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The '''Mercedes-Benz C-Class''' is a line of compact luxury Sedans, Coupes and Station_wagons. The C-Class represents the most affordable line marketed by the Mercedes-Benz Brand in the United States. The C-Class was first introduced to the European market in 1993 for the 1994 Model_year as a replacement for popular 190 models. The C-Class became available in the Americas for the 1994 model year shortly after its European release.
==W202==
Image:C43_front.JPG
The C-Class was introduced in the 1994 model year, in part to compete with BMW's E36 3 Series. The C-Class proved immensely popular, quickly becoming Mercedes-Benz's best-selling class of vehicles worldwide. Much of its popularity was accredited to its affordability. The C-Class sedans are at the bottom of the Mercedes-Benz range, and are the smallest, least expensive sedans offered by Mercedes-Benz.
Models offered in the first generation were the '''C 180''', '''C 200''', '''C 220''', '''C 230''', '''C 240''', '''C 280''', '''C 250''', '''C 36 AMG''' and '''C 43 AMG'''. Several of these models were sold as sedans, coupes and estate wagons, but only the 4-door sedans were sold in the Americas. In the Americas, only the C 220, C 230, C 280, C 36 AMG and C 43 AMG were sold.
The C 220 and the C 230 were powered by a 4-cylinder engine. The C 240 and C 280 were each powered by a V6 and the C 36 AMG contained a V6 with an output of 268hp. The C 43 AMG was the most powerful C-Class sedan of this generation, the only one powered by a V8 engine, capable of 302hp.
The C 36 AMG, offered from 1995 to 1998, was the first AMG vehicle to be sold through Mercedes-Benz. Before the C 36, all AMG-tuned vehicles were sold exclusively through AMG. Only 200 of these C 36 sedans were shipped to the United_States.
The C 36 AMG was succeeded by the C 43 AMG, which was offered from 1998 to 2000. Over three years, only 1,411 C 43 sedans were produced.
==W203==
Image:mercedes.c220.thornbury.arp.750pix.jpg
Image:merc.c270.cdi.arp.jpg
Image:2004_Sportcoupe.jpg
The second generation was introduced in 2000 for the 2001 model year, and in the following year the C-Class was also made available as a 2-door Coupe-like Hatchback version called the "Sport Coupe," which is characterized by sporty styling aimed at younger customers. (The hatchback proved unpopular in the United States, which led Mercedes to discontinue marketing the model in the US in early 2005.)
The C-Class was refreshed in early 2004. In this year, the interior styling was changed in all three body styles. Different taillights were added to the Sport Coupe and several all-new engines became available in the European market.
The AMG models for this generation are the 349hp, 3.2L supercharged V6-powered '''C 32 AMG''' and 362 hp, 5.5L V8-powered '''C 55 AMG'''. The C 32 AMG was produced from 2001 to 2003, and was replaced by the C 55 AMG in 2004. The AMG models are available as sedans and estate wagons in European and Asian markets, but only as sedans in the Americas.
The C-Class is arguably one of the most popular automobiles in its class in many of the European markets. The second generation was for a long time after its release the second most popular new car in the German market, right after the Volkswagen_Golf, and in 2002 it achieved success in the field of safety by scoring the maximum five stars in a EuroNCAP crash test.
As of the 2005 model year, the C-Class automobiles are the cheapest in the Mercedes-Benz line of models available in the United_States, starting at US$25,850. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is built at Mercedes-Benz factories in the German towns of Sindelfingen and Bremen. The very first 1994 C-Class sedan was produced on June_1, 1993 and the very first 2001 C-Class rolled off the assembly line on July_18, 2000.
== Renewed version for 2007 ==
DaimlerChrysler is apparently planning to introduce a new version of the C-Class for the 2007 model year. The following is a possible list of features of the new design.
* Greater spacing between front and rear axles, as well as between left and right wheels
* A stiffer body shell
* Engines:
** V6: 2.5 L, 3.0 L, and 3.5 L M272 engine
** I4: 2.2 L common-rail Diesel
** V6: 3.0 L Diesel M271 engine
* Availability of a six speed manual transmission and a seven speed automatic transmission
* Availability of the Mercedes-Benz_4Matic system
== US market ==
The 2005 C-Class for the US market is available with four gasoline powered engines and the lineup consists of the following models.
