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Mercedes will not try to be "sporty and cool" to compete with BMW and Audi?


New CEO Dieter Zetsche aims to beat Lexus in quality, make the Smart division profitable, and lift Chrysler's productivity -- and all by 2008

Zetsche said Mercedes will not be trying to be "sporty and cool" to compete more evenly with BMW and Audi. Instead, through new products and marketing, Mercedes-Benz will be emphasizing, style, comfort, and engineering. He summed up the strategy with the word, "appreciation." Said Zetsche, "We want customers to know that we very much appreciate them, and we want them to appreciate Mercedes for what we are and what we can do." As for a sporty image, he says, "I will leave that to the others…Mercedes should stand for and be for people who have arrived, and we shouldn't back away from that." Zetsche, known for his sense of humor, is quick to add. "It all depends on how you define young at heart in this business. We won't take it too far. No one wants to be seen as an old fart."

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BM3WBM3W - 6/28/2006 7:03:01 PM
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Mercedes should have had this philosophy all along. I will never understand why MB went away from what made them the World's #1 Luxury Manufacturer just a few years ago. Now that title belongs to BMW and why? Because BMW sticks to their core values and not attempt to imitate something they are not. My opinion is MB will beat Lexus in quality in two years time. It will take them a while to regain the crown from BMW if at all.

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chewychewy - 6/28/2006 10:32:47 PMView My AgentSpace
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It is the right move, MB has always made very luxurous cars, even the latest AMG cars, which usually have the most hp, are not the most sporty. Good move.

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L0RD0FTHER1NGSL0RD0FTHER1NGS - 6/29/2006 3:37:29 AM
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Dude the #1 Luxury manufacturer does not belong to BMW get off their D***. I think the Luxury still belongs to Mercedes, I mean these no car out there that can compaire with the S-Class. I think Mercedes just puts more time to the higher end vehicles like the S-Class then the lower end cars. Also please note that Zetsche used LEXUS as a Benchmark, not Audi or BMW. Mercedes is still a car used by executives worldwide, they have just had some setbacks that now look like there about to be taken care of.

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PlanoA4PlanoA4 - 6/29/2006 8:15:32 AM
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The whole pretense of superior German Engineering is that of a Premium Car not a Luxury Car. I am worried a bit if MB targets less agressively they will become the Buick of the German car scene. I don't think for a minute they won't innovate, it just is sad to see them pull out of the pure sport aspect. It made the German equation more interesting.

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courtstonecourtstone - 6/29/2006 10:39:14 AM
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Okay ...190e are you serious? I for one am younger (not that age really have much to do with it), but I am knowledgable enough to understand that with all the performance, sporty appeal and technological inginuity of German cars it still boils down to one thing. QUALITY! You cannot deny the benchmark of Lexus, they strive on quality. Once your foundation is that, everything else seems to just happen. Why is Toyota overtaking the industry? Because in the early '90s they decided to build cars that will outlast everyone else.

What the use of paying all that $$ for a MB and you end up with quality/reliability issues. So MB's CEO is smart. Now striving to beat Lexus is easier said than done. I dont see any automaker doing that for quite sometime.

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PlanoA4PlanoA4 - 6/29/2006 1:54:24 PM
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I saw that and said WTF! LOL

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atomicbriatomicbri - 6/29/2006 3:58:20 PMView My AgentSpace
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Let's think back, W124 the 300e (E320 later) that was built from 1986-1996 was the prime of M-Bs engineering. It was solid as a tank, not a lot of quaility issues and engineered well. I think Zetsche is right in saying Mercedes will go for this again, they were there before. To me Mercedes has never been the sports car or sports sedan brand, that is BMW. M-B to me is if you wanted a stately, luxurious and well engineered car that would last forever and make a statement along the way. I know that sounds yuppie-ish but come on! The 3 pointed star is the SECOND most recognized symbol in the world! I think it would be great for MB to feel like the quality it once had like in the W124. I miss mine (it was rear ended and totaled) and I have not bought a M-B yet cause I have yet to drive any that felt as solid and special as that one... So if Mercedes wants to get back into being solid and engineered luxury, more power to them!

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KeyserSozeKeyserSoze - 6/30/2006 4:24:00 AM
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Your fixation & logic about Lexus being Luxury car & BMW,MB & and others being premium cars, is based on flawed logic.

Have you ever heared of selective perception, please google it to find out what it is.You obviously suffer from it.

Audi is VW no matter how hard you try to justify it, they share the same DNA, so do the the rest under VW including Porsche, and you want to call AUDI a Premium car! You must be joking.

It is just like the ES350 being a souped up Camry!

and so are Some of audi's Products eg the A3,A4,A6,Q5 ETC!

And please tell me , who is it exactly who decides whether a car is luxury or premium? even if they are on par in terms of everything.



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JUGNUJUGNU - 6/30/2006 4:47:02 AMView My AgentSpace
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I think all the remaining big 3,BMW,Audi and Lexus, are now out of the reach of MB.
They have lost many important years.the last 10-12 years.And in these years only others became stronger and stronger.

BMW:Beated MB Sales wise in the whole world.
Very fun to drive car,very original,very true to it's core/roots,the Ultimate driving machine.
WHile MB have lost the way in the Past years.

Audi:Beated MB in it's hometown.Germany.
Contineously growing,mainly coz of the failure of MB in the last 10-12 years.Great designs and engines.

