Mercedes-Benz uses a cat to show off CLA’s aerodynamics
Ryan Joseph Ramos February 15, 2014The latest TV commercial for the Mercedes-Benz CLA doesn’t star a celebrity or feature a ride across a stunning countryside. Instead, there’s a cat sleeping on the hood of a CLA 180.
As the cat sleeps, it pays (almost) no heed to the wind pushing it across the top surface of the vehicle. The commercial, simply dubbed “Cat”, was made to play up the aerodynamic qualities of the CLA. According to the automaker, the CLA is the world’s most aerodynamic production car. With the most aerodynamic body design among serial cars at the moment, the CLA as such should allow for better efficiency, better performance, and a driving experience unlike any other.
The drag coefficient value (or 
) of the CLA is pegged at 0.22. For reference, a stock Mercedes-Benz CL500 (model year 1998-2000) has been measured to have a of 0.28 [source].
As shown on the commercial, another thing that makes the CLA stand out is efficiency. Its advertised combined fuel consumption is 7.1 – 3.9 l/100 km. Plus, the car is also environment-friendly thanks to combined carbon dioxide emissions numbers going from 165 to as low as 102 g/km.
The TV spot was released through the Mercedes-Benz YouTube channel on Valentine’s Day. Of the over 50,000 views the video has so far, there have been 26 dislikes (some people probably just don’t like cats). Most of the responses on the comments section of the video have been positive so far, particularly because of the cat.
We all know how popular cats are among online viewers, so the people who were responsible for this ad hit two birds with one stone. They managed to demonstrate one of the differentiating characteristics of Mercedes-Benz’s highly touted compact vehicle while also giving the ad a likeable quality and some measure of ‘social shareability’.
