Why would you say that? I have a Banjo. :eek:

Is that you Cracker McCoy????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPPJbYJrTVE&feature=watch_response

The new ones are pretty good, my friend and I beat on a C300 4matic for a bit and it was ok. Couldn't get it to drift though.


I wouldn't buy one for the simple reason its not an S class. I like the big cars.

I loved my W202 C43 AMG.



Small car, big engine. Well balanced, fun to drive, and got decent MPGs.

Re: 2k14 "C" class from Tuscaloosa
 

'Remember the first set of Hyundai (s) imported from S.Korea?
('Made the Venerable Trabat [Up until that time,the World's Worst car]
look good.)

ANYTHING ASSEMBLED in Vance has all it's possible Q.C.frailties compounded
by the lack of Deutchlander expertise.

Key question: Does DB allow ENGINES and Transmissions to be "Made" in
ALABAMA? (Answer is NO.'Cause of the Lack of Reliability.)

It is. :)

Oh nostalgia . . .

I suppose that C-Class built in South Africa isn't up to "German standards?" Apparently, there is no problem with the SA built W204.

As for engines . . . Mercedes and Renault-Nissan will be building a new four cylinder gasoline engine for the W205 in TN.

Reliability is international.

The SA plant actually builds very nice cars. Whether or not they will hold up against decades of use and remain serviceable remains to be seen.

I think the Alabama plant is a bit like the E class plant in China that builds E's in China for the Chinese market ONLY. The 2014 C, nailed together by Americans is going to be sold ONLY in the states. Frankly the fact they are building Nissan engines in Tennessee for a Mercedes Benz is a bit disgusting.

For instance; a common game we play is Merc Spotting. First one to point at and verbally say "Mercedes" gets one point. Alabama garbage cans are -1 point, and special MB's (anything sixties or older, or any modern rare stuff) are worth 2 points.

Personal opinions are just that. But when you can back up your senseless blather with something known as FACTS, get back to me. Strange that every single issue I had with the 3 ML's I owned had nothing to do with being built in Alabama but rather the shiatty drive train issues, electrical parts and technology supplied and built in Germany. But, put all these cross platform issues in a shell welded together and painted by robots in Alabama, it becomes a trash can. Forgive me for making the observation that I KNOW you're talking out of your hind end with your prejudiced thinking. Fact train starts now. Go!

O.K. I'll bite...
 

Even though replys # 22 and 23 have made my case.

"Your Honor,is it not True that any excrement DB allows to be "Assembled" overseas
AND not be Imported back into the Fatherland (and the E.U.) is failing the "German Standards"
[In Quality Control] requirement?"

[I.E. "If we (Mercedes) can get away with Labeling "Cat Poo" on wheels "Mercedes" AND the Locals don't "Call Us" on it...
WE WILL !!!" (Reference: S.A.,P.R.C.,Alabama) BUT WE sure as Hell ain't gonna Buy or Operate that Junk!]

Wait, Excuse Me! Internal Combustion engines produced in Tuscaloosa by Renault/Nissan under contract to DB?
AND "They" (Mercedes) expect to sell these Chassis ONLY in North America?
(This leaves the realm of Humor and approaches the same sort of Insult that Adolph perpetrated on the French
,forcing them to sign papers of Surrender in the same Railway Car the Germans had to "Sign In" [Capitulate]at the end of WW1.)

Now THAT's the Clayton that I know.... :D:cool:

More incredible is the fact that there are actually people out there who would pay for such a thing.

Regarding the quality of foreign (non German) produced Benz's. I can comment on the ones produced in the South African plant up till I left the country in 2000, As the first three cars in my sig were South African. Of course there is no such thing as a Mercedes, or any other kind of car for that matter "made in South Africa" at least at that time. They were all SKD, ie semi knocked down cars where the components almost all of which were made in Germany were shipped to SA where they were assembled in the factory. The quality control was for the most part up to the German standard until apartheid induced labor relations issues and the infestation of the plant with ANC allied communist trade unions started causing trouble including actual acts of sabotage.

I well recall seeing a brand new 560SE in the dealer in Durban with a foot long cut from what appeared to be a razor blade in the rear seat leather.

All three of the SA assembled Mercedes I had, the 108 280S, the 116 280S and the 123 200 were essentially indistinguishable in any way from the German assembled 123 240D I owned here in Phoenix. In fact I distinctly recall that the 108's tire pressure info on the trunk sticker was still in German as were many other stickers in the car.

As to the OP's question. I really cannot comment, as I've never ridden in a newer Mercedes than a 140 S500, But I would have doubted that Mercedes would make a conscious distinction between it's model ranges in terms of quality. That is until I heard of them using Nissan or Renault engines or what have you in the new C, at which point I cannot see any reason to a, pretend the car is a Mercedes any longer or b, pay the obscene price for it.

- Peter.

Harumph harumph! Nissan? Das GAHBAGE!

DeltaWing First Track Test - R&T Exclusive Video - YouTube
Nissan DeltaWing launch - 13th March 2012 - Innovation that Excites - YouTube
When Worlds Collide: Nissan GT-R Vs Bentley Continental Supe - YouTube

Very few, if anyone, can predict the future with accuracy, but facts are a good starting point to venture guesses.

The 4 cylinder engine being built by Renault-Nissan in Tennessee will be designed by Mercedes, with funding from Renault-Nissan, in exchange for Mercedes building a four cylinder gas and a diesel engine for Renault-Nissan in Europe, likely for the Infiniti line. The Tennessee plant, which currently builds Nissan engines for US consumption, was chosen for the supply chain for the W205 production in Vance, AL.

Well, I wouldn't mind an optioned out one, if I had the money. But I would rather buy a ML63 AMG with the performance package, that is one SWEET ride!!