Mercedes-Benz considering A-Class roadster for the States

Rumors that the Mercedes-Benz A-Class may come to America have been swirling around for years. The question revolves around whether or not the car is consistent with the image in the U.S. that MB has worked so hard to cultivate for years. As an economy car, the A-Class clashes with the rest of the brand's upscale line-up and doesn't seem appropriate to put in the same dealership where upper-crusters are shopping for the latest S-Class. One possible remedy could be reducing the number of seats and the losing the car's top, an idea first broached by the SLA Concept (above) that debuted in 2000. A roadster would make sense for the German automaker, as BMW, its main rival, is rumored to be thinking hard about launching a similarly-small Z2 roadster based on its 1 Series platform. Although production plans have already been considered, no decisions have been made. The next redesign of the A- and B-Class from Mercedes is scheduled for 2012, so there's still plenty of time to get it all sorted.

[Source: Autoweek]