Crawling From The Wreckage

Crawling From The Wreckage

If I believed that the Mercedes Benz 190 from the 1980's was a pseudo Benz, imagine how I feel about this thing that makes the 190 of yore look like a gull wing SL. Mercedes Benz has always had lower priced models but everything is relative; a "cheap" Mercedes not unlike buying the least expensive house in a very nice neighborhood. Mercedes Benz pricing strata all but ensuring that their brand is exclusive but what then were we to make of the 2014-2016 CLA 250 with a sticker price about the same as a mid level Chevrolet Impala? The best I can make of the CLA is it would be akin to ordering a cheeseburger at a high end steak house. And get this, when you start throwing in the pricey side dishes, sorry, options, the CLA was no bargain with out the door pricing pushing fifty grand. What did they make this cheeseburger out of?

Left over Fillet Mignon? Judging by the number of CLA's I see around Cleveland, there are a lot of people who buy the "chopped steak" at Morton's. In more pretentious, image conscious cites like Dallas, Nashville or Los Angeles, I'm sure mall parking lots look like the storage lots for Mercedes Benz dealerships dealerships over stocked with these things. I don't think I'd have half the issue with the CLA that I do if I thought it at least looked the part like the old 190 did. My iPhone's flattering camera doesn't do this car any justice. This damn thing hit every branch on the ugly tree and then did a face plant into the sidewalk. This is a Mercedes? C'mon, man. This don't look like no Mercedes. You put a Chevy bow tie on this thing and people would think it's the new Malibu. Yuck. The diminutive 190? Again, at least it looked like a Mercedes.

And, wouldn't you know it? My wife is quite fond of this car. This one in particular since we both see it quite often in the parking garage of the hoity toity gym we both now go to on Cleveland's west side. You know the one with the carpeted locker rooms, movie theater and juice bar? It's actually quite nice. I wonder if she's smitten with the design of this car or the three pointed star on the grille and trunk lid. My wife is not one to be drawn to labels but she does have an eye for the finer things in life. I don't see what she sees in this car. I scoff at it saying that it's not a "real Mercedes". It's a "make believe Benz" for people who can't afford one. To their credit, Mercedes has rebooted the CLA 250 for 2017 and it looks far more like a "real Mercedes".

Mercedes's new line of more capable plug-in hybrids will start with the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE plug-in hybrid that the company says has more electric driving range than previous efforts. It will arrive late next year and will be based on a redesigned version of the mid-size GLE SUV arriving with gas power next spring. WLTP, an acronym for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, is a new standard for measuring fuel economy currently being introduced to Europe. It's expected to be more accurate than the previous NEDC standard used in Europe and more closely aligns with results from the EPA. It's likely that EPA results will be lower, but they'll be a lot closer. Currently the plug-in hybrids that can go the farthest on electricity are the Chevrolet Volt at 53 miles and the Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, at 48 miles. Even if the GLE plug-in hybrid ends up with a similar range to the Volt, it may be attractive to buyers as an SUV with more space and easier entry and exit than than Chevy's compact hatchback.

Last week, Mercedes announced plans to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids and make them more capable. The as-yet-unnamed GLE plug-in hybrid looks to be the first fruits of that effort. The company's plug-in hybrids so far have had maximum electric ranges of only 8 to 10 miles. Mercedes recently announced new longer-range plug-in versions of its flagship S-class sedan and its popular C-Class sedan for Europe, using a 13.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack that is expected to give them a range of 25 miles or more. To achieve a 60-mile electric range, the GLE plug-in hybrid SUV will likely need a battery somewhat larger than that. Mercedes has announced that it will sell its new longer-range plug-in hybrids, including the GLC plug-in hybrid, under the new EQ Power brand, alongside its upcoming lineup of EQ electric cars. Rival BMW recently announced that the next version of its mid-size X5 plug-in hybrid SUV, the X5 xDrive 45e, will have 50 miles of electric range.