[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by bruce.augenstein@comcast.

Not to pick on you in particular, but there's a sort of theme amongst many of these posts which is sort of incorrect, and that theme is that MB is trying to beat the M3 on BMW's terms.

Not true.

They're trying to make money by addressing various market segments, and pretty much the primary goal is to address those market segments with offerings that first and foremost address their constituency.

Meaning: Don't alienate the faithful.

That means, no matter the market segment, the car has to look and drive like a Mercedes, with those attributes that appeal to Mercedes drivers. In turn, much like BMW has had trouble trying to dethrone the S-class with the 7 series (because that's Mercedes' home turf), Mercedes has trouble trying to dethrone the M3 because that is BMW home turf and "driving like a Mercedes" doesn't play as well in that segment.

The C63 is a very traditional Mercedes, with those attributes that serve Mercedes drivers very well indeed.

True, I'm sure Mercedes marketeers and engineers would like to beat BMW in all segments - but only on their terms. The decision to market all C63 coupes with that planetary-sized sunroof is an example of that.

I hate it, but they're addressing their constituency first and foremost, and somebody thought that was the way to go.

Bruce

AMEN! Exactly!