Mercedes Turns In-House Tuner AMG Into New Brand
AMG is the world's largest purveyor of $100k+ automobiles. Daimler says the average Mercedes AMG buyer has an annual household income of $348,854. So… T he Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Mercedes has decided to semi-transform its in-house tuner AMG into a semi-separate automotive demi-brand. Announced at the launch of the new C63 AMG, the spin-off is an attempt to raise the profile of AMG as a super-premium. Uh, that's it. No wait; performance brand. Starting in the second quarter of this year, seven pilot AMG Performance Centers will begin offering sales and service for the blistering-fast, mondo depreciating uber-Benzs. The goal: 30 such centers in the U.S. by year's end. The new dealer network– attached to the old dealer network– will offer a number of marketing features aimed at luring buyers away from BMW's M, Lexus' F, and Cadillac's V-line. We're talking a traveling roadshow, a new website and an ad campaign. While the seriously rich are still… seriously rich, Daimler is launching the AMG demi-brand straight into the teeth of the worst automotive market for over a decade. Good luck with that.
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My daily driver has been a 1999 C43 for almost nine years.The car is addictive. If I ever have to replace it, I will find the money even if I have to stop eating.
AMG used to actually be something special when it was a seperate company along the lines of Ruf and Alpina until the mid 1990s I believe. Today AMG is a JOKE! An AMG Benz is no longer a "real" high-end speciality tuner vehicle anymore, it is nothing more than a silly package; some larger rims, a tacky body kit, and the corporate MB H.P. Engine. Today MB/AMG simply stuffs that same over-sized engine into every car with the AMG badge on it. Like a whore with no shame MB actually had the nerve to sell an AMG Mini-Van, and two AMG SUVs! Yeap, AMG is for wannabes today that do not know any better!
Looks like a bit of PR management... Distancing MB from the uber polluting AMG will allow the parent company to look greener when you look across it's product line in 12 months time.
Hi William442, I've been a 1998 C43 owner for 5 1/2 years. It was a pretty good deal as a used vehicle, although, honestly I'll never buy an automatic-transmission car again: not even counting the $6k transmission rebuild at 60k miles (a lot of early C43's ate the transmissions), I had the sometimes-rough shift into second gear, the low stall speed of the torque converter ruining the 0 to 10 MPH times, the bad fuel mileage, the unpredictable shifting, and--finally--the boredom and loss of control. Thanks for letting me let tell you how I really feel! :-) WhatDoIKnow1, you're right: the vast majority of AMG owners don't care too much about the finer points of driving. However, that's the same way with *EVERY* make. I called the local BMW dealer about a 335i sedan stick test drive a few months ago... "we'll get back to you" was the answer. A week later I got a call back: out of the 20 335i sedans, they finally had a stick! Sad. The C43 is the old w202 body style and is, therefore, the last of an era; the C43 is vastly different from the other w202 vehicles.