Well, although being a reboot, I think they will follow the canon story, meaning clans only appear in 3050? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Sure they can appear as an expansion pack later down the line, but it would be weird seeing a Mad Cat in 3015.

Of course they could do whatever they want but the MW community wouldn't take very well to see omnis in 3015.
Probably they will add clans in later expansions

If its a reboot, I expect to see clans in a different game rather then an expansion. They are probably rebooting to milk some money from the same timeline as the other mech games which for once is completely fine with me. Mechwarrior games are one of the rare few where todays technology can improve the gameplay to what it couldn't of been back when it was released.

1080p video here without the IGN Insider requirement.
The graphics are stunning, and the "in game footage" watermark confirms that this isn't just shiny CGI cooked up to deceive viewers. It looks like a lot of the HUD is displayed as part of the cockpit rather than just being projected onto the helmet, which is a great step towards immersion. The level of detail in the cockpit is really impressive; I especially like the little wobbling island girl figurine.
This is one heck of a reboot. I just hope they don't mess it up by pandering to the consoles. The totally first-person perspective indicates this is taking a more serious approach than MechAssault.
The pseudo-RPG mechanics and ability to use a given mech class for the whole game could work out to be a great idea or could end up totally screwing the balance; for instance, in Morrowind and Oblivion increasing the Light Armor skill will inexplicably raise the protection offered by any given piece of light armour, eventually giving it the same protection value offered by medium or heavy armour, which defies all logic and makes the other armour classes pointless and inferior. Having a mech somehow take noticeably less damage just because the pilot is an expert at driving that model would shatter immersion and totally ruin the careful balance of the mech class system.

Hahaha how charmingly naive
I'm HOPING thats not a lie but then I tend to be cynical
With any luck the RPGish elements will lead to things like faster recovery from hits rather than less damage, also things like a bit extra power for movement or weapons and maybe special abilities to use

Ooh, WH40k novels?
I've read Ultramarine's Omnibus, two Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibuses, Soul Drinkers Omnibus, Blood Raven's Omnibus, and currently reading Eisenhorn. Still haven't read any of the Horus Heresy books, but I think I can "steal" them from a friend.

I just finished the first 4 horus heresy books, pretty good overall.
<spoiler>
The warmaster did it
</spoiler>

Here is the list of the battletech novels published so far, a good start would be the Gray Death Legion saga by William H. Keith
Don't know where you could buy them, but probably Amazon is the right place to start

Acoording to what kScope posted, the Rifleman is in the game, and it's a shameless Macross rip too.
Compare: Macross Defender vs. Rifleman.
If this is accurate, all the original "unseens" are now legal! So bring on the marauders!

Great to know that the unseen will be back!
However the mech in the video is a not a [url=http://ppc.warhawkenterprises.com/diagrams/rifleman0.gif]Rifleman you can easily recognise a Rifleman by its double cannon on the arms. Don't make this mistake while in combat ;)