Mercedes bringing A-Class to US; heads further down market

18 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

Somehow it lacks the early 70's vibe of the van on Scoby Doo though...

Or that late '70s Dodge Street Van look... doesn't work.  Thought those were cool as a kid.

Just now, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Or that late '70s Dodge Street Van look... doesn't work. 

Agreed....and late 70's dodge had the little red wagon truck and the Dodge power wagon and several other cars for someone who was an enthusiast on a budget...something that Benz does not have.

1 hour ago, smk4565 said:

The Metris is pretty sweet.  You can get power heated seats, blind spot monitoring, active lane keep assist, radar cruise control, rain sense wipers, Sat-Nav turbo, 7-speed, alloy wheels for like $33k.

Seems to be in direct conflict with MB being the Luxury auto company of the world. Guess they better either turn it into another $100K van with luxury or kill it.

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Metris seems pretty reasonable...get the cargo van version for under 30k, add shag carpeting and a sofa bed, custom paint....

So many better Vans out of our past compared to this 3 pointed Turd of a Van!

Gotta love the 70's and 80's custom van scene. We really need to get people back to building cool auto's!  

53 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Seems to be in direct conflict with MB being the Luxury auto company of the world. Guess they better either turn it into another $100K van with luxury or kill it.

Doesn't matter because Mercedes sells more S class than any other premier luxury car...

Ohhh...and love the Mystery machine!

When i am talking fun....I love this commercial...

Mercedes doesn't build anything fun....they build stuff that is fast....but nothing I am drawn to...

Mercedes van with Patina maybe....something like this VW....?

Looks much better on proper American iron...

Although i guess if you were desperate enough you could ahve fun with a Smart car...

Would honestly rather ahve something fun and unique like this vintage Studebaker than an S class...

And since Dodge and patina were both brought up earlier...

And if you want to look at shiny new stuff, here is the ZL1 Camaro running 7:16 on the Nuremberg ring...

And for reference, it is not a Benz that has the fastest production time at the ring, look at this...McLaren hits 202 where the Camaro was at 168..

Vintage Mustangs can provide a bit of excitement also...

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Yeah, pretty sweet. You get a Pacifica Touring L without an interior and with a 7-speed instead of a 9-speed. 

The Pacifica doesn't have rear wheel drive for racing pedigree.

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

And for reference, it is not a Benz that has the fastest production time at the ring, look at this...McLaren hits 202 where the Camaro was at 168..

 

The fastest Benz time at the Nurburgring is 7:10 for the AMG GT R.  But I suspect the Project One car will beat the P1, and even the P1 LM which they only made 6 of. 

6 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Metris seems pretty reasonable...get the cargo van version for under 30k, add shag carpeting and a sofa bed, custom paint....

It's a minivan.

Need I say anything more?

23 minutes ago, balthazar said:

It's a minivan.

Need I say anything more?

It's the Mercedes of minivans, though. 

it could be the Rolls of minivans; that's still superseded by 'minivan'.

56 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

The Pacifica doesn't have rear wheel drive for racing pedigree.

Just what every Pacifica buyer is looking for...a racing pedigree!

15 minutes ago, balthazar said:

it could be the Rolls of minivans; that's still superseded by 'minivan'.

Absurdity is lost on you, probably because you are a rational person.

25 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

It's the Mercedes of minivans, though. 

That is not always a good thing...the Hyundai crossover products are actually more athletic looking than the Benz crossovers.

51 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

The fastest Benz time at the Nurburgring is 7:10 for the AMG GT R.  But I suspect the Project One car will beat the P1, and even the P1 LM which they only made 6 of. 

And the cost of the AMG GT R is how much more than the Camaro?

41 minutes ago, balthazar said:

it could be the Rolls of minivans; that's still superseded by 'minivan'.

Rolls is doing an SUV, so who knows...it could happen. 

