![\"18c0973](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/01\/08\/PDTN\/56444204-e974-4b77-b3b1-7e3c0d99c108-18C0973_028.jpg?width=534&height=401&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
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Mercedes won’t be at the Detroit auto show this year, part of a mass exodus by European luxury brands. Detroit’s loss is Las Vegas’\u00a0gain.<\/p>\n
The German brand is using the Consumer Electronics Show in Sin City this week to roll out the second\u00a0generation of its redesigned entry-level CLA four-door coupe.<\/p>\n
Six years ago, Mercedes pulled the wraps off the front-wheel drive CLA\u00a0in Detroit. At $29,900 before destination fee, it was the cheapest Mercedes sedan then offered in the U.S.<\/p>\n
In a rapidly changing landscape, automakers have more options today to introduce autos. The explosion of internet media and video streaming has allowed brands to showcase a new car to media outside the clutter of auto show floors.<\/p>\n
The high profile of CES and favorable demographics of shows like New York and Los Angeles bring luxury automakers closer to their customers. Other foreign automakers expected to make news at CES this week include Nissan (the extended-range Nissan Leaf), Hyundai (Nexo hydrogen car) and Audi (infotainment system).<\/p>\n
Mercedes says\u00a0CES is ideal for the CLA’s debut because members of the news media are in Vegas to see the latest electronic innovations from chipmakers to automakers. Vehicle interiors have become digital\u00a0devices\u00a0on wheels. Mercedes wants to show off the evolved\u00a0version of its\u00a0MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system, which made its debut on the CLA’s compact sibling, the A220, at the New York show last year.<\/p>\n
With its emphasis on consumer tech toys, CES also offers a youthful customer demographic that Mercedes is trying to attract to its brand\u00a0with the relatively affordable CLA.<\/p>\n
“The new generation of compacts has made a key contribution to the rejuvenation and image change of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” said Mercedes in a statement. “At peak times, more than two-thirds of CLA buyers in the U.S.\u00a0came from competitors. On average, CLA customers in the U.S.A.\u00a0are around 10\u00a0years younger than the typical Mercedes-Benz customer.”<\/p>\n
The Mercedes CLA is dramatically updated inside and out.<\/p>\n
The CLA250 and A220 tout MBUX,\u00a0which includes an\u00a0“Interior Assistant” that responds to gesture controls to operate different interior features\u00a0such as turning on a light when the driver reaches to open a purse in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
Interior Assistant also allows passengers to communicate to the vehicle with voice commands like Apple’s Siri or Samsung’s\u00a0“Hey, Google.” Say “Hey, Mercedes” and the driver\u00a0can ask specific navigation instructions like:\u00a0“Find child-friendly Asian restaurants nearby with a 4-star rating which are neither Chinese nor Japanese.” Or Assistant will answer questions like: “What is the fat content of an avocado?”<\/p>\n
Interior design has been upgraded after criticism\u00a0that the first-gen car looked cheap with ill-fitting gaps and a tacked-on dash tablet. The new CLA features an electronic\u00a0 instrument and infotainment display housed in a broad glass screen,\u00a0just like upscale Mercedes.<\/p>\n
The CLA Coupe’s exterior is still its calling card. Its long, fluid shape and star-logo grille echo\u00a0signature features\u00a0of the brand’s flagship S-class.<\/p>\n
“As a four-door coupe, the new CLA intrigues with its puristic, seductive design,” says design boss\u00a0Gorden Wagener. “The\u00a0CLA Coupe has the potential to become a modern design icon.”<\/p>\n
Significantly, Mercedes has upgraded CLA’s backside which appeared to sag. The 2020 CLA\u00a0 tightens up the rear lines with bold\u00a0haunches and higher, straighter tail-lamps.<\/p>\n
Mercedes is light on engine details, but expect the CLA \u2014\u00a0which will also be offered with all-wheel drive \u2014 to share the same\u00a0188-horsepower\u00a02.0-liter turbo-4 as found in the\u00a0A220. A fire-breathing, AMG CLA45 performance variant will likely push 400 horses.<\/p>\n
When it goes on sale in late 2019, expect the price of the CLA to creep up from its current\u00a0$34,095, a jump from the entry-level CLA of six years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mercedes won’t be at the Detroit auto show this year, part of a mass exodus by European luxury brands. Detroit’s loss is Las Vegas’\u00a0gain. The German brand is using the Consumer Electronics Show in Sin City this week to roll out the second\u00a0generation of its redesigned entry-level CLA four-door coupe. Six years ago, Mercedes pulled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23268"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}