Auto News 5

DUSSELDORF, Germany -- As we wait for Mercedes to launch its $30,000 CLA250 this fall, there's a commodity Benz that has been on sale in North America for five years. The Sprinter came to the States first as a 2003 Dodge, then shortly after as a Freightliner, and finally as a 2009 Mercedes (the Dodge version is gone, of course).

HAMBURG, Germany – Mercedes-Benz gave its über-sedan, the 2014 W222 S-class, the unveiling it deserves here Wednesday, one befitting its decades-old headliner. Fending off upstarts from Munich and Ingolstadt, Tokyo and Seoul, and a likely volley from a resurgent Detroit, the S-class is the sedan that defines Mercedes-Benz, no matter what commodity cars and CUVs it launches to capture the aspiring classes.

Europe's mainstream brands, overwhelmed by Japanese competition, all but abandoned the U.S. market in the 1990s. Now, encouraged by the success of brands such as Mini and Volkswagen and facing an increasingly desperate economic situation at home, some of them are looking to return or dramatically increase their presence here. Like an inspector at Ellis Island, Georg Kacher evaluates the most likely immigrants: