I'm an American auto afficionado, but not a typical one. Generally speaking, Americans prefer sedans over hatchbacks, al else being equal.
...and the general problem in the US Market is that many of the hatchbacks that they were offered (Dodge Omni, anyone?) were rarely the 'equal'. As such, Americans developed a mindset of "hatchbacks = cheap crap", because that was mostly what they saw.
FWIW, GM did the same sort of
mindset sabotague with their passenger car diesel engines in the 1970s.
American car manufacturers sell cheap V6 sedans, which the public gobble up.
All too true. Its partly because American drivers don't know poop about real driving, so they are satisfied with the garbage that they're sold because its got a nice shiny finish.
I'm very reminded of my wife's "education"...her last American sedan was a Ford Tempo (despite me trying to get her into a Jetta), but five years later, she got an Audi 80 (she's now in an A4 now) ... over the years, she has proceeded to complain LOUDLY to me about how this rental car and that rental car (that she was getting on business trips) were such a piece of garbage, with vague steering, mushy or touchy brakes, wallowing understeer, etc, etc, etc. She's just preaching to the choir
FWIW, she took a performance driving class last summer...and loved it.
In the case of the C-class coupe, it lost out here to Acura (RSX), Honda (Civic Si), the BMW 3-Series and the VW GTI/R32/V6 Jetta.
The same can also be said of the BMW 318ti, within certain limits. The general problem with both of these comparisons is that it is slightly apples-vs-oranges (3-Series sedans, Jetta)...
For some reason this time, the badge wasn't enough to pip more run of the mill (but more entrenched & popular) marques.
...but also that the manufacturers assumed that their badge alone could generate sales in a customer base that in the USA is more focused on hatchback practicality mindset as it relates to overall product value ... wrong move.
They then hurt themselves further by failing to know their customer base niches - - specifically, the motor in the 318ti was anemic, so it didn't qualify as a "HOT" Hatch against VW's stroker motors, which killed the BMW on torque.
The final straw was that they failed to put any emphasis on where their product was materially different from its competitors...which in the case of the C230K was lower NVH and superior back seat room (legs & head).
I test drove a C-class coupe and liked it...not sure if I'd have bought one though - I am a bit wary of bottom of the range luxury cars.
I test drove the 318ti ...and almost bought it back in 1995. Was turned off when I took a second test drive with a salesperson in the passenger seat and saw how much the extra 150lbs killed its "go fast" ability.
I bought a Saab 900S instead (huuuuuge hatchback), which I replaced by the C-Coupe in 2002. The only realistic competitor was the GTI, but the GTI had a relatively poor back seat and much worse NVH, which gave it poor prospects as a fast, long distance highway cruiser. This is one of those subtle factors that doesn't show up in a 15 minute test drive, unless you really know what to look for.
Had the Audi A3 been available, it would have been on my contenders list...and the A3 is currently on my wife's list as a contender in 2008, as is probably also the 1-Series...question for her is if she still wants 4 doors to transport grown adult coworkers.
-hh