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Next Mercedes-Benz GLK to get AMG variant? Not likely...

If you think Mercedes-Benz will slap an AMG badge on anything with wheels, think again. Word has it the German manufacturer will not offer buyers a performance version of the GLK, with Tobias Moers, director of AMG vehicle development, saying that he doesn't see a market for the car. That's not to say the picture won't change in the near future, however. According to CarAdvice.com, AMG is keeping a close eye on the arrival of the Porsche Macan.
"Maybe there will be a change in the market when the Porsche [Macan] comes up," Moers said, "but right now, no."
The real hitch in the giddy-up seems to be cost. Moers says developing the machine into something worthy of an AMG would represent "a huge investment." We can't exactly argue with that. Fortunately, AMG buyers have plenty of Mercedes-Benz models to choose from.

Mercedes calls CLA 'best launch in 20 years' as it warns dealers of tight supplies

It's still in the early going, but it's looking more and more like the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA is a verifiable home run for the German brand. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the new small car isn't just widening the sales gap between Mercedes and BMW, it's attracting a new, younger breed of customers into the brand's showrooms. But that early success is straining supplies of the turbocharged four-door.
Dealers have been warned that the first half of 2014 will see limited supplies for CLA, with a letter to dealers indicating that "tight inventories and low days supply" will exist from February through June, despite the car's Kecskemét, Hungary plant running at full tilt.
"This is our best launch in 20 years," said Steve Cannon, the US boss for Mercedes. "The CLA has been a phenomenal success right out of the gate." The numbers certainly support that. We reported in early October that Mercedes moved 2,300 CLAs in its first week on sale, and now Bloomberg is saying CLA sales were almost singlehandedly responsible for Benz's November sales gains. Mercedes' annual sales are up 14 percent through the November, and it's enjoying a healthy 7,600-car lead over BMW.

Mercedes mulling Renault-based entry-level X-Class?

Somewhere in between the Smart brand and the all-new A-Class (pictured above), Daimler is said to be readying a smaller entry-level product for the Mercedes-Benz brand to compete with models like the Audi A1. According to AutoBild, Mercedes-Benz will get a new hatchback based on a platform from its recent partnership with Renault-Nissan, and it could be called the X-Class.
Expected to debut by 2018, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class could be offered in sedan, hatchback and crossover variants, and it would likely have a starting price below the $20,000-euro mark. Power would come from either a 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder engine or a 1.5-liter inline-four, and the car would likely be built in a low-cost nation in order to make the financials work. Wearing the Mercedes-Benz name, the X-Class would have to exhibit more distinguishable luxury and styling to set itself apart from the models that helped provide its underpinnings.