German Car Zone

I think the B class would be fine, it would not hurt MBs image any more then the C coupe did. I would not bring the A over though.
C class coupe was $25K bring over the B class for $20-25K and it would sell great without any/much negative on most people.

It looks really weird without a third side window....

I think you don't realise that the B class is front wheel drive? THE biggest sin I can think of personally. I'd keep the B class far, far away from the States too. Americans will not like it.

I don't know. The B-class really looks cheap. I can see it doing a lot of damage, just like that C-class coupe. MB might want to just let the Smart car have all the fun now.

BMW's 1 series is doing ok in the states because it actually looks like a "cute" car. The B-class just seems like a overweight small hatchback or a mini r-class. I just don't see young American buyers running to buy a baby bus.


Well we do have a lot of front wheel drive cars in America. Matter of fact some of the leading sellers are front wheel drive (Camry). Plus Front wheel drive vehicles have a better advantage in the snow. I have seen so many E-class benzes without 4matic in the snow struggling for survival.

It's really going to come down to that "cheap" look of the B-class and it's interior. Mercedes-Benz in highly regarded in this country. We don't have no E-class taxis around here. Other then Bentley, Bugatti, Rolls and Exotic sports cars Mercedes-Benz is the Best money can buy.

I have seen people not pay their rent so they can be seen in a C-class. I've seen people sell their children for an MB...j/k. But they are serious about Benz over here. A B-class would just really lower those expectations.

You may not like it but Mercedes-Benz are in desperate need to build up their cash reserves that they will take advantage of the move to smaller compact vehicles that they will offer A and B-Klasse premium vehicle concepts in North American markets.

The future now is the compact market , The SLS is the last of it's kind.
Although there will still be the core models and their respective AMG counterparts. There will be no, for a while or so super expensive "image" projects. Priority one is survival.

They woont bring over the current one so they can make any upgrades with the new model, that interior should be fine.

You don't think people would look at a Mercedes B200 CDI when thinking about buying a Prius? Similar cars.

It depends...Americans look at pricing and maintence. Especially now in this economy.

Who knows...The B-class could work wonders, but I would prefer to see them further develop Smart in the US.

Then I'm afraid you've missed the point of what Mercedes is. It's a prestigious brand, and prestigious brand sell prestigious products -- i.e the SLR and SLS. The SLR might not have been the cash cow bringing schnitzel and potatoes to Dieter Zetsche's dinner table every night but it has been a splendid investment.

A top brand is defined by their flagship products, and if what they offer doesn't stand above the competitors, then there is no prestige to be spoken off. Thanks to participation in F1 and then introducing the F1 nose to the SLR and further leverage from that by using the design feature on the SLK. AMG-kits would not have been popular if people didn't want to imitate the powerful appearance of Mercedes' AMG models. It's the top of the line cars that carries the rest of the product line.

Super cars like the SLR is highly expensive development products but they are bought by celebrities, featured in racing games, talked about, featured in films and generate millions of euro's worth of advertisement exposure for Mercedes. Thanks to such extraordinary offerings people step into a dealership and buy an A-Class just because it shares similarities with an SLR cabrio the customer saw parked outside a Ritz Carlton. That's the effect dream cars have on people. Yes, top end product are of high benefit for even the most established brands and are not as like you and Eni would put it: For manufacturers trying to establish themselves.

Off course times are tough and cars generating sales are of high importance. But super cars will continue to be in Mercedes inventory as they are the reasons anyone would be willing to buy an entry level Mercedes or BMW that might only offer marginally better value than a similar car from VW. Further more life isn't always greener one the other side. Small and affordable cars is not Mercedes nor BMW's expertise and climbing down the segments can be quite dangerous as hyaenas by the likes of VW, Toyota and Honda are watching very carefully. Enter their price territory and the three Germans will see their products out performanced because of price. Imitation is a big threat too and Mercedes should therefore not go too far down on the price ladder as they might face some very fierce competition from the Japanese car giants.