New C Class, first official pics!

[Brett]

If you had bothered to go onto the link I posted you will see pictures of the SE, Elegance and Sport, plus a brief description of the body of each one.

Still your big fonts do look nice.

Regards,
John

I don't believe it!

 

[PJH]

....The high bonnet line may be because of the new pedestrian crash rules,it gives the car an American mid 90's dumpy look.I'm disappointed.

adam

I don't think I like the front, reminds of several Dodge models.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

[Dr Evil]One Million[/Dr Evil] Pictures aleady posted in this forums NEWS section that noone ever views HERE

 

[ddentrec]

IMHO, if you took the 3 pointed star badges off, you'd be hard pushed to spot the difference between this and most modern luxury saloons these days. They all look so similar!

Perhaps I'm viewing all this through rose tints, but that's one of the reasons I think my W124 coupe is so timeless in its appearance...

I fully agree. From the side the car looks like the current BMW 3 series (the 'crease' shape along the is an exact copy). And the back of the 3 series looks like a Mitsubishi Carisma.

The term 'eurobox' comes to mind. The motoring equivalent of magnolia paint.

A W124 coupe is certainly a beautiful shape - a real typically teutonic design with presence.

 

[DC_insider]

I take it the UK market is to be denied the basic Classic and the Avantgarde models. Wonder why?

The previous model line up was over complicated. We had:

'Classic' - poverty spec
'Classic SE' - not quite such a poverty spec
'Sport Edition' - Classic SE plus sport package
'Elegance SE' - comfort spec
'Avantgarde SE' - sporty spec
'Avantgarde SE (with sport package)' - sportier spec still


With the introduction of the 204 series the 'Classic' and 'Sport Edition' have been deleted and the range effectively starts with the 'Classic SE' which will be called 'SE' in the UK and 'Classic' everywhere else.

'Elegance SE' is now simply 'Elegance' but is still the comfort spec model designed to appeal to traditional Mercedes-Benz customers.

'Avantgarde SE' is now 'Avantgarde' but will not be coming to the UK. This is because the old 'Avantgarde SE (with sport package)' was more popular in the UK so to simplify the range the UK will be supplied with a 'Sport' model which in effect is a new 'Avantgarde' model but comes with the new 'AMG sport package' as standard.

These changes bring the C-Class range in line with the BMW 3-series and the Audi A4.

Brand: Mercedes-Benz / BMW / Audi

Entry level: SE / ES / Standard

Comfort spec: Elegance / SE / SE

Sport Spec: Sport / M Sport / S Line

Where are the RHD cars going to made? In South Africa like the W203 or Germany?? Maybe thats something to do with it?? Or have I missed that piece of info as well?

UK supplied cars will come from Germany.

 

[grober]

UK supplied cars will come from Germany.

Thanks for clearing that up. A German name manufacturer making cars in Germany--a refreshing change . Wonder where all the RHD cars that the S. A. East London factory make when production starts there in June 2007 will end up? http://www.cartoday.com/content/news/singlepage_top10.asp?in=8014

 

[DC_insider]

Wonder where all the RHD cars that the S. A. East London factory make when production starts there in June 2007 will end up? http://www.cartoday.com/content/news/singlepage_top10.asp?in=8014

The factory in South Africa will now produce LHD C-Class for the USA.

Edit: Should have read your link before posting my reply. The RHD cars to be produced in SA will be for the local market and/or Asia.


The only C-Class destined for the UK to not be made in Germany will be the Sport Coupe (CL203). This model is currently produced in Germany but production will cease in the next few months and the production line will be transferred to Brazil. We think that the car will receive a new bodyshell at this point to make it look similar to the 204 series (but it will still be the old car underneath).

 

[grober]

New Models Credentials Strengthened

Thank you again. This news will undoubtedly strengthen the new models credentials when its launched in the U.K.

 

[Flash]

The previous generation M Class was assembled in the US and was a major “flop” – it was so bad that European market vehicles had to be assembled in Austria but if a certain option was specified i.e. pre telephone wiring then the European order was certain to be assembled in the Austrian plant. Hope Brazilian plant is nothing like the US assembly plant of it’s neighbour...

W203s (saloons for sure – not sure about the coupe/estate) in the UK suffer from the dreaded "orange peel" on the paint finish and these cars were from South Africa but again the W221 also has the orange paint peel issue and that is made in Germany so could just be a DC “quality” issue and nothing to do with the models’ origin of assembly. It is a bit worrying that one of DC's flagship models suffers from the orange peel...

 

[Flash]

Assembling cars outside Germany is not a bad thing at all as the employees in other regions are just as highly skilled as the employees in Germany at the very least OR if not then these people in other regions outside Germany are even more highly skilled. Same parts are used and machinery/robots on the assembly line. Only difference is that DC UK save a lot of money and pay the employees "pea nuts" in comparison to their German counterparts.

However, the US proved not to be the case as M Class was a flop…