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One of these cars is two years old and has a base price of £19,365 in the UK (it is not sold in the US), while the other is brand-spankety new and starts at £88,325 in that same UK market (it arrives stateside this fall). Which is which? And, since this is an easy one for the crazy car-identification ninjas that prowl this site, is this much family resemblance good or bad for Mercedes?
15 Comments on “Oh Say Can You CL?...”
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When family members look TOO much alike, “inbreeding” has to be considered.
Look at the Westboro Baptist Church, that’s bordering on cloning…
Amazing. Or it can’t be true. I mean… $25k Benz?
Actually that’s 30,000 +/- unless he’s included the VAT.
Family resemblance is a lot less dramatic when viewed from an angle which actually shows the whole of the cars in question, and not just dramatic, badly-lit, front 3/4 from the level of the ground views:
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/media_library/unitedkingdom/mpc_unitedkingdom/passenger_cars_ng/products/new_cars/clc-class/wallpaper/03/preview.object-Single-MEDIA.tmp/clc-3-740×295.jpg
http://picolio.auto123.com/art-images/120557/2011-mercedes-benz-cl-class-020.JPG/scale-484×363
IOW, nobody’s going to mistake a CL for a CLC in the real world. Or vice versa
This isn’t that unusual for Mercedes. When the CLK and the SL both had jellybean headlights, you could not tell which was which from the front.
Steve65 – thanks for pointing out “the truth”. The price difference is easily explained when viewing those pictures. Some much for the objectivity of this site.
I really don’t see the point of the CL. I don’t understand why anyone would want a coupe version of the S-class for $15,000 more. I love my S550, but the CL takes away too much headroom and too much of the S’ glamour while replacing it with less flash.
FlashPoint, is that you?
I like the style of the CL, too bad the full size personal luxury coupe is almost extinct. It makes more sense to me to name it as an S-Class coupe rather than a separate series.
i think much of the CL’s appeal stems from its inherent impracticality. it’s an S-class with two fewer doors and 15K added to an already high price. as such, it is much less common than its sedan counterpart. it’s akin to a limited edition LV purse that’s inherently less practical and more expensive than some more mundane version. it may not be rational, but veblen goods are more about conveying an air of exclusivity than anything else. it’s a nice car, but you can get more substance for less cash.
since rarity and audacity is the CL’s forte, it’s also the spiritual successor to the 1970s eldorado and continental pimpmobiles.
I think that is a pretty bad example for family resemblence. Especially when you see them in the flesh! Try Audi next time. Last time around at a car show I couldn’t decide whether I got an A4 Avant or A6 Avant in front of me for about 10 seconds. Same goes for Q5 and Q7. And I would highly consider myself a car-nut.
Slow news day? Does Perez Hilton now contribute to TTAC? These two vehicles look completely different. Stop underestimating the intelligence of your readership before TTAC becomes the automotive equivalent of News Of The World.
2004 — 2006 used CL 600’s are an amazing deal. Nice low-mileage ones for $20k – $30k. MSRP was $130,000+ It’s a $30k car to buy, but still a $130k car to maintain and repair. Hard to get more “bang-for-the-buck” used car today.
Twotone
Buying a V12 CL from the years when MB was making the most unreliable cars in their history is not what I would call a “great idea”. It might be $30K to buy, but figure on another $30K to keep it running.
They both remind me of when Mercedes snidely referred to Audi’s “transient, soap-cake styling”.