Mercedes-Benz will open performance centers at specific dealerships across the U.S. to expand the AMG brand from enthusiast sub-brand to mainstream performance line, Automotive News is reporting.
Dealers may have to pay up to $200,000 for extra showroom space and training, the report said. The automaker expanded its AMG brand this year with the Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG and GLE450 AMG, which are performance variants of those cars but stop short of the full-performance models.
The move is similar to how other luxury automakers watering down expanding their performance lines, such as Audi’s S-line and BMW’s M-division.
Last year, Mercedes-AMG sold more than 11,000 models in the U.S. Sales of AMG-branded cars are expected to rise significantly with the expanded brand.
The dealerships would need to add 2,000 additional square feet to existing dealerships. Roughly 100 dealerships would add the performance centers, with half of those being “professional” centers with larger studios. The centerpiece, according to the report, would be an 8-foot “Powerwall.”
According to the report, dealers will be compensated for the investment through higher incentives paid out for those vehicles.
I guess that the headline should be that they are adding performance centers. The dealer I worked at recently was an AMG Performance Center. It basically means you get a larger allocation of AMG vehicles than normal dealers.
Yes! Thank you Mercedes. I say this is proof that there IS a God and He loves us!
Where’s that six-axle G-Wagen? Somebody’ll buy it!
I suspect that these dealers will make up the investment when these cars come off lease, just when everything starts to break, especially if these cars are rolled hard and put away wet!
G-Wagen 6×6 is awesome and I won’t hear anything differently.
When I saw the Motor Trend article where Liebermann was jumping one like a motocrosser, I said to myself “that goes in my ‘money=no-object,’ unlimited garage!”
In Heaven, maybe!
Cadillac has been forced their poor dealers to spend FAR more upgrading their showrooms, and their vehicles (Escalade excepted) JUST SIT THERE FOR MANY, MANY MONTHS/YEARS.
I was most annoyed when the Town Car I ordered to take me from the airport was replaced by an Escalade at no extra charge (because my flight was an hour EARLY due to goofy tailwind I shat you not). I’m probably the only person to complain on losing a Panther for GMTK2XX that but it stands.
The Cadillac Escalade is really overpriced for what it is (a rebadged Chevy).
It doesn’t have a truly plush ride or the material quality of something like an S Class or Lexus LS.
Still, it has a V8, much better gauges, a better interior overall (the newest version), and is far more reliable/durable than Toy-like ATSs or the lackluster CTS.
You guys want to see a Cadillac storefront that has been bought and paid for decades ago…?
Google Image Search ‘Dimmitt Cadillac Clearwater’
God-Dimmitt! They go all the way from the WOW!! to the completely tasteless (that customization company with the lifted ‘Slade on 777 tires)!
Do you use a ladder to enter the cockpit of that ‘Slade? (Which I’m sure also has a sound system whose bass will shatter skyscraper windows within a half-mile!)
Not being familiar with Florida geography, I would have expected an emporium like this to be located closer to Miami. (Or is all of, say, from Tampa all the way around to West Palm a rich persons’ playground?)
I saw that dealership in passing back in 1994. I was visiting Eckerd College for the weekend and was headed back home. I remember seeing a then current D-body Fleetwood in either black or dark blue. Looked elegant parked directly in front.
Wow. Brings new meaning to the term “old money.”
“I say, mah dear, shall we retire to the portico for some mint juleps?”
EDIT: Dangnabbit, that was supposed to reply to Flybrian.
Will the AMGs have a dipstick so the owner can check the oil, or just an electronic gauge? Will it be possible to change the transmission fluid, or will it be “lifetime”?
Dumb. brand becomes diluted. AMG becomes unspecial
I would rather see reinvigoration in the 55 (under 63?) or 500/600 (or 550 even? than this
looks like Mercedes jumped the skark first