All '03, US, C Class cars to have 6 Speed availability - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 09-12-2002, 06:51 AM

I just opened up my Star magazine this morning. The announcement was that there will be C320 sedan and wagon, C240 sedan and wagon, C230 and a 4 Matic. The six speed will be standard in all of these! Woo Hoo! I am pumped. I wanted a six speed 320 when I bought my 240 but it was not available. Now I will have to control myself to prevent my trading in a very low mileage car.

I expect that the 320 sedan will be a quick and fun car with the 6 Speed.

Have a great day,

yal · #2 09-12-2002, 10:02 AM

AMEN!! They have seeeeeeeeen the light!!

Jim Anderson · #3 09-12-2002, 11:59 AM

Give in to your impulse:p

And by the way, I'll take your C240 off your hands

Holson Adi · #4 09-12-2002, 07:07 PM

Nice! If only they would offer the E320 or E240 in manual too, it'd be awesome..

#5 09-13-2002, 07:31 AM

Yes, an E Class with V8 and manual would be incredible.

Have a great day,

ROGER E. · #6 09-14-2002, 05:44 PM

I own a 2001 C320 and although I would like to drive the six-speed I'm not sure I'd want to own one. Traffic density here in Seattle is so bad that a manual transmission becomes a lot of work after a while. I have been caught in a few freeway jamups in my Porsche 944 five-speed and I can tell you that depressing that clutch pedal over and over at low speeds gets old quick. I think that resale value would be effected, also since it narrows the market for the car.

But, the real reason for suddenly offering the six-speed is not in response to the few who would buy one, but a way to keep the base price of the car about where is has been. Removing content and then making it optional is the devious plan, I think. Further, no sales manager is going to order the stick trans in a car bought for stock without a firm order. Think back to the steel sunroofs which were standard in all sedans so far back in time that I can't recall when they weren't present. Steel went away and the glass roof became the only choice at a fat premium, about $1200 or so as I recall. The availablility and resale caveats would be the same as the six-speed question.

blackmercedes · #7 09-19-2002, 01:29 PM

I got the new 2003 pricing schedule from MB Canada yesterday. It has all the new W203 models, and I was surprised to see the new lineup.

We get:
C240 Sedans:
C240 Classic Manual Sedan
C240 Classic Automatic Sedan
C240 Elegance Manual Sedan
C240 Elegance Automatic Sedan
C240 Classic Automatic 4-matic Sedan (NO MANUAL 4-MATIC in CANADA)
C240 Elegance Automatic 4-matic Sedan

C240 Wagons:
C240 Classic Manual Wagon
C240 Classic Automatic Wagon
C240 Elegance Manual Wagon
C240 Elegance Automatic Wagon
C240 Classic Automatic 4-matic Wagon
C240 Elegance Automatic 4-matic Wagon

C320 Sedans:
C320 Manual Sedan (Six speed and 3.2L!!)
C320 Automatic Sedan
C320 Automatic 4-matic Sedan (again, no manual 4-matic)

C320 Wagons:
C320 Manual Wagon
C320 Automatic Wagon
C320 Automatic 4-matic Wagon

Some things to note:

Manny tranny is now available with 3.2L engine.
Base prices are the same, but now there is $1500 charge for autobox. So, prices are up by about $1500.
No more "sport" trim option, just Classic and Elegance in C240.
Bi-Xenon lights available.

If I find a lease return 4-matic sedan or wagon in 2-3 years, I'll probably buy it.

#8 09-24-2002, 11:24 AM

Anybody have any preliminary performance figures for the new manual tranny C320. 0-60 times, etc? Curious to see what MB figures are. Especially the C32.

blackmercedes · #9 09-27-2002, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Clemson91
Especially the C32.

C32 is only available with 5 speed automatic. For 2003, the C32 is unchanged from 2002.

revbond · #10 09-30-2002, 07:16 PM

My feeling, based on nothing but conjecture, is that Mercedes has responded to the number of people who have complained about the lack of manual tranmissions, generally, in Mercedes offerings, and who go elsewhere for a manual, whether in respect of cost, usability, etc. Used to be, when I took my 16v in for service at the dealer, some sales person or another would appear, look over my car admiringly, and ask if I were interested in some newfangled mercedes like an SLK or "C" something or even an AMG version. My response, and eventually they stopped asking the question, is that I keep the 16v because it looks like a sports sedan, drives like one, and most importantly has a manual transmission that allows the driver to operate it like one." I don't care how fast a car goes when you just step on the pedal and point: for my purposes, its not a sports car (with racing pretensions) unless input can be finely modulated by clutch and throttle (both acceleration and braking-heel toe, etc). I have read that certain persons at AMG, for instance, feel that manual transmissions are a thing of the past. Funny, I have never heard anyone at BMW or Audi cop to such a statement - and they don't have any problems moving their manual vehicles. Even funnier that Mercedes is now offer manuals broadly within their lineup. By the way: I wouldn't underestimate the cost of bring a manual car to the US market, since, I believe, even though the model may be the same as automatic, it is treated as a separate "model" and undergo the same crash testing, evironmental review, etc. I had understood that it was largely the cost, as well mercedes reluctance to shed its image as a "luxury car" (which, to them, in part, meant no manual transmissions) that generally precluded offering manuals in the States except for certain limited offerings (e.g., 16V, the very rare manual 300E, etc.). Just imagine if your 500E had a manual.

Furthermore, I suspect, that if Mercedes is to make further (if any) inroads into the younger market, manual transmissions will be required (think gen-x'ers).