First S, now C
The 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans have barely been on the market two weeks and I've already see several cruising the streets of LA. That was fast! Back in January 2007, when the all-new, completely redesigned S-Class hit the market, I saw those almost immediately too. This is a good sign for a sales success for the new C-Class.
From what I can see, almost every S-Class driver in LA has traded their last-generation S-Class sedan for the new S550. And I even see a fair share of the much more expensive S-Class variants like the S600, S63 AMG and S65 AMG. This being LA, there is no shortage of money for $200,000 Mercedes-Benz sedans, so a $40k C-Class should be cinch to sell.
The 2008 C-Class is a complete redesign of Mercedes-Benz's best-selling, mass market entry-level model in the US. It's definitely more handsome than the last generation and it borrows many styling cue from the company's flagship S-Class sedans. I predict that the legions of hard-core Mercedes-Benz fans, those who didn't abandon the much beleaguered last-generation C-Class, will all rush to swap their current C-Class leases for the new C-Class.
The S-Class was a must-win for Mercedes. And lucky for Daimler, its flagship brand sedan is a runaway sales success. In 2006, Mercedes doubled its sales of the S-Class to 32,234 units. By contrast, BMW sold only 18,412 7-Series and Audi only sold 5,363 A8's.
C-Class sales have been sinking as the product aged badly and the new BMW 3-Series trampled all over the dull C-Class. In 2006, US sales of the C-Class fell to 55,254 units from 65,818 units in 2005. The more profitable E-Class (which includes the CLS) outsold the C-Class in both 2005 and 2006! Archrival BMW sold 133,637 3-Series in 2006 -- more than double the C-Class.
In case you haven't noticed, Mercedes has been pushing the old, outdated 2007 C-Class with very cheap leases and financing. Out with the old and in with the new. So far, the fire-sale clearance has worked and C-Class sales are up about 15% for the first 7 months of th
e year. Now it's time for the new product to sell without being heavily discounted.
Daimler expects much of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. They hope to recapture some of the market lost to BMW, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti and Cadillac. From my personal observations, I'd say that the new Mercedes is on course to fulfilling those expectations. Now that Daimler is free from the Chrysler albatross, the company will focus resources on new products and much-needed quality control.
LA is the city of automotive excess. As I was driving home last Friday, west on Fountain Avenue near Highland, I was staring down the dual exhaust pipes of a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster. I stopped at the light where Fountain dead-ends into La Cienega and next to me was a new Audi S8 (which has the Lamborghini Gallardo V10 engine snarling under the hood). I walked by the Santa Palm car wash today and someone was having their Maybach 57S run though the standard wash cycle. In front of the gym yesterday, someone parked their brand new Aston Martin DB9 on the street. And while I was sipping a cocktail at dinner last week, someone drove by in an Audi R8 -- a car that isn't even on the market yet!
The new C-Class almost seems "plebian" next to these automotive superstars. But the C-Class is an essential player in the Mercedes renaissance after the dark years of Jürgen Schrempp destroying the once-great German industrial shining star. Mercedes needs the new C-Class to be not only a sales leader, but it needs to have the rock-solid reliability of pre-1996 product. Oh, those were the "good old days" when engineers ran the company, not cost accountants and "visionaries" who thought it would be a good idea to buy Chrysler.
Visually, the C-Class looks bigger and closer in size to the E-Class sedan. I checked some of the specifications and I think the new C-Class will poach sales from the more expensive E-Class. I compared the C350 Sport with the E350. The E-Class is 8.7 inches longer but only 245 pounds heavier. The E is 2 inches wider and 2.1 inches higher. Front legroom is almost identical, but the E has an extra 2 inches of headroom. Despite the extra 8.7 inches in length, you only get an extra 2.2 inches in rear legroom, 0.9 inches rear headroom and 1 inch additional rear shoulder room in the E350.
The wheelbase of the E350 is 3.7" longer than the C350. The extra length of the E350 adds an extra 1.8 feet to its turning radius. The E's gas tank holds an extra 1.6 gallons. But the E's extra size shows up in the trunk with a 3.5 cubic feet advantage over the new C. However, with identical drivetrains (3.5 liter V6 and seven-speed automatic transmission), the E350 is $14,400 more. That's a big premium for not much additional passenger space and zero increase in the basic drivetrain mechanicals.
It's interesting that the new C-Class is rated at 2 mpg less in city driving (17 mpg) than it's bigger and heavier E-Class brother. And it loses 1 mpg in the highway estimates (25 mpg). Mercedes needs to do better than that. However, this fuel economy difference won't matter to buyers and it certainly isn't penalty enough to pony up an extra $14.4k.
The usual articles will be in every car magazine comparing the C350 to the BMW 335i and the newly-minted C63 AMG to the (coming next year) M3. Some magazines will throw in an A4 3.2, Lexus IS350, Infiniti G35 and even the new Cadillac CTS with GM's "high content" 3.6 liter direct-inject gas engine. But I'd like to see a comparison to its own stable mate, the E-Class!
It has been my experience that Mercedes-Benz buyers are very loyal. I've met these people -- they will only drive a Mercedes-Benz, no matter how many problems it has. So maybe it's not such an "out there" idea to compare stable mates!
Watch for a wave of new C-Class sedans to wash over the streets of LA over the next few months.
