Mercedes-Benz A-Class

The A-Class (popularly known as the Baby-Benz) is a supermini car from Mercedes-Benz. The first generation (W168) was introduced in 1997 and a redesign (W169) appeared in 2004. It is available as a three or five-door hatchback.

History

W168

Production of the W168 A-Class began in 1997. It was also the first front wheel drive passenger car from Mercedes-Benz. To date, more than one million units have been sold worldwide.

One innovation of the W168 was a frontal-impact absorption system called the "Sandwich" (see patents DE4326 9 and DE4400132 in the name of Mercedes-Benz). In the event of a violent frontal impact, the engine and transmission would slide underneath the floor below the pedals rather than entering the passenger compartment.

The W168 became infamous in 1997 after failing the traditional "moose test" performed by a Swedish automobile publication. According to the report, the W168 overturned when maneuvering to avoid the "moose". Mercedes initially denied the problem, but then took the surprising step of recalling all units sold to date (2,600) and suspending distribution until the problem was solved by adding stability control and modifying the suspension. This marked the world premiere of stability control in a small car.