If you journey to the Detroit Auto Show this winter, you will get a chance to see the new Mercedes A and B Class models. I know, I know. Who cares, right? (No points for guessing Automotive News [sub]) Especially since the Benz Boys will be headlining their Concept BlueZero hybrid/alt-fuel roadshow at the wasteland formerly known as the Detroit Auto Show. But did you know that all of those fancy futuremobiles will be based on the “sandwich board” platform which first debuted in production on the original A-Class? Apparently it makes for a lot of flexibility with powertrain choices. The new A and B will ditch the intriguing but space-limiting concept for a standard FWD layout, but at least the B and “likely” the A as are headed stateside sometime in 2011. Absent a GM bankruptcy-triggered end of times, of course. And though we won’t be in Detroit to snap our own photos of these Euro-hatches (right, boss?), their American ambitions bring up a wrinkle on the stimulating discussion on our national ambivalence towards compact cars.
Honda sold the Jazz abroad for nearly five years before bringing it here as the Fit. Toyota has been selling a Yaris hatchback in Europe since 1999. Mercedes has sold an A-class since 1997. Fit and Yaris sales have been as hot as anything else this year, although gas prices clearly drove sales. Still, it seems to me that foreign automakers kept their sub-compact and compact vehicles out of the US market because they thought Americans were biased against them. Even though efficiency and practicality were central to their early success, the Japanese brands kept quality subcompacts from the market while their US offerings became larger and heavier with every year.
Was it, as John McCain might put it, that they came to change the American market and the American market changed them? Or is this all a mechanical function of the price at the pump? If there is a bias against compact (and sub-compact) cars in this country, is it the product of a Detroit profit-driving marketing strategy? Or a natural outgrowth of the American landscape and lifestyle? And where the rubber really meets the second-guessing, should the Fit, Yaris and now the A-class have been brought to America sooner than they were/are?
A friend of mine, an accountant with microscopic vision, considered a Merc B, a Kia Rondo and a Mazda5. He ended up with the Kia. The Merc cost C$10K more and simply didn’t justify its price. (Accountants are not drivers, they’re value specialists).
I suspect that M-B has been testing these stateside for a while now; I saw what I think was a B-Class this summer close to M-B’s US HQ in New Jersey. (It was driving around the parking lot at Garden State Plaza, if anyone’s curious.)
I love the move toward small cars and everything, but in all honesty, M-B’s small cars are uuuuuugly.
I drive (besides others) a well powered Mercedes A1 190 and could not be happier.
The durable construction and quality is even for Japanese producers hard to beat.
Security is top notch.
The best car I had (and I drove many in all sizes) for city and some overland tours – till 300 miles.
What’s further away I (and every sober thinker) fly anyway.
The downside is, Mercedes service stations in general are expensive even to look at – each single small service in unbelievable steep. Dont get a crash to fix – your bleeding.
All burns down to: if you can afford it and dont drive a family around, thats your car
PS: beauty lies in the eye of the onlooker – I like it
The MB B Class has been sold in Canada for several years now. It’s a nice enough car; a premium one for the segment, however the marketing is a disaster.
I was hoping that it would have been (Could still be) an example of why Euro cars can be different – in a good way then domestic or Asian competitors.
A quick look at the MB Germany website and all the engine choices and other options and for this car makes me just shake my head at the lost opportunity.
In the meantime it’s just a Mercedes for poor people a la C230.
@MikeInCanada :
The B is “Uberkewl”. ACLC had the Merc account while the B was being marketed heavily. Priorly ACLC was doing work for Honda Canada. Apparently Mercedes has consolidated their North American advertising….
Uberkewl.
I’ve spent a couple of weeks with a B200 Turbo as a M-B courtesy car last summer and quite liked it except for the harsh ride. It’s roomy, comfortable to sit in, quick and quite luxurious inside. The huge, multi-pane sunroof is very nice and all the usual Mercedes toys are present: rain sensing wipers, good sound system, wood trim, dual zone automatic HVAC, Homelink, full-length sunroof, adaptive bi-xenon lights, and so on. But it’s expensive and it takes premium fuel. No, I’d likely never buy one unless they made the ride more comfortable and even then I believe there are better competitors available for less money. I don’t understand why Mercedes has to make a car for every niche. How many SUVs does it need to make? And how can it still sell an E-class in Canada for $68,000 without even offering the option of leather interiors. I hear that the sales people need to sell a certain number of B class cars every month in order to maximize their commissions so I guess that’s why we see so many of them on the road here in Vancouver.
I really don’t understand MB marketing in North America….. It seems that all they want, or can do, is make premium cars for any given segment. They don’t seem to have the capability to do sell to anyone who might have some value considerations (hello Lexus).
In Europe its a different story. Mercedes trucks are everywhere and the E Class is a great example of a car for everyone. It’s a Taxi, Cop Car, I rented one at Avis last year, and a high end family car and no one seems to mind.
Why can’t they do this here?
When in London in October, I saw a number of Bs. I thought they were nice enough. I don’t recall seeing any As.
I could not be happier, i love little tossable high content cars. Bravo! The sooner the better!