My Hitler Video: Mercedes Enthusiasts Reaction to the CLA
 

My first try at this. Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omkJmE1NwDc

Well done sir. I think I just gave your video its first "like".

Me, too. This is so good and in humor states the truth. In my mind the M-B that I knew that was the glory of Germany has been out of business for a couple of decades.
My favorite lines:

"The people who built my car (referring to a 300SD) would send these CLA designers to the gas chamber".

"Anyone who does not know the difference between a 123, 124, and 126 leave now".

Over in Frankfurt this week, where the GLA and the AMG CLA45 racers were displayed, it's obvious that Daimler believes that its future depends on attracting more buyers of new cars who are under the age of 50.

Great video, but "torque steel?" ;)

Very funny :D. I also liked these two:

(In reference to the 135i): "It also doesn't look like a Toyota Corolla"

and: "It's Aztec bad"

If someone gave me a FWD Mercedes, I would drive it in reverse.

That is MOST humorous :D :D :D

That was f****n hilarious.

Mercedes appear to be seriously trying for a new group of consumers. Quality has to vastly improve to pull it off I think. Word of mouth currently is not there.

When you pay for quality and it is not there is a death spiral for a company over time.

A friend of mine who worked for a Mercedes dealership during the 70s and 80s told me this:

Starting in the early 1990s, the original Mercedes engineers and craftsman began to either retire or die off. Up until this time period, the cars were painted basic colors, same Becker radio, simple designs which were perhaps the best cars ever manufactured. The old timers were gradually replaced by Generation Y and Xers.

The new crew decided to work fast and set aside the 'old ways'. After all, those old timers didn't understand anything about building great automobiles. Only us smart ass-wet-behind-the-ears, fresh-out-of-engineering school know nothings understand how to build a great car! Steel bumpers were gradually replaced by plastic bumpers. Simple engine designs were replaced by multiple computer system controlled engines. Weight was reduced by stripping off chrome and metal and building smaller, lighter versions of earlier models The 'plastic' computerized car was borne.

A few weeks ago, I pulled up alongside a newish E300 in the 560. I carefully looked it over and it wasn't difficult to see that it was not only smaller than a 560 but also smaller than a 300D. I'm sure it might get great gas mileage but at what price?

The price is survival. MB (and all the others) could build and design cars the way they did back in the 'good old days' and go bankrupt or they can adjust and give the people what they want. Porch purists got all bent when Porch built the Cayanne but that SUV helps Porch build the 911. So get over it already. Porch is not building an air cooled car anymore, Ferrari does not offer a manual trans any more. MB does not and never will build a 126 any more. Get over it already.

Just to be clear, we here on Peach Parts are not 'the people'.

Yeah, those dealership guys are "in the know" about the goings on in Stuttgart. :D

Shedding "Old Man Image"

“Mercedes used to have an old man’s image because only old men could afford the cars,” said Philipp Wenz, a 19-year-old from a Frankfurt suburb who wants to be a pilot. “The new models are miles away from the vehicles Mercedes offered 10 years ago.”

David, Porch . . .Cayanne . . . auto correction?

Last I read, major consumer magazines rate Mercedes Benz somewhere around #10 or lower for customer satisfaction. Seems Honda, Toyota and Lexus rule the road. Germans tend to lack with regards to marketing skills. They need to step up their game and take back what belongs to them, market wise. Go back to building a quality trouble-free product. Second, dealer support just isn't there. Word of mouth is there, but it isn't good news. I hear many complaints about Mercedes dealer support. That alone has created a mass exodus from the brand.

In this case the dealership guys were in the loop. The owner was tight with Stuttgart.....they flew him to Germany regularly for meetings. The heads of MB wanted to know how things were going 'in the field' and 'what can we do to better support the dealer?' and 'how can we better build our brand?', etc etc.

Husky, the "major consumer magazine" is likely Consumer Reports, whose readers have never been a fan of Mercedes. It's more a reflection of their demographics than the actual cars.

Oh please . . . MBUSA ruled to roost in the US and Canada. If there was travel, it was the "atta boy" and sales and marketing junkets. If there's anything to be learned from car sales guys . . . they sure know how to tell a story and the story gets better every time they tell it. But of course, if you want to believe the tales of a car sales guy . . . and we sort of know where they rank with consumers, be my guest. ;)