Quote:
NEW YORK — Due to rising fuel costs here and further pressure for low emissions, Mercedes-Benz executives and engineers are contemplating a four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz C-Class for the U.S. market.
In fact, a supercharged 1.4-liter engine is already in test mules. To make the car acceptable to Mercedes customers, engineers tell us that it would have a higher level of "perceived performance" than it actually delivers. A louder exhaust and ultraquick-response throttle settings would give the driver the "perception of performance." Hey, you can't make this stuff up.
Mercedes already sells a four-cylinder version of the C-Class sedan in Europe. There, the entry-level C180 Kompressor is fitted with a supercharged 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine rated at 154 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque. No word as to whether the 1.4-liter under development would replace the European 1.8-liter, or if it would be reserved for the U.S. market only.
If a four-cylinder C-Class sedan is launched in the United States, it would be priced well under the automatic V6-powered C300, which carries a base price of $33,040. And it will share that model's seven-speed automatic transmission.
What this means to you: Perceived power may work for those anxious to drive a Mercedes in name only. — Kelly Toepke, News Editor
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Mercedes Considers Four-Cylinder C-Class for U.S. Quote:
| What this means to you: Perceived power may work for those anxious to drive a Mercedes in name only. — Kelly Toepke, News Editor |
See now this kind of stuff pisses me off, there's no objectivity in this statement whatsoever and goes to show the narrow minded/"negative nancy" mentality a lot of Americans have towards anything premium "with slightly less", be it features, power, whatever. It's not a four pot from some foreign brand other than MB, this is an MB product through and trough. You don't hear the Germans complaining about smaller engines, do you? We need a serious reality check and learn to appreciate the fact that less can indeed be more.