Mercedes-Benz making big play in Chinese market

You'd think at up to $147,450 a copy, the Mercedes-Benz S class would find most favor in the U.S. and Europe. But at least we were surprised to find out that China is now the most popular market for it.

Mercedes Benz and its small-car dreams

American seems to be obsessed with small cars these days. Not American consumers, mind you, but policy makers and executives at the companies who must bend to their will. First, we had General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler rushing small cars to market as part of their argument for federal assistance earlier this year. Ford has a few of them coming in response both to high fuel prices and new fuel economy rules. Not to be outdone, Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche says Mercedes may export some small cars to the U.S. Luxury buyers still want luxury, he told the Wall Street Journal, but some may want to make a less ostentatious, low-carbon dioxide statement.

This is wrong on so many levels. The article says that the Mercedes compacts will take on the Audi A3, BMW 1-series and BMW’s Mini Cooper brand. As for the A3 and 1-series, yes the Baby Benz will take them on, battling for all 12,000 cars worth of sales that the two models have sold this year. That’s right. Audi has sold about 2,900 copies of the A3, one-tenth the sales of its A4 sedan. The 1-series has done a bit better, selling almost 9,500 cars. That pales next to 3-series sales of 75,500 cars. Even if Mercedes gets a piece of that compact luxury biz, it will be small potatoes. As if Mercedes needs another model that sells fewer than 10,000 cars a year. The company has about half a dozen or so right now. By the way, Mercedes once shelved plans to bring its small B-class (pictured above) to the U.S. because of currency problems. Well, the dollar is still pretty weak. That will make the car either expensive to buy for consumers or profit-challenged.

And what about taking on Mini? The brand has sold almost 40,000 cars through October and just keeps growing. But it has everyone fooled. First of all, the brand has an incredibly unique image that blends modern technology of BMW’s vaunted engineering with the British styling and heritage of its past. And it is quirky. Mini stands alone unlike any brand in the car market as accessible exclusivity, though not traditional luxury. Will its buyers look at a Baby Benz? I doubt it. One BMW marketer once told me that in their research, they found that Mini owners view BMW owners the way most people view Ferrari owners. Loosely translated from the original profane description, Mini owners seem them as men with more money than confidence. I doubt Mini owners will see the Mercedes brand any differently.

I’ll give you one more practical reason why small cars won’t sell as fuel savers or as a green statement. Take a four-cylinder Chevrolet Malibu. It gets 26 miles per gallon combined and costs $1,526 a year to fuel up. A compact Chevy Cobalt gets 27 mpg and costs $1,482 a year at the pump. Who will sacrifice the passenger space of a Malibu to save $44 a year in gas? Answer: The buyer who can’t afford the Malibu.

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

Following yesterday's photo leakage of the 2010 E-Class Estate, Mercedes has officially unveiled more images and info about the E-Class wagon, which officially joins the sedan and coupe variants.

The 2010 E-Class Estate gets a plethora of diesel and gas powered engines for Europe, while the US reportedly must make due only with the the E350 4matic variant. An E63 Estate is reportedly in the works, but who knows if it will come to the US. Especially since most car buyers in the US aren't fond of wagons...

The interior is largely carried over from the sedan, but there is a very retro-feeling rear-facing third seat that brings up not so fond memories of 70s and 80s station wagons.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

The first photos of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG have begun to leak out thanks to Australian site CarPoint.

The SLS AMG is expected to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, so it's no surprise that photos are already leaking. It is powered by a 563-hp 6.3-liter V8 with 480 lb-ft. of torque that is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The SLS AMG can reach 0-62 mph in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 196 mph.

Mercedes Drops Photos of the SLS AMG in Gran Turismo 5

Earlier this week it was revealed that the new Mercedes SLS AMG would be one of the cars in the new Gran Turismo 5 and now Mercedes has released images of the car in the game.

2009 Mercedes Benz E320 Bluetec

The Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTEC demonstrates quite clearly that hybrid powertrains are not the only way to reach environmental excellence. The advanced BlueTEC system is a technological marvel that brings out the best of diesel technology while virtually eliminating the shortcomings.

The Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC concept utilizes state-of-the-art diesel engine technology and exhaust technology to achieve superior fuel economy with the smallest possible environmental footprint. Fuel consumption in this luxury sedan is improved by up to 37 percent when compared to its gasoline counterpart: and torque – the key indicator of engine power – is 55 percent higher. The result is a six-cylinder engine with the power of an 8-cylinder and the fuel consumption of a 4-cylinder.

2009 Mercedes-Benz CLK550 Cabriolet

The 2009 CLK-550 Cabriolet is a 2-door, 4-passenger luxury sports coupe, or luxury convertible. The CLK550 Cabriolet is equipped with a standard 5.5-liter, V8, 382-horsepower engine that achieves 15-mpg in the city and 21-mpg on the highway. A 7-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.

The CLK550 features standard sport suspension and 18-inch five-twin-spoke AMG wheels. The interior of vehicles equipped with the Sport package features black ash wood trim, a black headliner, black carpets and a special instrument cluster complete with white gauges. The 2009 CLK-550 features standard Mercedes active safety innovations such as ESP stability control, ABS anti-lock brakes, straight-line ASR traction control, and Brake Assist.

2010 Mercedes Benz E Class Coupe

Mercedes-Benz is unveiling the coupe version of the new E-Class at the Geneva Motor Show. The new E-Class Coupe brings together emotion and performance in a very special way. With a Cd of 0.24, the model is the world’s most aerodynamically efficient series production vehicle. The model line up the V6-powered E350 (268 hp, 258 lb-ft) and the V8-powered E550 (382 hp, 391 lb-ft).

The new coupe offers the full spectrum of technical innovations that might be expected from a sporty, luxury class coupe. These include Agility Control suspension with adaptive shock absorbers, ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection, the preventative passenger protection system PRE-SAFE. Other luxurious standard equipment includes leather interior with sport seats and integrated headrests, a Panorama Sunroof, COMAND system with console-mounted controller, 6-disc CD/DVD changer and fully automatic dual-zone digital climate control.