Topic: First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz B-Class

[tpl]

I am one of the few people on this forum who has driven an A-classe   M-B.   I had it for a whole month and drove around SW France in it.

This was in 2000 summer.   I'd compare it to a Fit but with tighter handling.   It would pull 160 km/h on an Autoroute with 4 up. It went up and down the Pyrenees well enough...no rocketship up the side of a mountain but we kept up with the general traffic.   Economical as well even by euro standards  IIRC it did better than 38 mpg overall ( call me obsessive if you will but I always kept complete records of fuel use in those years of a different euro car every summer.)  This renatl had a 5MT and a whole 1.4 litre gas engine. ( the rental place did not have a diesel one or I would have taken it)

I looked at the B-classe turbo but the A-classe was attractive ( to me) the B-classe was ugly.    I will for sure look at the new B when it appears here in the metal.      IF I had to drive many miles per week on business nowadays I would likely buy a E-classe AWD, diesel if it was available... not a big dog M-B but an economical expressway cruiser.

[CanuckS2K]

I guess I grew up with the whole thing of, "ooooohhhhh, so and so bought a Benz..", and the next day they would pull up in a V12 S class. You pull up in a front wheel drive Benz, Id actually feel sorry for you, because you could have bought something much better for a whole lot less money and saved up till you could afford the big boy Benz.

Seriously??  I find that quite sad that you would actually feel sorry for someone simply due to their choice of car.  Not everyone needs/wants/can afford an S Class, AMG, etc.      

[SapphireSeo]

I think it's clear that the MB we all grew up with is changing, and like old high school pals, we really wish things could stay the same forever. The reality of the business world can disappoint; I remember when I learned that Fiat had bought control of Ferrari. Our idols can fall to more modest standards when the chips are down, but as long as they still stand by what they originally set out to do, it warms my heart to know that deep down they haven't changed a bit.

[JSCC]

I guess I grew up with the whole thing of, "ooooohhhhh, so and so bought a XXX..", and the next day they would pull up in a V12 XXX. ....

You should replace XXX with either Bentley, Rolls Rolls or Maybach.

Speaking of Maybach, not sure if Dr.Z may make future S/CL/SL 600s and 65s all into Maybachs variants in order to preserve the Maybach name.

[johngenx]

What the egocentric North Americans forget is that in the rest of the world, Mercedes is a "normal" car company that markets a large range of vehicles spanning from Smart economy cars and Mercedes-brand bare-bones models with tiny diesel engines to luxury machines and even large commercial vehicles.

They preserved a "luxury" image in North America, and in the last 10-15 years has looked to expand their product lines to include some of their more broad based offerings.

[CanuckS2K]

What the egocentric North Americans forget is that in the rest of the world, Mercedes is a "normal" car company that markets a large range of vehicles spanning from Smart economy cars and Mercedes-brand bare-bones models with tiny diesel engines to luxury machines and even large commercial vehicles.

They preserved a "luxury" image in North America, and in the last 10-15 years has looked to expand their product lines to include some of their more broad based offerings.

Exactly!!!

[dirtyjeffer]

What the egocentric North Americans forget is that in the rest of the world, Mercedes is a "normal" car company that markets a large range of vehicles spanning from Smart economy cars and Mercedes-brand bare-bones models with tiny diesel engines to luxury machines and even large commercial vehicles.

They preserved a "luxury" image in North America, and in the last 10-15 years has looked to expand their product lines to include some of their more broad based offerings.

Exactly!!!

QFT.

[shademech]

I actually like the fact that we can see some of their more broad offerings in the US.  We all know that they make some very luxurious cars, but that isn't practical for someone like me.  I can get the quality in a model that I can afford.  I hope that we continue to see more of their models in North America.