I have been driving MB products for twenty years, but I'm afraid they are moving away from what I like. I don't care for the '08 C-class. I think its ugly, and in a way that I will not warm up to its design. Its appearance on showroom floorswill likely increase the demand and price for the '06 and'07 models, whichwill become classics in my opinion. Well, I'm glad I saw it early, now I can go ahead and get my '07.

Blue

 

Heres a link to compare them.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...tid=ov21759781#

If a focus group had asked me what I thought of it, given I have bought one MB every five years for the last twenty, I would have said that it looks likea "baby Rolls Royce", it brings back memories of the c240, which reminded me of a Ford escort, or some kind of Japanese car. Will I grow to appreciate this car the way I grew to like Porsche 928's? I don't know, I'm quite distressed about it.
What do you guys think?
Blue

 

WOW!!! I would have pegged you for liking the 2008W204 C-class i do and i dont think its not known that i really dont care for the W203 c-class i think they look Japanesse like but if i had to chose a C of any style i would have to go with the W202.

Selling the CLK?

 

The 08' W204 looks like a very good car, I like that the front headlights have standard clear corners..or clear tops in its case. The front looks big and bold, not necessarily compact and aggresive as I think of a luxury car. C-Class models of the past have aged well, this model looks like it may curve that imo. With the looks and performance offered, it should be a good competitor with the 3 series hoping that reliability is good.

The only thing I don't like is the front lip on some of the models. They remind me of the older E-Class with bland design. Also I'm glad to see 5 spoke rims available, they will make my car look up to date with the 5 spoke AMG rims I have. Perhaps the W204 will also be flexible with other C-class components?

I think if you don't like the W204 looks that you should go with a W203. Most of the bugs and problems that past years have had should be gone. Last year's models are always the best and with the new C-Classes rolling in, dealers should be offering good discounts on leftover inventory.

So many thoughts jammed into a few sentences. Sorry if they seem out of place or don't flow together.

 

What an excellent debate.
MBZ300sdl, AMGMercedes,all good points, well respected.

I asked my wife to look at the cars also, giving we are about to buy one, and the salesman asked us to wait for the '08. Abstractly as it sounds, her observation is that the '08 has an "angry face" and the '07 is "smiling".Ididn't notice it until I looked at them again, but its true, from a body language/design perspective.My CLK makes me smile. The salesman also asked me if I would be trading it, given that it is in perfect condition. My response was, I don't care if it costs more than another new mercedes to keep her rolling into the future, I'mkeeping her. She is a classic, and always will be. Its laid out in the classical design. Its design is basic and attractive. I apollogize for any offense, but I know from a design perspective, being married toan expert designer, and being myself an aerospace engineer, a BBA, and a car enthusiast,that the "08 Cclass design is "discordant", and bet it will fail in the market. It will fail in the market because it has that trademark "DR TRAN" japanese look, to attract japanese enthusiasts, betraying the traditional MB customers, and will fall short because japanese enthusiast will choose an authentic japanese product over a restyle. The loyal MB consumers will be left confused by the design, and choose another model, leaving the "08 Cclass on the floor. I'm an expert in the industry. Go ahead and save this post onto your flash drive, and mark my words.

Blue

 

You're right about the angry face, it reminds me of the Dodge Charger and the SRT Neon. Charger sales aren't too good either, the SRT Neon failed all together. Cars like the Mazda 6, the Civic and even the Jetta..those are smiling cars. Maybe you're onto something. How long do you think would be an accurate estimation for sales to start dragging? From the get go?

 

Well, I'm not saying that an "angry face" or "stance" is altogether a "bad" thing because a market exsists for those vehicles, but its a different market. It is the same market that desires a daunting intimidating vehicle. I think the problem will be that '08 will not attract the typical loyal repeat Cclass consumers, but rather a different marketentirely, and changing the target market is risky.Will the consumers in the daunting market accept avehicle with a mere2.8l v6, and 7+ sec 0-60? Will the repeat customers accept the new design?Who knows?
Car designers also know very well that switching from round headlights to squared headlights is one of the most dramatic changes that can take place. You can practically catorgorize the auto market into two groups, those who prefer round headlights, and thosewho prefer squared. Survey your own friends tomorrow; you will find some truth to this. Imagine the outcry if Porsche switched the 911s to square headlamps....
The change in the '08 is dramatic. It is dramatic enough to make me think that they were not satisfied with the sales of the '06 and 07 models, and felt a complete overhaul was necessary. If '06 and '07 sales lagged, it wasn't because the design was bad, it was due to the external force of the economyin general. I know times change and consumers change, but I certainly hope they have done their homework on this. Are they trying to challenge the marketshare of japanese cars in the 30's (kdollars)? This is risky because typical japanese carconsumers and typical german carconsumers have noteably different preferences.
Wow. let's see what happens.

Blue

 

OK, i'll stop complaining...I love the'07, and am currently planning to buy a white one.especially now.

 

Some thing when Jeep in 87 put square lights on the wrangler. But in 97 they went back to round cause of the complants. I personally like both round and square but put squares on a BMW no, orSquare on aPorsche no.

The reason that the C W203wasnt sellingIMO was it doesnt look like a Mercedes not ugly but notMercedesbut them again i dont like the W220 either. I like the Mercedes style of the 1960s-2000. That boxy large "cold indeference" of the W126, and W140s

 

It's not complaining, you've got a good point about the new C-Class. I saw in a magazine today that if you dropped $3,900 down payment on a base model C230, your payments would only be like $350 for 27 months. That's barely anything and assuming that you'd pay sticker.