Car News Articles

Mercedes’ new CLC coupe may have a new name, but it’s still pretty much the same Sports Coupe that the German car maker launched in 2001.

At this week’s local launch of the new model, much of the focus was on the style of the new model, rather than the substance.

That’s because most of the development dollars were spent on skin-deep improvements to the car, rather than genuine engineering improvements.

Mercedes says the look and feel of a sports coupe are more important to the target buyer than the mechanicals under the shiny new metal. And they say that re-engineering the car could have added between $10,000 and $15,000 to the price of the car, taking it out of the reach of younger buyers currently in other brands.

Company executives say a sub-$50,000 price tag was needed to tempt buyers out of similarly priced cars with less prestigious badges and to distance the car from the all-new C-Class sedan, which came to market priced below $60,000, courtesy of a $10,000 price cut.

They say the CLC is the model that gets younger buyers through the doors and into Mercedes dealerships. Once they are there, Mercedes hopes that a large number of them will “graduate” to more expensive models.

But are buyers that naive? Surely you choose the Mercedes brand because of its reputation for cutting-edge technological and engineering innovation? That’s the brand promise and that’s not what this car delivers.

It’s still a very competent car and arguably better than some similarly priced rivals, but it’s not what you expect from a new Mercedes.

In a way, it’s similar to what Holden has done with its Korean line-up. After building its reputation with a string of great handling cars, it has now dished up some less than inspiring models with the hope that past glories will tempt new buyers.

For Mercedes, it’s a dangerous precedent. While there’s no doubt people will initially be attracted by the prospect of a sub-$50,000 Mercedes sports car, there may come a time down the track when the name Mercedes may not mean what it once did.

Italian car maker Maserati reckons it is already happening. Its sales are booming and it claims new customers are trading in Mercedes and BMWs because they are no longer as exclusive as they once were.

What do you think? Is Mercedes playing with fire or are they merely giving customers what they want - a taste of a luxury brand at a price they can afford.

Richard Blackburn