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Mercedes widens luxury sales gap on strong early CLA demand

Mercedes-Benz CLA sales have been booming, with the Stuttgart-based manufacturer moving 2,300 of the sleek four-doors in its first week on sale. That is astonishing. Mercedes moved nearly twice as many CLAs (which start at $29,900) in one week than Jaguar, a brand that is on a very solid roll, sold in all of September. Ignoring the price differences between the Jag line and the CLA, that is still wildly impressive.
Mercedes has been pushing the CLA in television ads, using a shortened version of its Super Bowl spot, which starred William Dafoe, Usher and Kate Upton. "As the bargain entrance into the Mercedes portfolio, we weren't sure how luxury buyers would react," Kelly Blue Book auto analyst Alec Gutierrez told Bloomberg.
The CLA push was just part of MB's 6.7-percent increase in September sales, which were also helped along by a 17-percent jump in E-Class sales. That surge has allowed Mercedes to widen its 2013 sales lead over its rival, BMW, to 2,491 cars, according to Bloomberg. If CLA sales continue at this rate, we can only expect that margin to grow.

Does Alex Rodriguez' Mercedes dealership have a PR problem?

Alex Rodriguez, in case you haven't heard, is seemingly the new Most Hated Man In Baseball, ostensibly replacing commissioner Bud Selig (for now). Rodriguez was slammed with a 211-game suspension due to his role in the MLB's latest steroid scandal in which "A-Roid," as fans have taken to calling the former superstar, was cited with steroid use and attempts to hide his involvement by "engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate" the investigation, according to the MLB's official report.
Why is this on a car site, then? Because Rodriguez' name is attached Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz in League City, TX. An Ad Age report cites Mercedes-Benz USA in saying that A-Rod owns "about half'" of the dealership. Mercedes, for what it's worth, isn't going to any to any lengths to distance itself from its dealership or its controversial namesake, saying, "We never promoted the fact that A-Rod owned a dealership, so there's really nothing to 'distance' ourselves from. And since his activity is not illegal but rather prohibited by MLB, there's nothing actionable here."
With the scandal still a fresh piece of news and A-Rod's pending appeal, it's difficult to tell what sort of effect, if any, his name will have on the dealership's sales. Ad Age contacted the GM of Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz to get the dealership's view, but no calls were returned. According to Mercedes, any name change is up to Rodriguez and his partner(s) at the dealership. Somehow, though, we think A-Rod has other things to worry about beyond his dealership's name.

2014 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507 still lights our fire

The current Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG may be in the autumn of its years, but it's still one of our very favorite sport sedans. Ever. Yes, its paddle-shift transmission may not always follow orders, but with stupendous levels of thrust from its charismatic naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8, ebullient rear-wheel-drive dynamics and that noise, we frankly don't care that it's getting on a bit.
As a sendoff of sorts for the current generation, Mercedes-Benz has just introduced a new Edition 507 model at the Geneva Motor Show, with 507 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque - an increase of 56 horses over the standard car. Mercedes credits the substitution of low-mass internals from the SLS AMG gullwing for the power bump, a tactic shared with the AMG Development Package upgrade that has been subsumed by this Edition 507. 0-60 is quoted at 4.1 seconds and top speed at 174 mph.
The Edition 507 borrows its aluminum hood from the C63 AMG Black Series Coupe, along with spidery new 19-inch wheels in either titanium gray finish or matte black with shiny rim flanges. As seen on our gallery car above, a sports striping package is also featured, as are glossy black grille, daytime running lamps, spoiler and mirror caps.