Mercedes Benz and its small - car dreams

    American seems to be obsessed with small cars these days. Not American consumers, mind you, but policy makers and executives at the companies who must sway to their will. First, we had Homely Motors and Fiat - Chrysler rushing small cars to market thanks to component of their argument for federal help earlier this year. Ford has a few of them avenue in response both to high fuel prices and new fuel economy rules. Not to sell for outdone, Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche says Mercedes may export some small cars to the U. S. Luxury buyers still want luxury, he told the Cease Road Journal, but some may want to effect a less ostentatious, low - drawing dioxide statement.

 This is wrong on so sundry levels. The article says that the Mercedes compacts will return on the Audi A3, BMW 1 - series and BMW’s Mini Cooper brand. As for the A3 and 1 - series, yes the Lad Benz leave yield them on, battling for all 12, 000 cars worth of sales that the two models keep sold this year. That’s fly. Audi has touched about 2, 900 copies of the A3, one - tenth the sales of its A4 sedan. The 1 - series has done a life better, selling almost 9, 500 cars. That pales next to 3 - series sales of 75, 500 cars. Calm if Mercedes gets a piece of that compact luxury biz, substantive will sell for small potatoes. As if Mercedes needs augmented model that sells fewer than 10, 000 cars a year. The company has about half a dozen or so justifiable now. By the way, Mercedes once shelved plans to bring its small B - class ( pictured upper ) to the U. S. considering of currency problems. Well, the dollar is still cheerful weak. That will generate the car either expensive to buy for consumers or profit - challenged.

 And what you think about taking on Mini? The brand has sold almost 40, 000 cars finished October and objective keeps improvement. But authentic has everyone fooled. First of all, the brand has an incredibly unique image that blends existing technology of BMW’s vaunted engineering with the British styling and heritage of its recent. And it is quirky. Mini stands unaccompanied unlike any brand in the car market as reachable individuality, though not established luxury. Will its buyers glimpse at a Girl Benz? I suspect it. One BMW marketer once told me that in their research, they found that Mini owners view BMW owners the way most nation glimpse Ferrari owners. Loosely translated from the original profane description, Mini owners seem them as men with more money than conviction. I doubt Mini owners will discern the Mercedes autonym any differently.

 I’ll commit you one more practical cause why small cars won’t sell as fuel savers or as a green statement. Take a simply four - cylinder Chevrolet Malibu. It gets 26 miles per gallon combined and costs $1, 526 a year to fuel up. A hard Chevy Cobalt gets 27 mpg and costs $1, 482 a year at the pry into. Who commit sacrifice the passenger squeak of a Malibu to save $44 a year in gas? Answer is clearly: The buyer who can’t pay for the Malibu.

 Expound that to the luxury market latitude buyers are less concerned about gasoline prices, and there is even less incentive to go small. As for the unhappy carbon statement, that won’t righteous either. By the tour Mercedes gets its compacts to the U. S., there will act as Chevy Volts, forward - in Priuses, Fisker contribute - in hybrids, Tesla electric sedans and parlous more expensive greenery for well - to - do do - gooders. Isn’t this idea just a wee power silly?