Jeeeezus Christ.. Are U telling me that @smk4565 is boasting a 6 sec advantage on the ring by a car costing almost $100k more than the ZL1? 

7 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Jeeeezus Christ.. Are U telling me that @smk4565 is boasting a 6 sec advantage on the ring by a car costing almost $100k more than the ZL1? 

Would expect anything less? You have to go that high (or be that high) in price to get a Benz to beat a "lowly" Chevy. 

1 minute ago, surreal1272 said:

Would expect anything less? You have to go that high (or be that high) in price to get a Benz to beat a "lowly" Chevy. 

How many more Chevrolet Camaros and Mazda Miatas are driven in sanctioned competition every weekend than Benz?

12 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Jeeeezus Christ.. Are U telling me that @smk4565 is boasting a 6 sec advantage on the ring by a car costing almost $100k more than the ZL1? 

And is less attractive and less reliable...

23 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Rolls is doing an SUV, so who knows...it could happen. 

And Rolls existence is a problem for Benz...that is the problem in a nutshell...or nut House as it were..

When I was a twelve year old boy, I bragged to a gas station attendant in Georgia that I was almost a teen...he said I was a taint...taint a child, taint a man....

Mercedes Benz is also a taint....it ain't Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls, Bentley, McLaren, Lotus, or the like...a real premium luxury brand...and it ain't a fun funky brand that offers good value for the dollar in something interesting.

It also taint visually interesting like Cadillac or Jaguar. Or Land Rover for that matter...

What it is...a brand very good at existing by manipulation of it's image and manufacturing consent among non car people as to it's perceived value.

34 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Jeeeezus Christ.. Are U telling me that @smk4565 is boasting a 6 sec advantage on the ring by a car costing almost $100k more than the ZL1? 

The ZL1 has a really good time, anything under 7:30 is really fast, under 7 minutes is insane fast.  It was mentioned that Mercedes doesn't have the record, I just said what their fastest time is.   And they are going to beat the P1, it is as good as done.

@A Horse With No Name  good thing Mercedes isn't Ferrari or McLaren or they'd be losing

1 minute ago, smk4565 said:

The ZL1 has a really good time, anything under 7:30 is really fast, under 7 minutes is insane fast.  It was mentioned that Mercedes doesn't have the record, I just said what their fastest time is.   And they are going to beat the P1, it is as good as done.

@A Horse With No Name  good thing Mercedes isn't Ferrari or McLaren or they'd be losing

 

I was referring to road going automobiles sold to the general public.

2 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Pacifica doesn't have rear wheel drive for racing pedigree.

But it probably still has better handling.

Also... Ferrari has not won at LeMans since 1965 either...

2 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

But it probably still has better handling.

I need to drive a Pacifica...I hear lots of good things about it.

It's a great minivan, but it's still a minivan. Im not making any lofty claims about it's Nurbürgring prowess... Only that it will handle better than a plumber van... RWD or not.

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

It's a great minivan, but it's still a minivan. Im not making any lofty claims about it's Nurbürgring prowess... Only that it will handle better than a plumber van... RWD or not.

Fair enough!

2 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Pacifica doesn't have rear wheel drive for racing pedigree.

In other news, Pennsylvania approved the first pot growing and distribution license today. I take it you were waiting in line like it was a new iPhone?

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

In other news, Pennsylvania approved the first pot growing and distribution license today. I take it you were waiting in line like it was a new iPhone?

The entire world has lost its mind...as a status conscious person SMK has decided to politely follow suit.

1 hour ago, smk4565 said:

The ZL1 has a really good time, anything under 7:30 is really fast, under 7 minutes is insane fast.  It was mentioned that Mercedes doesn't have the record, I just said what their fastest time is.   And they are going to beat the P1, it is as good as done.

@A Horse With No Name  good thing Mercedes isn't Ferrari or McLaren or they'd be losing

 

Yes because all of those are the exact same cars as what's on our roads (please note heavy use of sarcasm).