Hot! Mercedes-Benz, What's Next?

[Matski]

Haha, how very true. I have that Beosound 9000 by the way.

I can remember very little of the specifics these days, but I do remember we were required to mention that the acceleration of the disc clamp was greater than that of a Ferrari. I think by the time you'd bought your kit we'd ceased being a B&O dealer. The 9000 Mk1, the Overture, the Century, BeoCentre 9500, and the BeoVision Avant and AV5 were the core products we sold.

Funnily, talking about this, I've also just remember we sold the Ferrari F80 speaker from Meridian... guess that was ahead of it's time.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

This is exactly why I was shocked the board decided to extend Ola's contract in summer 2023 even though his contract wasn't set to expire until May of this year. It was a big vote of confidence to extend his contract ahead of time despite softness showing back then with the lagging EV sales.

Mercedes needs to be headed by an engineer, not a bean counting accountant who thinks he know the customer better than they know themselves.

 

[Fastpaddy]

B&O have always been on drugs price wise, but offering a new version of the old BeoSound9000 for £45,000 is just ****ing offensive. That's about 15 times the price they were when I used to sell them, and they weren't worth it then.

What gets me is a their theatre soundbar that was 5-6k on release but now want 11k for. Such a steep price hike for the same product is insane.

And I think their marketing strategy is flawed, its such a small market they are playing in, and its not like a car where people update or trade in every 3 years.

 

[Fastpaddy]

Mercedes needs to be headed by an engineer, not a bean counting accountant who thinks he know the customer better than they know themselves.

Can say the same for the new AMG boss that thinks we buy AMG’s for the technology and not the v8’s

No sir, we buy them for their big brute engines, what tech has amg innovated anyway?

Its like they just ignore market forces such as their c63 flop

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Can say the same for the new AMG boss that thinks we buy AMG’s for the technology and not the v8’s

No sir, we buy them for their big brute engines, what tech has amg innovated anyway?

Its like they just ignore market forces such as their c63 flop

And they're still releasing ridiculous statements defending their hybrid disaster 63.

Just shut up and move on and deliver us proper AMGs again.

 

[Design FIRST]

Ola Källenius has not yet been ousted and M-B CFO Harald Wilhelm is now even more fervently preaching "cost cutting". This will encompass, among other factors, the "cost of materials used". This smacks of sheer panic rather than sound, big picture focused business acumen. Not good. Not good at all.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Utter stupidity. Let's cheapen the cars to Chinese levels and charge German prices. The German premium manufacturers need to accept they can not be the volume manufacturers the Chinese are and need to sell quality, not just badges. Especially when design is becoming increasingly easier for lower end manufacturers to replicate and innovate.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Ola Källenius has not yet been ousted and M-B CFO Harald Wilhelm is now even more fervently preaching "cost cutting". This will encompass, among other factors, the "cost of materials used". This smacks of sheer panic rather than sound, big picture focused business acumen. Not good. Not good at all.

Cost cutting has never worked.
The board needs to bin these jokers.

 

[Merc1]

Do they just not understand what a Mercedes is? Once Mercedes loses the ability to charge big prices it’s over. They’ll be the new Cadillac, a brand still trying to become relevant again.

M

 

[SKY]

This is going to hurt badly the brand's equity. German car makers should have more consideration for their clients' intelligence. Everyone is seeing how the quality gap that existed 20 years ago between the German cars and the rest is gone. Hard to justify how an Audi Q4 is any better than a Peugeot 3008. Or why would anyone pay more for a GLC than for a Mazda CX-60.

 

[Pagani]

Do they just not understand what a Mercedes is? Once Mercedes loses the ability to charge big prices it’s over. They’ll be the new Cadillac, a brand still trying to become relevant again.

M

I think you are wrong on Cadillac. IMO that brand has already reinvented itself and that started in the first CTS. It is hip yet premium again and desirable.

Mercedes has a lot to lose on its brand equity and they must navigate this screen-exclusive tech really carefully. I view the V8 issue an AMG-only issue. They should stick with the V8 as the pillar of their ICE strategy and forget this 4- and 6-cylinder nonsense, other than for 43/53 models. That is crucial for the “63” brand.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Mercedes and the rest of the Germans have a big problem. Non of their EVs come across as being better than their much cheaper EV rivals in terms of drivetrain or quality. Their only USP appears to be their UI's for now, alongside brand and styling (highly subjective and arguably a weak). What happens when Android Auto and Apple Carplay offer a superior experience overall?

 

[Merc1]

I think you are wrong on Cadillac. IMO that brand has already reinvented itself and that started in the first CTS. It is hip yet premium again and desirable.

Mercedes has a lot to lose on its brand equity and they must navigate this screen-exclusive tech really carefully. I view the V8 issue an AMG-only issue. They should stick with the V8 as the pillar of their ICE strategy and forget this 4- and 6-cylinder nonsense, other than for 43/53 models. That is crucial for the “63” brand.

