While Mercedes is still a premium brand, I think they've worked hard to water down their image over the years. It's hard to label yourself as being an exclusively luxury brand, when you have B Class models sitting next to S Class models on the showroom floor. 25 years ago, even with what is now considered a basic D240, there was a unique "quality" to the car, and it was felt while cheaper, and an entry level car, the same quality and engineering went into it, as their more expensive offerings. Today, it would be pretty hard to convince anyone, that when you buy a B Class, you're getting S Class engineering and quality, in a smaller package. It is what it is, and that's an alternative to a small Ford or Toyota.
Options make money, car volume, to a much lesser extent. More profitable to load up every model with satnav and other toys, than to sell twice as many car, in basic form. Ed 300E On 16 January 2011 10:20, Dieselhead <126die...@gmail.com> wrote: > That may work in Canada, but in the US, the sales chimps just look at you > like you have 8 eyes, one ear, 7 arms and 3 legs. They can't throw you out > fast enough. > > The answer to the prior question about why we can't get a simple > bulletproof car in the US/NA marketis simple. It is because the marketing > geniuses at MumBUSA anve dictated that MB shall be "positioned" as a > "luxury" brand. Whatever they define as a "luxury"... > > MB still makes utilitarian cars for the rest of the world, but anything > that relies on electronics, I can't label as bulletproof or reliable. In > the 30s they made the SS and the SSK for kings and the 170 for commoners. > In the 50s they made the adenauer for kings and princes, and the 170 for > commoners. In the 60s they made the 600 for kings and popes, and the 190 > for commoners. today they make the Maybach for kings and oil princes, the > S600 for movie stars, and the A170D for commoners. > > The problems are the US EPA and the Imperial dictators at Mumbusa. > Somewhere around 1970, the "marketing" MBAs gained control at MBNA and > dictated that MB shall be a "luxury" brand. Unfortuntately for them, the > austerity of the first and second "fuel crisis" prevented them from doing > away with the 240D until 1985. > > The US EPA, since the 1985 announcement by mother GM the "Diesels are > terrible (because we are too cheap to build a decent diesel engine)" has > been pressured by GM, and perhaps frod and crypsler to keep changing the > "emissions" dictates so that Diesels can't meet the reg. > > VW and MB have outwitted the EPA dimwits so many times now, that the EPA is > less aggressive in trying to keep Diesels out. > > When DB bought crypsler, I had hopes that those products might become the > "commoner" MB line for NA/USA, because they were not MB. It looked like > that was happening, as the crypsler engineering started looking more and > more like MB engineering. If the nasty divorce had not happened, we were > supposed to get a wide array of crypsler models with MB Diesels. > > Bottom line is Mumbusa has no interest in what the public wants outside of > NYC and beverly hills/brentwood. > > > x > > > > > I think the best way to ensure future models, is to buy, or ask for those >> cars today at the dealer. Go in and say to the manager, "this is what I >> want, and if you offered one, I'd buy it". >> >> Ed >> 300E >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
