new vehicles
| by Howard Keeg
Arriving
When I was a school kid in
the 1960’s I used to walk
to school, which put me at
the bottom of the pecking
order. Those with bicycles
or those who arrived by
bus were on the next rung,
whilst those with 50cc
mopeds were next, and
so forth. But top of the pile
were those kids whose
parents dropped them
off in a Mercedes-Benz.
It was a statement of note,
a ringing proclamation that
➲ You have arrived!
they had arrived.
I
was intrigued by this arbitrary
allocation of social status, and whilst
I did not endorse this I realised
that this was a powerful motivator in
vehicle choice, and as the years went
by I noticed that the three-pointed star
continued to shine and did not lose its
allure, despite strong marketing efforts
from the other two German luxury
brands, and some rather futile efforts
from the East.
This continues to today, and four
decades later I still notice it at the
bowling club, with white haired
gentlemen announcing as they glide
into their parking bay, “I have arrived”.
Money is no object for the well-heeled,
and even if money does play a role,
then a 1980’s Merc will do the job. At
the German club it is “Das Beste oder
nichts”, and at the South African and
other expat loaded clubs it is “The best
or nothing”.
The secret behind the brand is longevity
(Mercedes-Benz is one of the world’s
oldest automotive brands in existence
today). Add to this its reputation as
the leader in technological and safety
innovations and you have a powerful
formula, with the other brands always
playing catch up. Of course, with such
a reputation, you cannot rest on your
laurels, and Mercedes-Benz definitely
does not do that, whether it is technology,
innovation, marketing, or looking into the
crystal ball. An example of crystal ball
gazing is the fact that Mercedes-Benz built
the first “robot car” in the 1980’s, as part of
the European Union’s EUREKA programme,
which spawned the Prometheus Project’s
focus on autonomous vehicles; and
an example of market evaluation is the
introduction of smaller cars.
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a “small”
executive car, being the successor to
the 190 (W201), which was introduced
specifically to meet the need for compact
executive cars. The C-Class is now the
best seller for the company and has
developed an iconic status, which is sure
to be enhanced with the introduction of
the W205. Using aluminium extensively
throughout the body, resulting in a 100 kg
weight reduction, but with class leading
rigidity, the all-new C-Class heralds a
new chapter in the C-Class success story
and sets new standards in the premium
medium-luxury segment.
Excellent aerodynamics combined with
new economical engines, establishes
the C-Class as the benchmark in its
segment.
| words in action
46
july 2014
Add a host of new safety assistance
systems (the genesis of which was
the Prometheus Project in the 1980’s),
optional air-sprung suspension, and
emotional design and a high-class
interior, and you will have a queue of
new buyers wanting to arrive.
But of course, arriving
comes at a price. The base
C 180 BlueEFFICIENCY will put
the arrivees back R415 900,
the C 200 BlueEFFICIENCY
comes in at R436 600,
C 250 BlueEFFICIENCY at
R502 600, and the
C 220 BlueTEC at R459 000.
And you do not want to know
how much the extras will cost,
unless you have been arriving for
quite some time. But, at no extra
cost, the new C-Class comes
standard with the 6-years/
100 000 km maintenance
contract, and the option to
extend.