There! Another one! This time: Michael Schiebe, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG. In an interview shortly before our editorial deadline, he uttered the phrase currently so popular among automotive executives: "We listened to our customers." Good heavens, what a crazy idea, one thinks as a journalist. And what request did customers make to Mercedes-AMG? That they might actually like more than four cylinders under the expensive hood. Lo and behold: The turbocharged inline six-cylinder replaces the turbocharged four-cylinder M 139, first in the GLC, and then, with the model update next winter, in the C-Class – in both the 43 and 63 variants with plug-in hybrid technology. Schiebe promises, in this context, "more revving capability and a greater spread between the driving modes."
Well, that sounds great. And there's also a wild CLE variant with a V8 engine on the horizon. The four-liter twin-turbo engine is currently celebrating its resurrection in the revised S-Class as the M 177 evo, compliant with EU7 emissions standards thanks to mild hybrid technology and a 180-degree crankshaft – and we're talking about the standard S 580 here; the AMG variant is still to come. Incidentally, the four-cylinder engine, one of the best representatives of its class, remains where it truly fits the vehicle concept: in the A-Class. The A-Class was actually slated for retirement, but even there, customers weren't willing to follow the corporate strategy.
Need other examples? Hyundai is working on successors to the i20 N and i30 N because – quite surprisingly – their customers aren't prepared to pay roughly twice as much for an electric Ioniq 5 N. BMW finally launched a Z4 with a manual transmission after numerous inquiries about why Toyota could offer it in the mechanically identical Supra, but BMW couldn't. Porsche is registering a lack of enthusiasm for the electric 718 successor and now intends to offer a combustion engine version after all.
But what are these blatant missteps based on? Management's self-indulgence? Subservience to politics? Both? Michael Schiebe explains again: "Previous decisions were made under different circumstances, and we also assumed greater acceptance. This has changed significantly in key markets, including the USA." You see, dear readers: you have influence.
But one thing is also clear: we must prevent the Saab syndrome. In other words: if everyone who is loudly lamenting the brand's demise had bought a Saab, the brand would still exist. So: what developments would you like to see? And above all: would you actually buy them?
