All Cars, All the Time

Next Gen A/B Class May Be Headed to USA?

In a WSJ interview, our man Dieter said that because of rising gas prices in the U.S. market there was a potential market for a Mercedes A-Class or B-Class in the U.S.

However, the euro exchange rates have not been favorable toward introducing these models in the U.S. Mercedes has lower cost targets for the next generation B-Class, which may provide more opportunity for bringing that model to the U.S. market.

The on again / off again struggle for the B in the US rather mirrors its sister the smart. MB dealers in the USA may have something to say about the plan for the smaller cars, however, as the mantra "Nothing less than the C-Class sedan" has been shouted from dealer meetings for several years now.

I personally welcome any/all comers to the market and I'd like to see more high end options for folks looking to be efficient. Of course, a diesel version of these buggies would be ideal. I'm still sticking to my guns that these cars would be better marketed in the USA as smarts.