The CTS? The car that was cancelled? And its successor that is largely irrelevant in the market? Cadillac has one relevant vehicle, the Escalade. The rest are complete also rans in every segment they compete in. No one I know owns a Cadillac. Tesla, Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, not a single Cadillac. Cadillac isn’t hip and nothing about their products outside the Escalade and Lyriq are premium. Every single sedan they’ve tried to sells flops. Rename, then try again only to fail. Not sure what version of Cadillac you’re looking at sir.

M

 

[Merc1]

Mercedes and the rest of the Germans have a big problem. Non of their EVs come across as being better than their much cheaper EV rivals in terms of drivetrain or quality. Their only USP appears to be their UI's for now, alongside brand and styling (highly subjective and arguably a weak). What happens when Android Auto and Apple Carplay offer a superior experience overall?

I said it a few years ago, but the EV she will be the great equalizer. Dead, irrelevant, laggard brands get to reinvent themselves. The Germans won’t see it coming at their current pace.

M

 

[Design FIRST]

Mercedes and the rest of the Germans have a big problem. Non of their EVs come across as being better than their much cheaper EV rivals in terms of drivetrain or quality. Their only USP appears to be their UI's for now, alongside brand and styling (highly subjective and arguably a weak). What happens when Android Auto and Apple Carplay offer a superior experience overall?

Germans may have an edge when it comes to suspensions, steering and hence the tactility of the driving experience. That too, however, could eventually evaporate. What appears to be a major issue is the quality of interior materials and interior fit and finish. With very few exceptions (the new J1.2 Taycan is reportedly at the top of its game in this aspect), most of the more recent German product presentations are proving disappointing. Case in point: The new Audi A5s are already coming under fire in the German automotive press for interior quality not suitable for a declared "premium brand". Especially many material applications appear downright "cheap". No bueno.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Though EV are of zero interest to me, interior- and overall quality are. Mercedes still delivers in a technical quality sense regarding drivetrain, their ICE and build. The materials used for the interior however lack quality, the further down the line, the worse it gets. In favor of EV mobility, they saved in the classic ICE research and development department, ICE in general in fact. That shows everywhere if you ask me. On top of that, the prices have reached an unpleasant level, both for ICE and EV.
If the time comes, when customers start to ask themselves, why should I pay 20% more for a Mercedes-Benz than for brand X, it‘s getting critical.

 

[kiki voinea]

Let's cheapen the cars to Chinese levels

If you have the opportunity to go to a car show , please visit some chinese brands.

You would be surprised of how far they have gone with design and quality.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

Though EV are of zero interest to me, interior- and overall quality are. Mercedes still delivers in a technical quality sense regarding drivetrain, their ICE and build. The materials used for the interior however lack quality, the further down the line, the worse it gets. In favor of EV mobility, they saved in the classic ICE research and development department, ICE in general in fact. That shows everywhere if you ask me. On top of that, the prices have reached an unpleasant level, both for ICE and EV.
If the time comes, when customers start to ask themselves, why should I pay 20% more for a Mercedes-Benz than for brand X, it‘s getting critical.

The one thing the Germans will always have, is more sophisticated electromechanical systems and suspension geometry. You can't do that cheaply, so the cars with really good set-ups will just always cost more. The question is, do you want to pay for that?

 

[SKY]

Germans may have an edge when it comes to suspensions, steering and hence the tactility of the driving experience. That too, however, could eventually evaporate. What appears to be a major issue is the quality of interior materials and interior fit and finish. With very few exceptions (the new J1.2 Taycan is reportedly at the top of its game in this aspect), most of the more recent German product presentations are proving disappointing. Case in point: The new Audi A5s are already coming under fire in the German automotive press for interior quality not suitable for a declared "premium brand". Especially many material applications appear downright "cheap". No bueno.

Very interesting. Audi is to me one of the brands which has totally lost its plot in the last 10 years. MB is just getting there too. And I thought BMW was doing things better in terms of cost cutting, but the latest 5er and X3 clearly show BMW is also taking steps into the wrong direction. At least the EVs BMW is presenting look interesting. This cannot be said by MB or Audi.

Also quite curious about the facelifted Taycan interior quality. I was under the impression Porsche ICEs were using worse materials now.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

The one thing the Germans will always have, is more sophisticated electromechanical systems and suspension geometry. You can't do that cheaply, so the cars with really good set-ups will just always cost more. The question is, do you want to pay for that?

I’ve always paid for that. The question is however, if the lead is still there. Isn’t a former BMW M engineer Albert Biermann working for Hyundai? Aparently he’s done some great work at Hyundai.
And what I personally like, a wafty and floating comfortable drive in a cocooned interior, I can get at Lexus as well.