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2003 Mercedes-Benz C230 Sport 6-speed manual

Published October 11, 2014 by Paul

Almost immediately after the C class was introduced for the 1994 model year, plans were being drawn up for its successor, the W203, which wouldn’t appear until the turn of the century. When it debuted, the styling was a bit of a departure from the old W202 C class, with headlamps adapted from the W210 E class style for this smaller package. The car was panned for it’s interior that seemed a bit low-rent in comparison to its predecessor and a level of quality that seemed out of sync with what the marque stood for. Nevertheless, this was a popular car for Mercedes-Benz, with over two million sold over the course of seven model years. In 2003, Mercedes dropped their 1.8 liter supercharged four cylinder into the C class sedan to form this car, the C230 Sport Sedan. This example for sale in Miami is one of the rare ones equipped with the 6-speed manual gearbox.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Mercedes-Benz C230 Sport on eBay

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10K Friday Performance Edition: M3 v. 944 Turbo v. CLK500 v. S4 v. GTi

Published July 18, 2014 by Carter

Well, I hope this will stir some interest, as I think this is a bit of an interesting comparison. What level of performance can you buy for $10,000 (give or take) these days? Surprisingly, there are a lot of options – and those options vary pretty seriously in their execution and packages; there’s a wagon and a sports car, two sedan-based coupes and a hatchback. Engines range from a 2 liter turbo to a V8, with a bit of everything in between. Yet, what appears to be a very strange comparison linked only by price is revealed to be much closer when you look at performance figures:

E36 M3: 240 hp, 0-60 6.0 seconds, 3,200 lbs
944 Turbo: 220 hp, 0-60 5.9 seconds, 2,900 lbs
CLK500: 302 hp, 0-60 5.7 seconds, 3,800 lbs
S4 Avant: 250 hp, 0-60 5.6 seconds, 3,700 lbs
GTi: 200 hp, 0-60 6.6 seconds, 3,200 lbs

The range is much closer than you’d expect – especially when you consider that these figures could easily be equaled in margin of error, driver skill and reaction time. In the twisties, the lower powered cars like the GTi catch up to the higher power CLK and S4. All are, in one way or another, practical choices. Some are destined (or already) classics, while others will likely fade away. So what would be your choice? Let’s start with an M3 we’ve already seen:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M3 on eBay

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2004 Mercedes-Benz C320 Sportcoupe 6-speed manual

Published June 17, 2014 by Paul

For some reason, certain cars just don’t catch on in the US. Every since trading my 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230 Sport (sans fold down rear seats) for an MINI Cooper S, I’m happy that once again I have a hatchback and a car with some useful cargo capacity. It baffles me then, why those in the US don’t take kindly to hatchbacks. Plenty of folks drive around SUVs with a rear hatch, so why not transfer this versatility onto something a smaller, more efficient and in most cases, more fun to drive? Also, a rear trunk doesn’t look that good on certain small cars. Yes, Mercedes-Benz CLA, I’m looking at you.

Mercedes tried its hand at the hatchback formula shortly after BMW exited with it’s E36 based 318ti Compact. The new C class Sportcoupe, as it was known, debuted for 2002 and was experimenting in uncharted territory for the brand. This was positioned as the most affordable vehicle in the lineup, available from the outset with a supercharged four cylinder engine mated to either a 5-speed automatic or 6-speed manual. Later, a 3.2 liter V6, also available with automatic or manual gearboxes, arrived. This C320 is of the six cylinder variety and has covered just over 11,000 miles, originally ordered by an executive of the company.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Mercedes-Benz C320 Sportcoupe on eBay

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2002 Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG

Published January 22, 2014 by Paul

It’s been two decades since Mercedes-Benz absorbed AMG as their in-house tuning firm. Each year, more and more fast Benzes have appeared with the infamous badge on their posteriors, tipping off that extra juice under the skin to the casual observer. One AMG model that I feel went a bit unloved was the C32 AMG. Sandwiched between two V8 AMG C class models in the US market (the W202 C43 and W203 C55), the C32 offered more punch via the way of a Kompressor, or supercharger, as was the case with a number of AMG and non-AMG models in the Mercedes lineup at the time. A lot of early W203 C classes, including the C32, have been run hard and put up wet, but this C32 for sale in New Jersey appears to have led a fairly pampered life by the looks of it.