Mercedes Benz Cla Class

A modernized interior joins a solid and playful chassis.

It's a wagon. It's yellow. And it's available with a manual transmission. Gulp.

It's a bit more than just a more stylish A-Class

No reason to import it when the GLA-Class exists.

Our best look yet at the compact coupe-like sedan.

It looks like a cross between the current CLA and the new CLS.

Though Mercedes kicked off its Beijing Auto Show reveals with the extravagant Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury crossover sedan, it balanced things out with the reveal of the entry-level Mercedes-Benz A-Class L sedan. As you would expect, it's effectively a sedan version of the recently unveiled A-Class hatchback, meaning that from roughly the A-pillars forward, it's the same car. Behind that point, Mercedes removed the hatch in favor of a trunk, and also added 2.4 inches to the wheelbase, hence

The littlest Mercedes in America gets a major makeover.

If you dig the style of the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class but can't quite stretch from the $29,900 MSRP of the CLA250 to the $47,450 CLA45 AMG, we've got a bit of good news for you: Mercedes is offering a new Sport Package Plus for the CLA250 that at least punches up the visual attitude.

Last week, we showed you some images of the long-roofed Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake. Those shots of the five-door Mercedes were from a distance and were quite grainy, unfortunately. Today, we have much better shots of the new model, shown testing somewhere in Europe.

As BMW prepares to introduce the all-new 2 Series coupe and convertible, the 1 Series name definitely won't be going away. We know new sedan and hatchback models are in the works; including the GT shown above. According to Car and Driver, though, the future of the 1 Series nameplate in the US could be dependent on rival premium small cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class and Audi A3.

Mercedes-Benz may have skipped advertising during last year's Super Bowl, but according to Automotive News, the manufacturer will be back for 2013. The company plans to introduce its new CLA to the public at large during the game, using the opportunity to reach some 111.3 million US viewers.

The ever-covert spy photographers at Brenda Priddy & Company have nabbed a fresh one. This time, it's a new Mercedes-Benz that looks to be a mix between an A-Class and the CLS-Class four-door coupe. It is being called the CLA-Class, and it has been caught completely sans-camo in preparation for a shoot in Iceland.

Mercedes-Benz kicked off production of its new B-Class earlier this year at its Kecskemet plant near Budapest, Hungary, and according to Automotive News Europe, the all-new CLA-Class will be built at this plant, too, starting next year. To support the two new premium compacts, the facility will double its annual output to 300,000 units by 2015.

In the wake of images leaking earlier this week, Mercedes-Benz rolled out its Concept Style Coupe at the Transmission LA:AV CLUB at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), yesterday. The "CSC" is expected to officially make its world debut at the Beijing Motor Show next week, but the sneak preview gave us an early look at the four-door in the flesh.