Lexus:Beated MB in the US.
And dethroned the MB from the most Luxury car in the world title.Now Lexus is years ahead of MB in Luxury,Quality,features,reliability...all attributes which makes the Top Luxury car in the World.Lexus is the benchmark of Luxury.As agreed by New CEO Dieter Zetsche of MB and the whole world.

Beating Lexus in a 2 years time,and will overtake them.HAHAHHAAH
Beating Lexus is not a Child's play.u will need that what u don't have MB.
Fairly u r just floating in the sea of Automobile because of your reputation.Lexus is there because of their hardwork.


JUGNU----->THE CARMAN




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JUGNUJUGNU - 6/30/2006 4:47:02 AMView My AgentSpace
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I think all the remaining big 3,BMW,Audi and Lexus, are now out of the reach of MB.
They have lost many important years.the last 10-12 years.And in these years only others became stronger and stronger.

BMW:Beated MB Sales wise in the whole world.
Very fun to drive car,very original,very true to it's core/roots,the Ultimate driving machine.
WHile MB have lost the way in the Past years.

Audi:Beated MB in it's hometown.Germany.
Contineously growing,mainly coz of the failure of MB in the last 10-12 years.Great designs and engines.

Lexus:Beated MB in the US.
And dethroned the MB from the most Luxury car in the world title.Now Lexus is years ahead of MB in Luxury,Quality,features,reliability...all attributes which makes the Top Luxury car in the World.Lexus is the benchmark of Luxury.As agreed by New CEO Dieter Zetsche of MB and the whole world.

Beating Lexus in a 2 years time,and will overtake them.HAHAHHAAH
Beating Lexus is not a Child's play.u will need that what u don't have MB.
Fairly u r just floating in the sea of Automobile because of your reputation.Lexus is there because of their hardwork.


JUGNU----->THE CARMAN




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wooodwoood - 6/30/2006 4:52:11 AM
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Its only a matter of time until MB catches up to Lexus quality. The first step in fixing things is to admit you have a problem right? As for sporty models, AMG handles all of the sporty version of Benz vehicles. CEO Dieter's objective is correct and should have been started around 10 years ago.

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PlanoA4PlanoA4 - 6/30/2006 8:55:07 AM
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Where are you getting your figures on sales?

You are way off my friend.


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PlanoA4PlanoA4 - 6/30/2006 9:12:26 AM
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This is the definition of the difference between the two. It is basically the same across most of the industry analysts. There is an actual book on the topic written by a group of industry analysts..

The "Premium" brands of BMW, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, and for the time being Range Rover and Volvo, are superior to mere luxury cars like Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Rolls Royce, because they continuously set new high standards. The luxury brands merely follow and imitate.

This helps to explain why successful brands in America like Lexus are not so successful in Europe, where customers demand heritage and innovation above all,

Example:

Range Rover, now belonging to a volume group like Ford, would be in trouble if Ford failed to understand how important innovation is and might starve it of the necessary investment. Its air suspension was a benchmark and others have caught up. Now Range Rover has its All Terrain Response, which is something nobody else has.

If you look at automotive innovation over the years the Japanese have a truly dismal record of true innovations. They tend to have one or two hits or a proprietary item and that is it. Nothing that truly changes the market place, like ABS, or Stability control. They typically wait and see, if another idea is sound they use a variation of it.

Honda is one of the few that really does spend a large amount on R&D, Nissan is absolutely the worst. Nissan has the award winning VQ motor, but really that is the only thing in the arsenal and it has been around 12 years. The Germans ALWAYS have at least two or three engines in the top 10 list every year.

I expect you have a bit to say on this.


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MercBasherMercBasher - 6/30/2006 2:57:24 PM
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Mercedes will not try to be "sporty and cool" to compete with BMW and Audi?

I don't understand this headline, what the h*ll are all the AMG variants if not an attempt to be "sporty and cool"



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MercBasherMercBasher - 6/30/2006 3:02:58 PM
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To me the bigger revelation was reading that Zetsche admits that the "R" class was a mistake and that M-B needs to narrow its portfolio. This is what I've been seeing for a while. . . Smaller portfolio of vehicles has benefits (a.) clearer brand image (b.) engineering resources can be concentrated (c.) production efficiences.

GM should be paying attention too!

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ThaR8DonThaR8Don - 7/2/2006 3:02:13 AM
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CNK all I can say is you are truly lost my friend. If you read Porsche just bought stake in VW. Now how do you do that if you are under some one? Audi is responsible for 80% of VW's revenues. Yes they are the owned by VW but not created by VW. Nor does VW define them. 80% means Audi can stand alone. Unlike Lexus Audi once existed solo. This is a truth Lexus can never claim. And yeah they share chassis and other parts but some things Audi does not share such as Quattro. Hell the Dodge Charger, Magnum and Chrysler 300 are all built on the E class chassis. Who cares! Audi is a premium and always has been. They outsell BMW in their home market. The only thing that makes BMW and Mercedes successful in the US is we are all programmed to buy based on name recognition. While Lexus relentlessly persues perfection, Mercedes continues to tell the world you have arrived and BMW continues the ultimate driving machine Audi simply never follows. I agree with Plano_A4 with one thing to add, Porsche is now the TOP dog in the JD Power IQS knocking Lexus out of the top spot after 6 years! Now thats Premium!

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ZORADUNTOVZORADUNTOV - 7/18/2006 12:47:54 PM
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THE MB BRAND HAS BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED. THE STAR IS NOW TARNISHED.

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