SPIED: Huh?! A Mercedes-Benz C180 SPOTTED In SoCal? Could A Base C-Class Be Coming To The States?

A friend of AutoSpies and our resident spy photographer who manages to capture A LOT of the weird stuff roaming around SoCal, Fred Khaz, has run across something that has us scratching our heads. Really scratching our heads, this time.

Snapped rolling on the 5 south near Laguna Hills, Khaz snapped a blue Mercedes-Benz C-Class. On the surface that sounds rather lame until you hear the catch: it was a C180.

Essentially, this is one of the base models sold abroad.

While I cannot make out the plates, I can tell that they're not diplomatic plates. And they don't appear to be a manufacturer plate, which tend to have "DLR" or "DST" or "MFR" or "M" on them. If we have any Georgians on here, let us know if these are GA plates.

Having said that, we're a bit curious. IF Mercedes shipped the U.S. market a base C-Class would that make sense? With the CLA-Class and GLA-Class making waves, would it really sense for the three-pointed star to do so?

MDarringer - 1/9/2016 11:52:33 AM

0 Boost

A C180 makes brilliant sense for volume.

mre30 - 1/9/2016 11:54:53 AM

+3 Boost

I suspect it is an aberration - not all diplomats have diplomatic plates. In NYC, home of the UN, I'd say about 1/4 of the diplomats drive cars with diplomatic plates. Other people, foreign national worker-bee's drive cars with normal plates and they have a state dept placard in the front windscreen or something like that.

This is probably a diplomat.

Also, if MB were in fact going to introduce a "C180" to the US, they would definitely number inflate it to be badged as a C280 or at the lowest a C200. MB would NEVER badge something a C180 in this market.

By the way, since the C300 has a 2.0L turbo 4-cyl, I would suspect a lower-range model would be a smaller 1.6L turbo (which may be a new engine - as in Europe they sell a 1.6 and 1.8 non-turbo

LSIII - 1/9/2016 1:34:48 PM

+3 Boost

They sell a C180 in Mexico, given this was in SoCal, bet it was just someone from Mexico.

MDarringer - 1/9/2016 3:47:04 PM

-1 Boost

You are correct--I believe--those look like Baja California Norte plates.

cidflekken - 1/9/2016 4:08:52 PM

+3 Boost

Ding Ding Ding We have a winner! And your prize is..well, pride in your knowledge!!

MDarringer - 1/9/2016 4:44:36 PM

0 Boost

@cidflekken I see BCN plates all the time in Newport. LOL

dumpsty - 1/11/2016 9:32:51 AM

+1 Boost

...never say never, i guess.

Runamukk - 1/10/2016 2:41:37 AM

+2 Boost

Also, the only blue offered is the U.S. is Lunar blue which is much darker...almost black.

jameswisrik - 1/10/2016 9:34:37 AM

0 Boost

w/o the c180 badge... thought it was the e or s-class.

xjug1987a - 1/11/2016 7:20:27 AM

+1 Boost

As the C Class is built in Alabama, I think that's an Alabama tag: http://s.ecrater.com/stores/337073/5449b6c76eb7c_337073b.jpg