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It seems like when it comes to Mercedes Benz, I don't see the 4 door flagship S/500/550/600 anymore.
All I see are the Mercedes Benz C-Class, or the "Baby Benz". It seems like MB is becoming as common as driving a Honda( nothing wrong with Honda).
I remember when my Aunt/Uncle had a MB back in the 80's. It certainly turned heads. It was rare to see.
On another note: It seems like every yuppie that starts earning $50K/yr buys entry level luxury brands. 3-Series(BMW),A4(Audi),C-Class(MB), S40(Volvo).
Do you think the luxury brands are becoming diluted because of entry level models?
The MB class you remember is no longer imported. Instead MB has concentrated on smaller MB models for for the US market to the point they build the US MB models in Alabama.
The MB class you remember is no longer imported. Instead MB has concentrated on smaller MB models for for the US market to the point they build the US MB models in Alabama.
Are you saying that the "S" class is no longer imported.
If so, this in incorrect, my dealer has many models of the "S" in stock and ready to sell anytime you want to choose a color.
Obviously some models disappear as newer vehicles come onto line.
IE: The once available E-320 is no longer available as a New car...but the newer E-350 is, and fills the niche.
EDIT: I don't know about the site you listed, however, try MBUSA.com. This is the U.S. Mercedes Benz site that lists all models available in the U.S. for 2012.
It seems like when it comes to Mercedes Benz, I don't see the 4 door flagship S/500/550/600 anymore.
All I see are the Mercedes Benz C-Class, or the "Baby Benz". It seems like MB is becoming as common as driving a Honda( nothing wrong with Honda).
I remember when my Aunt/Uncle had a MB back in the 80's. It certainly turned heads. It was rare to see.
On another note: It seems like every yuppie that starts earning $50K/yr buys entry level luxury brands. 3-Series(BMW),A4(Audi),C-Class(MB), S40(Volvo).
Do you think the luxury brands are becoming diluted because of entry level models?
The European auto makers realized the importance of entry level branding years ago, this is what builds brand loyalty. Pay a visit to your local MB dealer and you will see the flagship cars are alive and well and now push into 6 figures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandpa Pipes
The MB class you remember is no longer imported. Instead MB has concentrated on smaller MB models for for the US market to the point they build the US MB models in Alabama.
All I see are the Mercedes Benz C-Class, or the "Baby Benz". It seems like MB is becoming as common as driving a Honda( nothing wrong with Honda).
A base C class can be as little as $35,000, you could spend that on an Accord or Camery, or some Hyundai's - would you rather drive one of those or a Benz?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron.
Do you think the luxury brands are becoming diluted because of entry level models?
Do you mean are the luxury brands becoming less exclusive, or the province of the wealthy? It seems that way when you could by a lower end MB or BMW, but I think a lot of it is due to how expensive the more common brands have become.
No doubt about it, Mercedes has been diluted. It used to be a cut-above luxury brand and BMW was the not-really luxury brand. Now, the're pretty much the same. C-class/3-seires, E-class/5-series, S-class/7-series... more or less the same thing. BMW has gotten too fancy and Mercedes has gotten cheaper, and not just the C-class. Still, what are you going to do about it? Driving a Mercedes isn't anything special any longer, but it's still at least as prestigious as any other main-stream luxury marque. It's not like you're going to run out and buy a BMW, Audi, or Lexus because they have more snob appeal... Mercedes just doesn't have the monopoly on snobbery that it once did. Mercedes just figured out that snobbery doesn't sell cars all that well... for every few sales they lose to Bentley or Rolls Royce they probably sell more than a thousand C-class models, many of whom will go on to buy several Mercedes in their lifetime.
I think the BMW 3-Series Killed it as it is alot more fun to drive exciting brand and the Mercedes never captured that market like the 3-series did with a entry level car that was fun to drive and still had some luxury features to it.
I would say here in Vancouver a new BMW 3-series is as Common as a new Ford Mustang GT or Chevy Camaro SS on the roads and are every where..Not so much for mercedes unless talking about the M-Class Suv which is quite popular out here along with the "baby benz" C-class...Quite a few Mid-00's late model SL-500's droptops are around though since they are quite popular with the late 20's-early 30's crowd and compete with the covertible Porsche Boxster Crowd out here in terms of how many people drive them...
Still when it comes to sports Cars the C6 Corvette and Porsche 911(997) still are the most popular with the SL-500 well behind them in terms of populatrity
I think it's purely dependent upon what you really are looking for in a luxury car.
The S class and G-Wagon are still exclusive and speak volumes concerning luxury.
With that said there are many buyers in the MB S Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A-8 strata that want something from a different country other than Germany.
If I was in the market for a high end luxury sedan of that level I would seriously consider the Maserati Quattroporte.
The styling drips of Italy and the Sport model is extremely fast.
I'm attaching a couple of photo's of the Quattroporte.
On the other side of the coin if I was wanting to spend money on an American car it would be the Cadillac CTS-V sedan.
It still holds as the worlds fastest production sedan and it's styling is in my opinion fantastic.
Like other posters have said here, Mercedes has watered down their mark and offers nothing other than the very high end series to set themselves apart from the diluted pack.
Last edited by julian17033; 04-07-2012 at 04:30 PM..
Lexus is the finest luxury marque. They are not only luxurious, but reliable.
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