Mercedes-Benz seems to be pulling out all the stops to advertise their 2013 model of A-Class car, the A 180.  In fact they have created a six-minute animated feature starring the A 180, in a rollicking race for the ultimate prize titled Next A Class.

Luckily, I grew up in the era of advertisements thinly veiled as cartoons. All the Noids or Cavity Creeps in the world couldn’t sway my purchasing preferences.  Years of Chester Cheetah and Fido Dido have hardened my mind to the subliminal messages animations can carry.

So although this anime short was well made and entertaining, it in no way swayed my opinion of this sleek new A 180 that perfectly combines the high performance of a sports car with the economic sensibility of a compact.

Let’s take a look at the trailer which is now running on TV in Japan.

Pretty thrilling stuff; makes you wonder what they are after in their sporty-yet-efficient A 180.  The end of the commercial recommends going online to the Mercedes-Benz website to watch the whole production.

The website explains the back story of New Tokyo, a city that has been transformed by an ever increasing population.  The local government had enacted a “City Sharing” program, part of which involves parts of the city to rotate.

I have no idea how this revolving city of the near future would make things more efficient, but it’s a great way to showcase the A 180’s superior handling and traction.

Here Niko, a young woman walking through the city, bored and alone on her day off encounters a legendary decorated truck and starts to run after it.  She then stumbles upon two guys, Gatsu and Makito, crusing around in their 2013 Mercedes A 180.

It attests to the car’s amazing reliability that these guys would be still driving it in pristine condition in the Akira-like future of New Tokyo.

Thrown together, the three go in pursuit of the legendary deko-truck. What will they find?  You’ll just have to watch this fantastic car… I mean movie to see.

During the story the A 180 has an unbelievably high tech revolving driver seat mechanism. Also the car takes several impossible drops (even once colliding with a truck) without taking any damage to the suspension or body.

Man, that’s one hell of a car.

So please enjoy the full film with English subtitles below but try not to get sucked into its subliminal marketing. I watched several times and it’s safe to say I will never buy a third A 180 no matter how luxurious its leather bucket seats are.

Source: Next A Class (Japanese)

▼ Am I more or less geeky if I prefer this advertisement over the anime one?