Mercedes-Benz is to phase out manual gearboxes, while “dramatically” reducing the number of engines it uses.
“Complexity adds costs,” said its research and development boss, Markus Schäfer. It has far too much going on, in other words. Which won’t come as a surprise to many of you, particularly if you’ve considered buying a smaller Benz recently.
Mercedes now offers eight saloons, nine SUVs and six coupés – although two of those, the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Mercedes-Benz CLS, have four doors so actually might compete with the A-Class saloon and Mercedes-Benz E-Class saloon respectively. Yes, there’s a CLA four-door coupé and an A-Class saloon.
I have no idea what the difference is, but then I’ve just been looking at a picture of an Aston Martin V12 Speedster thinking it was a McLaren Elva, so what do I know? And why do these cars with no windscreens or roofs cost more than a whole car?
But returning to Mercedes, I also understand that it's going to stop chasing so many low-margin sales, like tens of thousands of A-Classes on unbeatable finance and fleet deals, which boost production but don’t do residual values or the brand any favours. Volume is fine but, as plenty among the European car industry need to realise, profit is better.
Mercedes has 36 model lines. “We will reduce the number of options significantly,” said Schäfer. And that can be a good thing, unless it involves axing cars or options that you might actually enjoy, like a manual gearbox.
Fortunately, Mercedes doesn’t make a spectacular manual car – or, from memory, a particularly good manual gearbox – so this isn’t the terrible news that it would be if it came from Ford, Hyundai or Porsche.
I still worry. Driving is becoming ever-less involving, cars are getting heavier and electrical assistance systems don’t lend themselves to the kind of interaction you and I enjoy.
But to meet regulations, expensive complexity is inevitable. So car makers can only trim the extraneous bits, the manufacturing complexities they can live without. And those could be the bits that you and I like.
Two weeks ago, I rode a motorcycle to Dresden and back. At times it was too hot and at times it was too cold, I couldn’t listen to the radio, it was exhausting and I was shivering when I walked through my front door, sodden to the skin, at the end of it.
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Really, does anybody want to
Really, does anybody want to buy a new Merc or BMW with a manual gearbox? Really? Matt, just get real. Yeah everyone here will say yes, but not everyone will be real buyers. Get off the armchair and get real. Cos buyers off the armchair are not going to buy a manual Merc, just none of them will.
ICE engines
With many major markets announcing the end of ICE cars within next 15 years I would have thougt the first saving would be to stop any future extensive ICE development, Electric motors will be the foreseeable future, wherever they get their power from , battery or fuel cell..
Its not only the number of models that adds cost and complexity but also the enormous number of options, not just equipment, but variations of trim of all types. It really is unnecessary to have so many different finishes of minor trim pieces.
True quality seems to have been replaced by a Top Trumps game of gizmos and gadgets , which marketeeers have persuaded us is what premium is.
For a long time Mercedes have
For a long time Mercedes have only offered a manual gearbox as an option to those it thought couldnt afford an auto. They got it all wrong. They should have offered them on their AMG prodcuts, and now we would miss them.
As much as i am a fan of cars with manual gearboxes, this is not going to cost Mercedes too many sales