Name: 為什麼寶馬和奔馳製造的廉價汽車會失敗？ (Why BMW And Mercedes Made Cheap Cars That Failed)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T10:58:31.000Z
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基礎被動語態

Luxury cars are typically meant to symbolize prestige,

wealth, and even excess, but sometimes they can come

程度副詞

pretty cheap. Every so often premium automakers push

out cars with starting prices well below the market

average. While many consumers see a car as a largely

rational purchase, a means of transportation, perhaps

a tool for work, and maybe a way to have some fun,

luxury buyers are generally willing to pay for a few

Buttery leather seats, real wood dash panels, and

However, in their quest for ever greater volumes, some

premium automakers are trying to see if they can get a

few more buyers down at the lower end of the price

range. While there are some advantages to going down

The average new car price in the United States in 2019

was around $33,600 including incentives and dealer

Power. That is for all cars, not just luxury.

About 40% of all premium vehicles sold in the US cost

Power. BMW, Audi Mercedes, the three largest luxury

brands by volume in the United States, are some of the

biggest sellers of luxury vehicles at any price,

One very notable example of a luxury car at the lower

end of the price range came from BMW in 1994, the BMW

3 series compact, officially known as the BMW 318ti.

The car was BMW's mid-1990's shot at widening its

highly successful 3 Series range of sports sedans,

But the three door hatchback sold poorly in the United

States and was discontinued in North America after

It enjoyed more success elsewhere in the world though,

A few years after the 318ti, Mercedes-Benz also tried

its hand at selling a cheaper model for the masses.

The Mercedes C-Class Sport Coupe or SportCoupé was a

three door hatchback or lift back car sold in the US

The SportCoupé had a starting price at the time of

$25,575. A pretty low price for a Mercedes.

For a few thousand, more buyers could opt for a bigger

However, at least in its basic form, the car lacked

many of the basic elements buyers would expect in a

Mercedes such as leather seats and a CD player.

The SportCoupé failed to make a sustained impression

with customers, and eventually went the way of the BMW

318ti. The model was eventually discontinued in the

US. However, the Germans aren't the only ones who try

their hand at selling a cheaper car that can appeal to

Jaguar, while under the ownership of the Ford Motor

Company, also tried reaching out to less well-heeled

customers with the X-Type, a mid-sized sedan.

The car sharing underpinnings with a Ford model sold

It was not considered a bad car, reviewers simply

didn't feel it was good enough to be a Jaguar.

Ford would eventually sell the entire Jaguar brand to

The automotive arm of the Tata conglomerate.

Despite failures, luxury automakers have continued to

see the promise in dipping into the mainstream market.

Mercedes Benz released these CLA in the U.S.

It was basically a sporty compact sedan with a

To save money, Mercedes built the CLA on a chassis

shared with another model and assembled the car in low

But some reviewers at the time commented that the car

lacked the rich feel of other Mercedes-Benz models.

A reviewer at car blog Jalopnik said the CLA is an

economy car dressed in a fancy suit, but underneath

Reviewers still complimented the CLA's outer design

and interiors and said the car drove well, but the

$29,900 dollars starting price did not last, the CLA

250 now slots in at a starting price of around $36,650

Mercedes-Benz cheapest car in the US is now the

A-class sedan, which starts at around $32,800.

That is nearly $10,000 cheaper than the next larger

class of sedans, the C-Class, which start at around

$41,400. Mercedes still considers the CLA an entry into

the brand, it is just that the newer CLA offers a bit

more than the A-class and a lot more than the original

CLA, which was regarded as pretty barebones for a

Mercedes at the sub $30,000 starting price.

Auto industry insiders note that BMW and Mercedes

brands don't really have mass market brands like many

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為什麼寶馬和奔馳製造的廉價汽車會失敗？ (Why BMW And Mercedes Made Cheap Cars That Failed)

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