The New Mercedes E-Class

Here it is, Mercedes new, just rolled out in Detroit E-Class.

The mid-sized sedan is the lynch-pin of the MB line. For years, fleet buyers all over Europe bought E-Class diesels to serve as taxis; and for everyday buyers, the E-Class is smaller & less ostentatious than a Tirpitz-sized S-Class yet still big enough to say, “Guess who just made partner at the Darmstadt offices?”. Right-sized is what a big three ad exec would have called it not too many years ago. To use a movie biz metaphor, the E-Class is the tentpole for the firm. MB can stand to have sales of the SLs drop by 2%, but not so with the E.

So when MB rolls out an E, it’s something to pay attention to.

The most notable new feature on North American bound versions is that we can finally buy a 50 state legal diesel (the BlueTek). This will no doubt play to MB’s favor in a number of ways. It will attract dollar conscious buyers, and also attract green buyers. It can help with Merc’s CAFE numbers (which will be a bigger deal in the coming years), and can, overall play into the segment of people who want a Mercedes, but don’t want to throw money away to get it.

Many more pics & press releases follow.

Safe, comfortable, efficient -
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class sends a positive signal in Detroit for the 2009 automotive year

Detroit – the new star in the luxury segment made its first appearance on the eve of the 2009 NAIAS – as part of the Mercedes-Benz New Year\’s Reception in Detroit, Daimler CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche presented the latest version of the successful luxury sedan in front of over 650 trade journalists from around the world. With the new E-Class, Mercedes-Benz is setting the new benchmark, particularly in terms of safety and comfort, as well as environmental sustain-ability and economy. Under the heading “fascination and responsibility”, the Stuttgart automobile manufacturer presented a further two new models – the SLR Stirling Moss crowns the successful SLR super sports car range with an uncompromising high performance model. And with the BlueZERO concept, Mercedes-Benz is leading the way in environmentally sustainable electric mo-bility. The intelligent, modular concept facilitates no less than three models with different powertrain configurations on the basis of one single vehicle ar-chitecture.

“The new E-Class is the safest, most comfortable and cleanest E-Class ever. It is yet further evidence that fascination and responsibility go hand-in-hand at
Mercedes”, commented Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars at the exclusive preview presentation. “We are certain that the new E-Class will send a positive signal for the 2009 automotive year, and will be among the winners in the global market.”

Filed Under: Car News • Mercedes-Benz