2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2008 Mercedes C-Class First Impressions

You've come a long way, baby. Baby Benz, that is.

This year marks the 25 th anniversary of the original Mercedes-Benz 190, a little car that led to some big changes, not only in Stuttgart , but across the entire automotive industry.

Whether or not to launch such a small car led to "an intense debate," recalls Juergen Hubbert, the former boss of the Teutonic brand, and a man known to many as "Dr. Mercedes." Back in the early 1980s, the definition of a luxury car was rigid and narrowly defined, perhaps best personified by the likes of the big Benz S-Class and slightly smaller E-Class. A compact? Verboten, argued the traditionalists. But in the wake of the second Mideast oil crisis, consumers were clamoring for something smaller and more fuel-efficient, and the radicals won.

It's easy to understand why there were so many folks inside Mercedes worried about the baby Benz. It was more than just a downsized S-Class - or perhaps less, if you prefer. On the most basic 190 models, there were cloth seats with mechanical adjusters and none of the electronic and mechanical niceties you normally associate with a Mercedes. Wood and leather yielded to inexpensive plastic. The exterior design was clunky and awkward, and the interior layout was unpleasantly inefficient, with virtually no leg room for back seat passengers.

Yet despite its drawbacks, the baby Benz proved an immediate hit with consumers around the world. It quickly demonstrated that size alone is not the measure of a luxury car. And at Mercedes, that led to a dramatic change in strategy. Back in the early '80s, you could count the marque's various models on one hand. Today, you'll run short of fingers and toes, with a range that includes the classic S- and E-; the 190's descendant, the C-Class; the SL, SLK and SLR; the CL and CLK; and, well, the list just keeps going.

Today's C-Class is firmly planted in the luxury firmament, and while it lags a bit behind its BMW counterpart, the 3-Series, it's one of Mercedes' best-sellers, accounting for over a half-million sales, worldwide, in 2001. The numbers have slipped by a third since that peak, not entirely surprising as the outgoing C-Class has come to the end of its lifecycle. Now a new, fourth-generation C-Class is making its debut, and to see if it can regain its momentum, TheCarConnection.com hitched a ride over to Valencia , Spain , to spend a couple days behind the wheel.

A sirocco was blowing hard as we landed along the Mediterranean coast - no, not the sporty little Volkswagen, but the intense winds that blast out of Northern Africa and sweep across Southern Europe. The terra cotta roof tiles at our hotel were ripping off with frightening regularity, firing like cannon through upper floor windows, but somehow, the line of cars Mercedes had set out for us survived the onslaught.

For 2008, the automaker will initially offer seven different powertrain packages worldwide, including the gasoline-sipping C180, the peppy C350, and an assortment of high-mileage diesels. Though not on hand for the media preview, we were assured that a high-performance AMG model will follow soon.

For U.S. buyers, the powertrain line-up will be severely curtailed, limited to the C300 and C350 V-6s and, eventually, the AMG. We're also hoping that Mercedes, bent on rebuilding the American market for diesel, will bring over one of those oil-burners as well. MORE-

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