You Auto Know	Drive a Piece of Art by Jim Corbran

The 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

I know, it’s just a car. But...well, just look at it for a minute. Then compare it to the photo of its predecessor, the 190. For that matter, compare it to just about any family-sized sedan on the market and tell me it’s not right up there looks-wise.

Sure, it’s not the most inexpensive choice you could make, but that’s why the world has always had its Frank Lloyd Wrights right along with its Herman Farkles; people like to have choices. Some of us (or should I say, some of you) are lucky enough to be able to choose a Wright design, while the masses live in houses designed by the Farkles of the world.

Which brings us back to the C-Class. DaimlerChrysler designers have given us a sedan with the lines of a coupe. If you look around the automotive world you’ll notice this as a trend; right now it’s centered around European brands, but expect it to spread across the pond in due time. Let’s just hope the Yanks get it right. I see the opportunity here for things to go badly—like a roofline with such a slope as to leave no rear seat head room (picture a Ford Taurus from the early 2000s that’s melted in the sun).

DC designers have tagged the C-Class “Art in motion.” Granted. But they also call this new sedan a “Saloon” (with a capital “S” yet) but I can’t bring myself to go along. Sometimes I think PR people must get paid by the word. I mean really now. Read on: speaking of life’s “magical moments” (love at first sight, etc.) “A first encounter with the new C-Class is just such a fateful moment. It makes you stop in surprise and come closer. Curiosity gives way to admiration, which turns into enthusiasm...” and blah, blah, blah. Boy, when I looked at the C-Class for the first time I liked it but, holy cow, whoever wrote that copy probably had to shower afterwards!

One or two notable styling elements worth mentioning (besides the coupe-like roofline): the radiator grille goes from headlight-to-headlight, shunning the traditional M-B squarish, upright grill we’ve become accustomed to; the headlamp assemblies are themselves pieces of art; the side sculpturing is much simpler, and more elegant I think, than the higher-priced E-Class with its overdone wheelwell arches; and the 16-inch wheels themselves elegantly fill the wheel wells, even though larger 17-inchers are also available.

190

Speaking of available, the C-Class comes in three versions: Classic, Elegance, and Avantgarde. The Classic is the plainer-Jane of the three, “designed to appeal to drivers who do not wish to reveal the potential of their C-Class at first glance.” In other words, those a little tighter with the purse strings.

The Elegance has a little more chrome, a little more wood, and a little more color in the interior; and the Avantgarde is the sportier, “hey-look-at-me” model.

It probably goes without saying that the C-Class is packed with safety features, but I said it anyway. I’ll list a bunch here which are pretty self-explanatory, but there isn’t room on the page to detail the C’s complete safety package: adaptive brake lights flash quickly during panic stops to warn drivers behind you; ESP® and Brake Assist help correct heavy over- or understeer during critical handling situations; electric motors in the seatbelt tensioners respond in milliseconds to take up seatbelt slack during emergency or panic braking; sunroof and side windows will begin to close slowly in skid situations to better support the airbag system should it deploy... I could go on and on but there’s just not the room.

I hope now you’ll understand the C-Class lofty pricing structure, which should be announced shortly as the car will go on sale this summer at your local M-B dealer. Good art ain’t cheap.

More info at mercedes-benz.com.