Hot! Mercedes-Benz, What's Next?

[SKY]

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.

If I were an S-Class customer as you are, I would not allow another cost cut on interior materials. I would simply keep the W223 or move from MB for good until they decide they want to go back to quality products.

 

[Pagani]

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

I am in Detroit Metro and seemingly one in five cars is a Cadillac. I like the CT5 and I think it is good competition to anything German. I definitely perceive it as premium and any Cadillac I’ve driven has felt and driven premium. Which isn’t the case with every Mercedes I’ve tried, by the way (although I am more of a Mercedes fan).

 

[Merc1]

I am in Detroit Metro and seemingly one in five cars is a Cadillac. I like the CT5 and I think it is good competition to anything German. I definitely perceive it as premium and any Cadillac I’ve driven has felt and driven premium. Which isn’t the case with every Mercedes I’ve tried, by the way (although I am more of a Mercedes fan).

You do realize that what you see in Detroit in terms of American cars means nothing in the rest of the country right? Everyone drives American due to employment and ties to the industry. That perception is not reality outside of Detroit. Cadillac doesn’t even remotely compare to Mercedes overall at this point. Outside of the Blackwing version there is no reason to pick a CT5 over any of the competition. Looking at their respective lineups it isn’t close.


M

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

If I were an S-Class customer as you are, I would not allow another cost cut on interior materials. I would simply keep the W223 or move from MB for good until they decide they want to go back to quality products.

They cannot possibly allow the cost cutting to hit the S-class. That would be insanity.

 

[Merc1]

They cannot possibly allow the cost cutting to hit the S-class. That would be insanity.

They have tho. Remember the W220?

M

 

[Sunny]

I am in Detroit Metro and seemingly one in five cars is a Cadillac.

I will be lucky to see a Cadillac in a whole month. And if I discount Escalade, maybe once in few months. These anecdotal observations, while interesting, can be very biased.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

If I were an S-Class customer as you are, I would not allow another cost cut on interior materials. I would simply keep the W223 or move from MB for good until they decide they want to go back to quality products.

Agreed. I would see little reason to move on from the W223 if there is a decline in quality and build with the FL or W224.

I make it a point of telling everyone working at the dealership, whenever I drop by, the level of quality and finish across a lot of the range now is simply not acceptable for a Mercedes and they should relay this to MB Australia.

I think they're sick of hearing it from me.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Mercedes-Benz cuts prices of popular models amid sales decline

Two more Mercedes-Benz models have had their prices cut for a trimmed equipment list.

www.drive.com.au

Are Australians waking up to the notable decline in quality and value, or are we just feeling the economic pinch?

MB Germany is pushing as many EQs at MB Australia as they can, and the dealerships are overflowing with availability.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

If I were an S-Class customer as you are, I would not allow another cost cut on interior materials. I would simply keep the W223 or move from MB for good until they decide they want to go back to quality products.

Absolutely agree with you @SKY.
My hopes for an improvement of the overall quality of the product, or even a constant quality, are not that very high, after reading what CFO Harald Wilhelm recently gave as an answer to the current malaise:
- cost savings strategy;
- standardization and purchasing.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

I will be lucky to see a Cadillac in a whole month. And if I discount Escalade, maybe once in few months. These anecdotal observations, while interesting, can be very biased.

Agreed. I'm still trying to understand why London itself is swarming with MBs, but the national UK sales are lower than Audi and BMW.

 

[Design FIRST]

"Made In Germany" used to be a most compelling argument in favour of German products. This has eroded significantly over the course of the past decade or so. Hence, a transformation as such gradually replaced it with "Made By Mercedes-Benz", "Made By BMW", "Made By Audi", "Made By Porsche"...and so forth. And now, we are seeing the luster of this dimming quite rapidly as well. "Good high quality value for money" is now beginning to eclipse brand loyalties. It appears that German manufacturers have yet to wake up to this.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

They have tho. Remember the W220?

M

Having owned an W220, despite all of the quality issues around rust, it was still supremely comfortable with a lovely interior. It just wasn't anywhere near as special as the W140 before it.

Mercedes really can't get away with that type of cost cutting with respect to the body structure due to the safety implications. Where they could cost cut is the interior, where it looks glamorous, but lacks solidity.

If they do that, they'd have to be insane because the S class is their flagship.

 

[Tuffode]

"Made In Germany" used to be a most compelling argument in favour of German products. This has eroded significantly over the course of the past decade or so. Hence, a transformation as such gradually replaced it with "Made By Mercedes-Benz", "Made By BMW", "Made By Audi", "Made By Porsche"...and so forth. And now, we are seeing the luster of this dimming quite rapidly as well. "Good high quality value for money" is now beginning to eclipse brand loyalties. It appears that German manufacturers have yet to wake up to this.

My E46 window sticker said over 80% of parts of the car were originated in Germany, when I got my G30 the window sticker said it was something like only 62%. It is probably even less now 7 years later.

 

[Tuffode]

Cost cutting doesn't just mean cheaper materials and stuff, it also will probably mean shorter development cycles, less real world testing/more simulations, less ways to configure the car for production streamlining etc. Nothing good will come out of this for the consumer.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

I don't necessarily thing reducing the number of options is a bad thing, if it means certain features come as standard. It boggles the brain that adaptive cruise is an option these days, for example.

However customisability with regards to interior trim would be a massive mistake. Particularly with the S and E classes. It's less of an issue for the C and below.

They need someone with better ideas running the ship, rather than just a bean counter.

 

[SKY]

Cost cutting doesn't just mean cheaper materials and stuff, it also will probably mean shorter development cycles, less real world testing/more simulations, less ways to configure the car for production streamlining etc. Nothing good will come out of this for the consumer.

It would be great to know these ratios for the cars sold by German brands nowadays.

 

[Spet000]

2026 Mercedes CLA To Get A 2.0L Turbo Engine Built By China's Geely | Carscoops

The new CLA will also be sold in all-electric guise with an 800-volt architecture

www.carscoops.com

 

[kiki voinea]

Absolutely nothing wrong with it, if it's good. And probably it will be. The Renault engines have proven to be very good and reliable.

But man , the hypocrisy ....

"Let's ban chinese cars just to make our own with chinese parts, but with german logo and ultra price"

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Absolutely nothing wrong with it, if it's good. And probably it will be. The Renault engines have proven to be very good and reliable.

But man , the hypocrisy ....

"Let's ban chinese cars just to make our own with chinese parts, but with german logo and ultra price"

How so? Hasn't MB been quite vocal in their view that tarifs should not be applied to Chinese imports?

 

[Design FIRST]

How so? Hasn't MB been quite vocal in their view that tarifs should not be applied to Chinese imports?

As have ALL German automobile manufacturers. Actually, GERMANY voted against EU tariffs being levied on Chinese vehicle and especially Chinese BEVs. China, in turn, has recently expressed its intention to halt any and all future investments in EU countries that voted in favour of the tariffs. Along with Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia voted against the tariffs.