I hope it's a better car than the Smart and the A series which is reputed to be a heap of poo.

In the new issue of Motor Trend magazine (it just arrived yesterday), they have a full page on Mercedes CEO Dieter, saying that Mercedes customers spend more on a car than the average car buyer because they are willing to pay for quality and state-of-the-art technology. He implies that the average economy car buyer complains about a $3000 battery pack but a $50,000 car buyer will have no problem paying the $3000 because they want the technology. He goes on to say that Mercedes will be offering a full range of alternative vehicles, from electric to fuel cell to hybrid to whatever else may come along. He said customers are willing to pay for it, and Mercedes will deliver. How many people buy an S65 AMG? Not many, right? Does Mercedes still make it? Yep. Same concept will occur with a full line of alternative fuel vehicles.

Hope it's an improvement over the "smart" car. What a little tin can, and not very good mileage.

Ha. I'll tell you why the average Mercedes driver spends more than the average car buyer: because they don't realize how much money they will have to shovel into it to keep it running! My fiancee's mom has an E-class that spends more time in the shop than in her posession. The only reason she hasn't gotten rid of it is the fact that the cost of maintenance has cleaned her out of any "extra" money that she would otherwise put toward something that didn't need to be towed every two months. (Or more recently three times in two weeks.) It may be a nice looking car, but it's a giant POS.

Wow,

This is great news. (I can't believe people are putting the effort down!). I'd buy an all electric A class in a heart beat and, depending upon price, a smart car as well. The only thing I have against the current smart car is that it has LOUSY fuel economy compared to it's size.

I REALLY hope this is true. My goal is that my Prius will be the last gas car i buy.

/Robert

Once you get my age, that's always a possibility.:fish2: