if the price came in just above or below the $30,000 mark.
Mercedes-Benz USA declined to comment on the A-class sedan or the dealer meeting. But the brand has been hinting at the coming vehicle.
In April at the Shanghai auto show, Mercedes unveiled the Concept A sedan, which it described as "providing an outlook of the next generation of compact vehicles and a potential new body type."
The Mercedes Concept A: Basis of a new generationSend us a Letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.After years of back and forth over whether American luxury consumers were ready for the A-class small car, Mercedes- Benz will finally bring an A-class sedan to the U.S. in 2018.
Mercedes-Benz USA officials confirmed the car's arrival, slated for around September of next year, to U.S. dealers at a meeting in Miami this month, according to dealers who attended. Dealers saw the actual car, which was described to them as the brand's new entry-level model slotting below the CLA 4-door coupe.
"It's a very nice-looking vehicle," said Ken Schnitzer, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board and owner of 4 Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Texas. "I'm sure it will be competitively priced."
The A-class sedan could start in the sub-$30,000 territory. The current base price of the CLA is $32,700 before shipping. When the CLA was introduced in 2013, it started at $29,900 before shipping.
"I'm very excited about it," said Jeff Aiosa, a Mercedes dealer in New London, Conn. "It just gives us another opportunity to bring that youthful buyer in and have them grow up with the brand. It looked like it would be very appealing to the millennial buyer."
Aiosa described the A-class sedan's interior as "cutting edge and techy." He said Mercedes could conquest more than half of the A-class sedan's buyers from other brands if the price came in just above or below the $30,000 mark.
Mercedes-Benz USA declined to comment on the A-class sedan or the dealer meeting. But the brand has been hinting at the coming vehicle.
In April at the Shanghai auto show, Mercedes unveiled the Concept A sedan, which it described as "providing an outlook of the next generation of compact vehicles and a potential new body type."
Mercedes is redesigning its A-class lineup, with sales expected in other markets next spring. The redesigned A class will be built on the company's MFA2 platform, an evolution of its Modular Front Architecture. That architecture underpins Mercedes' other small fwd vehicles, including the CLA and the GLA crossover.
Body type is a major reason Mercedes declined to bring the A class, introduced 20 years ago, to the U.S. before now. It had been sold in hatchback variants, a body style considered unpopular in the U.S. This will be the first A-class sedan variant, and it is also expected to be sold in China and other markets.
"We've learned from experience," Aiosa said, recalling a hatchback version of the C-class coupe, the C230, introduced in the U.S. in 2001. Its sales disappointed, and it was discontinued in this market. "Typically in North America, there isn't a big appetite for hatchback design in high-line luxury, specifically in our brand."
Stephanie Brinley, analyst with IHS Markit, said the industry forecaster also expects the A-class sedan to go on sale in the U.S. in September 2018. By 2020, the A class is forecast to be about 5 percent of the brand's U.S. sales.
"Mercedes-Benz has been successful increasing overall sales through model line expansion, and this will be another effort in that direction," Brinley said.
In addition to the A-class sedan, Mercedes also showed dealers a version of the AMG GT 4-door high-performance sedan and confirmed to them that it will go on sale in the U.S. in the summer of 2018. Mercedes 1st unveiled the AMG GT concept at the Geneva auto show this year and called it a preview to a coming production vehicle. The sedan will join the brand's AMG GT sports car family to compete against vehicles like the Porsche Panamera. The name for the production AMG GT sedan is still undetermined.
06-20-17, 11:32 AM
#20
Pole Position
they need another sedan to slot beneath the cla? mb is really cheapening the marque with these sub-$30k models in order to drive sales in a segment that's not doing so well as it is right now anyhow.
06-20-17, 01:11 PM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
06-20-17, 10:10 PM
#22
^ Yeah but most people don't know that the Smart car is made by Benz, there isn't an association.
As for the new A-class, I see this just cannibalizing sales of the CLA. Especially if its roomier, the CLA is a horridly cramped and hard to see out of car due to its high door sills and swoopy roof. Of course maybe that's part of the idea, when this goes on sale the CLA will be in its 5th or 6th model year, either time to redesign the CLA or put it out to pasture. Also I see this new A-class as being priced starting at $29,995 with manually adjusting cloth seats, no bluetooth, no keyless ignition, no navigation, 15" steel wheels with hubcaps(okay I jest at that one), a $500 up charge if you don't want one painted white, etc.
As for the new A-class, I see this just cannibalizing sales of the CLA. Especially if its roomier, the CLA is a horridly cramped and hard to see out of car due to its high door sills and swoopy roof. Of course maybe that's part of the idea, when this goes on sale the CLA will be in its 5th or 6th model year, either time to redesign the CLA or put it out to pasture. Also I see this new A-class as being priced starting at $29,995 with manually adjusting cloth seats, no bluetooth, no keyless ignition, no navigation, 15" steel wheels with hubcaps(okay I jest at that one), a $500 up charge if you don't want one painted white, etc.
06-21-17, 12:50 PM
#24
Lol don't forget the lovely Mercedes branded storage vans they sell next to S Class cars in the same dealership.
06-21-17, 11:18 PM
#25
I will give credit, the Sprinter does look cool, especially if you're trying to impress people with a black/black passenger version. But for a work van, I have a hard time believing the operating costs will be less than a Chevy van, even if the gas mileage is 15mpg for the Chevy vs 25mpg diesel for the Benz. Factoring in initial purchase price, cost of maintence, cost of parts when it does break, the fact that diesel is now .50 cents more than gas where I live, cost of DEF, I don't see any sort of value in a Benz work van.
Last edited by Aron9000; 06-21-17 at 11:21 PM.
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