poll: sports package or not

[mercpassion]

curiuosly i have been wondering what people think about the amg sports packages mercedes use, imo i think it is the most nasty thing mercedes offers, i can't beleive how ugly this makes the car look, this imo gives an unbelievable level of un mercedesness to the look, it adds an unbelievable level of brash, almost plastic looking, overly sporty overloaded look especially front of car, which is just unacceptable, mainly due to bumper, i can't beleive how popular these amg sports packages are, do people actually like their mercedes to look ugly lol, or just because of sports, no disregard to anyone by the way, on the other hand the standard versions of the cars look almost in a different league to their sport counterparts, standard version look like proper mercedes cars, whereas sport version looks like an over bloated thing saying 'look at me'..lol

 

[K-A]

Theoretically, I agree with you, and I appreciate your purity-stance on how a Mercedes should look.

However, realistically, the way M-B have designed their modern cars, I feel they're designed to look most "right" with the sports package, save for some models here and there (SUV's, etc.).

What I don't like is how accessible M-B especially in the U.S.A have made the AMG Sports Package. I liked it when it was expensive, therefore rare, therefore those of us who wanted some more unique touches on a mass production car could have had our cake. I don't like how "generic" it's become, as here, it's the standard M-B look.

 

[SKY]

I would say exactly the contrary. IMO, MB has gone boring and boring with their standard bumper designs, so there´s almost no chance of ordering your MB without the AMG Pack. You look at the new ML, the facelifted CL, or the W221, and the AMG pack is almost a MUST. It´s true they used to design better AMG packs a few years ago, and now they are always squared and weird, but it make some difference.

 

[mercpassion]

clearly opinions differ, but i cannot recall a single merc that looks good with the sports kit and i just don't know as to why mercedes advertise their new cars especially top models like sl for instance with sports package, which is identical to the one on say a b-class, sometimes i reckon in these small instances merceds doesn't understand the importance and excusivity of higher models, as the sl case, in this case a b-class uses virtually the same body kit as sl, also the rims are straight of slk and cls lol...also i think as mentiones should be less readily available.

 

[K-A]

M-B is having an issue with homogeny between the cheap and expensive cars, and if they're not careful, especially with them going more and more "mass" (more lower priced models), people will realize that the brands prestige by way of paying exuberant amounts of money for partly cachet-factor, isn't what it used to be, and they'll have a harder time asking $100+K for cars that look so similarly and wear the same badge as those who cost a fraction of that.

My Cousin who's a successful Dr., wants a Coupe or Roadster, and said that he'd consider the SL, but that "Mercedes isn't what it used to be meaning they aren't an exclusively expensive brand anymore, there are too many cheap models (he lives in Paris so has the A/B Classes), which makes it harder for me to pay that much money for one". He said for well over $100K, he'd rather get a used Gallardo, or an Aston, or a 911. It's true, when you spend that kind of money, it's not all logical at all, and you want some special-factor/exclusivity-factor.

 

[trader1]

Agreed about the exclusivity factor in the US you have tons of c300 with no charge "amg" sport packs running around with very similar countours to the the higher end benz sport packs not to mention the c63's.....they need to do what bmw does IMO and charge a pretty sigificficant premium for the M pack...that the way they did it years ago...lets hope the new S is more differentiated..otherwise would be pretty sad in my book...as it is the new sl front sport apron way to similar to standard b...get with the program mb!

 

[K-A]

Agreed about the exclusivity factor in the US you have tons of c300 with no charge "amg" sport packs running around with very similar countours to the the higher end benz sport packs not to mention the c63's.....they need to do what bmw does IMO and charge a pretty sigificficant premium for the M pack...that the way they did it years ago...lets hope the new S is more differentiated..otherwise would be pretty sad in my book...as it is the new sl front sport apron way to similar to standard b...get with the program mb!

SPOT ON about charging more for the AMG Package in the U.S. I've been saying that forever. It's a short term mind frame by M-B to put it as standard. Now that "look" is generic, and the general public sees the contours on the C AMG Pack, and doesn't see a big difference if at all from the $130K SL AMG Pack. When I had my W211, the AMG Sport Package was something I happily paid more for, because it was practically exotic and differentiated my car. Now just a few years later, they're absolutely everywhere.