Mercedes B-Class in 2011?

Update: The article is now up (subscription required). Automotive News thinks that the U.S. will get a small crossover and coupe. The models would go up against the 1 Series and predicted X1 crossover.

Right after my R-Class post where I had mentioned a 2011 B-Class debut here in the States comes an Automotive News article with the same date. The article isn't live yet, but I would speculate once more that we'll get the next generation B (even though the current generation was designed with U.S. standards in mind).

I was disappointed when the B was pulled from the U.S. plans, but after hearing my Canadian friends talk about how the B got very expensive, very quickly I'm not so bummed. Let's face it, she wasn't the best looker. I fell in love with a metallic black B-Class in London, but I think that was just a vacation thing. This happens frequently to me, I'm off somewhere else in the world and become transfixed (much to the vexation of my wife and travel partners) with a car that isn't available in our market. "Better than being infatuated with another woman," that's what I always tell my wife and no, that line doesn't go over that well.