All Cars, All the Time

B-Class in the USA?




Does today seem like a mirror of Left Lane News? Sure feels like it, doesn’t it? Meh. LLN just posted a picture of the back half of a Mercedes B-Class being testing in Colorado. Now, there have been many other photos of B-Classes in the USA, so I think we have to take it with a grain of salt. However, there is the possibility that the B-Class could eventually make its way to the USA. Let’s not forget that the little bugger was originally designed with the USA market in mind. In fact the B-Class even appeared on MBUSA’s website under future vehicles and then one day disappeared. The official line had something to do with Euro/Dollar exchange rates, but we all know that MBUSA's President Paul Halata is a small car hater. With Halata leaving his post, could the door be once again opened for the B?

Another obstacle for the B-Class has to be the fact that a delegation of Mercedes dealers went to Germany to beg Dieter Zetsche not to sell the smart in MB dealerships. The dealers felt that that the smart “did not commensurate with the Mercedes-Benz image.” Wouldn’t they feel the same about the B? Also, the B has had some difficulty gaining traction in Canada due to pricing. I believe that MB Canada has already fiddled with the pricing/equipment to help correct that imbalance. MBUSA would have to be very careful about pricing the B to avoid a similar fate here in the USA. All in all I would give the B’s chances of making it to the USA as being slim to none. Not that I wouldn’t like to see the car here, but I’m just not sure that the environment is right either from a dealer or customer perspective.

While pondering the B, why not check out the Canadian microsite.