It seems the world really is obsessed with German luxury compact cars right now, and we're not talking about 3 Series and C-Class types of compacts. No, we're talking Volkswagen Golf rivals with posh badges and lots of optional features.
Both Audi and Mercedes are doing really well in America right now and recent reports say their factories in Hungary are barely keeping up. But what about their hottest versions. Well, Audi puts run-of-the-mill 2-liter engines into the S3, but Mercedes-Benz's M133 is a little more bespoke.
The upside is 360 rampaging horses flow from its four cylinders into the all-wheel drive system of the A 45, CLA 45 and GLA 45 AMG models. However, supply is a little bottle up right now. Walk into a Mercedes dealer in Australia and he'll tell you that the waiting list extends to the end of 2015 at the latest.
When asked if customers are still willing to wait, Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific CEO Horst von Sanden said the following in a recent interview: “Yes they really were. But of course, you can only stretch the friendship so far and there’s different levels of patience in people, and some would categorically say ‘no, if I have to wait that long no’.
That's not even the half of it. According to local auto magazine Car Advice, the waiting lists were even longer short while ago, extending well into 2016. Can you imagine having to wait two more years to get a small hatchback with a two-liter engine that you've just spent a fortune on? Only Mercedes can get away with something like this.
Sounds like these baby AMGs have been a bigger hit than even Mercedes had expected. But maybe a quicker way to make them needs to be found.
The upside is 360 rampaging horses flow from its four cylinders into the all-wheel drive system of the A 45, CLA 45 and GLA 45 AMG models. However, supply is a little bottle up right now. Walk into a Mercedes dealer in Australia and he'll tell you that the waiting list extends to the end of 2015 at the latest.
When asked if customers are still willing to wait, Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific CEO Horst von Sanden said the following in a recent interview: “Yes they really were. But of course, you can only stretch the friendship so far and there’s different levels of patience in people, and some would categorically say ‘no, if I have to wait that long no’.
That's not even the half of it. According to local auto magazine Car Advice, the waiting lists were even longer short while ago, extending well into 2016. Can you imagine having to wait two more years to get a small hatchback with a two-liter engine that you've just spent a fortune on? Only Mercedes can get away with something like this.
Sounds like these baby AMGs have been a bigger hit than even Mercedes had expected. But maybe a quicker way to make them needs to be found.