If you're not a career-oriented type of individual, then LinkedIn is probably one of those things you hear about, but never really bothered to check out.
It could be described as a "Facebook for professionals" or one of the newest ways to advertise yourself for possible employers, and that's pretty much the length of its usefulness. We tend to use it every so often to find out about who jumped boats where in the automotive industry, but that's about it.
Well, you thank Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche for changing that after he posted a lengthy text on the new 2018 Mercedes-Benz A-Class compact together with a set of pictures. In a move that seems to threaten to put spy photographers out of business, the man in charge at Mercedes-Benz might have launched a trend.
The pictures still show a fully-camouflaged car, so we can't talk about a leak. In fact, Zetsche even insists on the reasoning behind keeping the A-Class' design a secret, saying "the human factor remains key to success – especially with highly emotive products like a premium car."
Why exactly did the Daimler CEO feel the need to explain the camouflage considering everybody else apart from Tesla with the Model 3 does it we really can't tell. Perhaps it was just a trick to push the narrative of his text forward, who knows?
But before addressing the matter of the camouflage, Zetsche talks about the importance of the A-Class model inside the Mercedes-Benz lineup, and reminds us how the current generation, the one launched in 2012, is what started the "rejuvenation" of the brand.
Indeed, he points out the average age of an A-Class owner in Europe has dropped by 13.5 years compared to the previous model, which only confirms what we all already knew: that the two have no connection other than the name.
He doesn't say the 2018 model will do the same, and nobody expects it to - it's too early. But he does promise it will bring "even more advanced assistance systems to pave the way into the future of autonomous driving" in a segment that these features are yet to fully penetrate.
The CEO also mentions an expansion of the compact family to eight models, as opposed to the current five (A-Class, GLA-Class, CLA-Class, CLA-Class Shooting Brake, and B-Class). Whether some of those new models are battery-powered, as part of the EQ range, remains to be seen.
Well, you thank Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche for changing that after he posted a lengthy text on the new 2018 Mercedes-Benz A-Class compact together with a set of pictures. In a move that seems to threaten to put spy photographers out of business, the man in charge at Mercedes-Benz might have launched a trend.
The pictures still show a fully-camouflaged car, so we can't talk about a leak. In fact, Zetsche even insists on the reasoning behind keeping the A-Class' design a secret, saying "the human factor remains key to success – especially with highly emotive products like a premium car."
Why exactly did the Daimler CEO feel the need to explain the camouflage considering everybody else apart from Tesla with the Model 3 does it we really can't tell. Perhaps it was just a trick to push the narrative of his text forward, who knows?
But before addressing the matter of the camouflage, Zetsche talks about the importance of the A-Class model inside the Mercedes-Benz lineup, and reminds us how the current generation, the one launched in 2012, is what started the "rejuvenation" of the brand.
Indeed, he points out the average age of an A-Class owner in Europe has dropped by 13.5 years compared to the previous model, which only confirms what we all already knew: that the two have no connection other than the name.
He doesn't say the 2018 model will do the same, and nobody expects it to - it's too early. But he does promise it will bring "even more advanced assistance systems to pave the way into the future of autonomous driving" in a segment that these features are yet to fully penetrate.
The CEO also mentions an expansion of the compact family to eight models, as opposed to the current five (A-Class, GLA-Class, CLA-Class, CLA-Class Shooting Brake, and B-Class). Whether some of those new models are battery-powered, as part of the EQ range, remains to be seen.