Competition is key to attaining success in a capitalistic world. That just so happens to be the world we live in, and Mercedes, keen to smother the light of hope within the hearts of its competition, is getting more aggressive by the day. By choking its lineup from end to end with sedans, coupes, SUVs, and SUV coupe sedan mashups, it's beat BMW to become Germany's number one luxury automaker. Help from the AMG division will ensure the Blitzkrieg continues, this time with a focus on stamping out aftermarket tuners.

AMG boss Tobias Moers clued Autocar into its strategy, mentioning that his in-house tuning division would focus attention lower in the lineup where quantity of cars sold and horsepower go up without simultaneously ballooning price. "We will compliment our successful 45 models with two versions like we do with our larger cars," said Moers. Despite what Moers said, don't wait up for more powerful versions of the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 or CLA 45 just yet because these will instead be less powerful versions of the full-fledged AMG 45 models. They will come with the wave that brings the next generation of Mercedes compacts riding on MFA 2 architecture and utilizing new upgraded four-cylinder engines.

In the next-generation CLA 45, GLA 45, and the A-Class 45 derivative, the turbocharged 2.0-liter unit could make up to 400 horsepower, leaving plenty of room for less powerful variants. It's a more practical approach for Mercedes and a good strategy when it comes to making money because those who can only afford a lower trim Mercedes but want power too will have more options that leave the factory warranty intact. To the bean counters, this move is a boon, but the issue that arises is that of integrity. No one will claim that a 400 horsepower front-wheel drive car is anything less than absurd, which is classic AMG. But do the cheap new options signal that AMG is going a little too far to sell itself out for a buck?