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I wouldn't worry about the C-Class. Every article comparing it to the new 3 commented 1. on how good it is for its age, and 2. how remarkably small it is. What this CLA signals is here comes a bigger C. Fewer people can afford a mid-$50s E class, than could afford the previously mid-$40s E class, so something has to fill that void. Enter larger C. Where I think sales will be hurt long run is on the high end. The S-Class and 7 and A8. Maybe not in total numbers, but as a share of cars sold, I bet if you go back 20 or 30 years, those cars today make up a much smaller percentage of sales for these brands. Take the S-class of the 80s, the W126. Aside from being, IMHO, the best Benz ever built from a quality standpoint, they sold a ton of those things. If I had to guess I'd say those sales were a larger percentage in any given year than the S class sales are today. Maybe someone will dig up the numbers for us!
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