'''C 230 Kompressor Sport Coupe'''
*Price: $25,850
*Engine: 1.8 L Supercharged 4 cylinder with 148 kW (189 hp)
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 230 Kompressor Sport Sedan'''
*Price: $29,250
*Engine: 1.8 L supercharged 4 cylinder with 148 kW (189 hp)
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 240 Luxury Sedan'''
*Price: $32,650
*Engine: 2.6 L V6 with 125 kW (168 hp SAE net)
*Standard transmission: 5 speed automatic
'''C 240 Luxury Wagon'''
*Price: $34,150
*Engine: 2.6 L V6 with 125 kW (168 hp SAE net)
*Standard transmission: 5 speed automatic
'''C 320 Luxury Sedan'''
*Price: $37,950
*Engine: 3.2 L V6 with 160 kW (215 hp SAE net)
*Standard transmission: 5 speed automatic
'''C 320 Sport Coupe'''
*Price: $28,250
*Engine: 3.2 L V6 with 160 kW (215 hp SAE net)
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 320 Sport Sedan'''
*Price: $37,350
*Engine: 3.2 L V6 with 160 kW (215 hp SAE net)
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 55 AMG Sport Sedan'''
*Price: $53,900
*Engine: 5.5 L V8 with 270 kW (362 hp SAE net) modified by AMG
*Standard transmission: 5 speed automatic
== European market ==
As opposed to the US, on the European market C-Class offers a wider choice of both gasoline and diesel powered engines. Some of them are all-new for the 2005 model year.
'''C 160''' (Sport Coupe only)
*Engine: 1.8 L 4 cylinder with 90 kW (122 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 180 Kompressor'''
*Engine: 1.8 L supercharged 4 cylinder with 105 kW (143 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 200 Kompressor'''
*Engine: 1.8 L supercharged 4 cylinder with 120 kW (163 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 200 CDI'''
*Engine: 2.2 L 4 cylinder with 90 kW (122 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: diesel
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 220 CDI'''
*Engine: 2.2 L 4 cylinder with 110 kW (150 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: diesel
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 230'''
*Engine: 2.5 L V6 with 150 kW (204 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 280''' (sedan and station wagon only, also available with 4matic four-wheel drive system)
*Engine: 3 L V6 with 170 kW (231 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual (two-wheel drive models), 5 speed automatic (4matic models)
'''C 320 CDI''' (sedan and station wagon only)
*Engine: 3 L V6 with 165 kW (224 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: diesel
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual
'''C 350''' (available in all three body styles, in sedan and station wagon also with 4matic)
*Engine: 3.5 L V6 with 200 kW (272 hp DIN)
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 6 speed manual (Sport Coupe and two-wheel drive sedan and station wagon models), 5 speed automatic (4matic models)
'''C 55 AMG''' (sedan and station wagon only)
*Engine: 5.5 L V8 with 270 kW (367 hp DIN) modified by AMG
*Fuel type: gasoline
*Standard transmission: 5 speed automatic
== Competitors ==
* Acura_TL (FWD)
* Audi_A4 (AWD/FWD)
* BMW_3-Series (AWD/RWD)
* Cadillac_CTS (RWD)
* Infiniti_G35 (AWD/RWD)
* Jaguar_X-Type (AWD/RWD)
* Lexus IS 300 (RWD)
* Saab_9-3 (FWD)
* Volvo_S40 (AWD/FWD)
== External links ==
*AutoGuideWiki.com: Mercedes-Benz C320 Sport
*Mercedes-Benz USA
{{Mercedes-Benz vehicles}}
C-Class
Category:Flexible-fuel_vehicles
Category:Luxury_vehicles
De:Mercedes-Benz_C-Klasse
Hr:Mercedes-Benz_C-klasa
Nl:Mercedes-Benz_C-Klasse