Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Originally Posted by Trav
Yep, the E class and up are real MB cars. The A, B, and C class are crap from the get go.
My question is why does a "high end" automotive brand sully its reputation just to achieve a lower price point? To increase sales? It seems short sighted to me, and not very German. Germany as a nation has trumpeted its engineering prowess, and then they engineer and manufacture a car with serious design and manufacturing flaws. Reputations takes decades to establish, but reputations can be ruined far more quickly.
Scott
PS One thing about our C-class - it didn't have enough suspension travel. How can that not be vetted during the design process? It's not complicated.
You forget that during your time of ownership that they were also owners of Chrysler which they got rid of in 2007. BMW also did the same with the 3 series. It's just part of GM's playbook which they've had for a long while. You start out with a Chevy and can stay loyal to their brand by having more expensive cars to buy. The C class was an entry level car and they have other models to step up to later.
Yeah, one drawback of the sports crazy is lack of suspension travel. I've always railed against bigger rims and lower profile tires. But automakers will just give whatever the market demands. And somehow the fools who like low profile tires and lowered cars because it's supposed to yield better handling have won out. Yet the percentage of people who can actually take advantage of those features are probably in the single digits.