Umm- A Mercedes Truck?

[MongooseGA]

..and they tested it head up with a similarly equipped F150 (V8 equipped Ford) and a trailer with the same weight and the Ridgeline stayed right with the F150. Good gearing and the 5 speed auto pay dividends.

The 5.4L Triton? The base V8 truck engine?



Honda might look into diesel engines if they're gearing their "truck" for gas economy. Assloads of torque and gas mileage.



We've even considered swapping out our 4.0L I-6 in the Jeep in favor of the 2.7L turbo diesel in the new Liberty. That, or a HEMI

 

[zainoshine]

THIS.....

Looks a lot like this...

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Kirkwood Edition, built by Von Genaddi Design. This vehicle was designed a while ago. The company is based in Manitowoc, WI, and TAH DAH, I live 7 miles north of there (Paul aka White95Max lives a couple of blocks away from them). When I saw that edmunds picture it really reminded me of the Kirkwood. See more of VGD's AMAZING vehicles (Maybach convertible, Bentley Continental GT Convertible, Phantom stretch and convertibles, etc.) at

vgdauto.com

 

[holland_patrick]

 

[MongooseGA]

Karp- sweet site. Thanks for the link.



Patrick- Ew.

 

[EricZ]

Ah, Subaru. We can count on them to put the ugliest vehicles on the road. How can a company that has blessed us with cars like the Legacy GT and older '98ish 2.5RS create hideous monsters like the Tribeca?!

Hard to imagine getting any "truckier" than Mercedes Benz. They've been in the serious truck business for more than a century.



other pc- My sentiments exactly! I saw this thread and thought the same thing! Still, even though Mercedes has experience building trucks, I can't say I'm a fan of the creation in question here.

 

[zainoshine]

This Mercedes G-Class Pickup thing will likely have little if nothing to do with Mercedes' previous "heritage" in trucks. Come on, this thing is going to be built (and probably designed) in America, unibody construction...it's not going to be trucky at all but something definitely like the Honda Ridgeline.

 

[SpoiledMan]

Have you done a test drive in a Ridgeline? Sure rides a lot better and is a LOT quieter inside than any truck I've been in. This segment works for someone that would like better mileage with lots of utility. There is obviously some future in the segment as this isn't the first offering.....

 

[zainoshine]

I'm not saying the Honda Ridgeline is bad by ANY means, in fact we have Honda products and love them and I've seen the Ridgeline and don't mind the design, but I'm simply saying that Mercedes' truck-past will likely not figure into this design and is not going to be a vehicle that will compete with a truckier vehicle.

 

[SpoiledMan]

I'm waiting for the dealers to start dumping the Ridgeline because of slow sales and I'm going to grab one. They just don't seem to be moving off the lots and that's probably because there aren't many people that will take a Honda truck serious. The MBZ truck will sell just because of the 3 pointed star on the hood.

 

[MongooseGA]

I'm waiting for the dealers to start dumping the Ridgeline because of slow sales and I'm going to grab one. They just don't seem to be moving off the lots and that's probably because there aren't many people that will take a Honda truck serious. The MBZ truck will sell just because of the 3 pointed star on the hood.

IMO, certain companies should stick to what they do best. Honda should stick to small economic coupes and sedans, Chrysler should have never built the Pacifica, Mercedes should stick to sedans, coupes and cabriolets, Pontiac shouldn't have a mini van offering, etc...





Why do we need a Saab SUV? Or and Porsche/Audi SUV? Why does Mercedes need a truck? Cough, Lincoln Blackwood bombed, cough.

 

[SpoiledMan]

Because there are brand loyal people that will buy them and they don't want to miss the opportunity to sell to them. This is the reason that Acura, Lexus and Infinity were created. They want to retain that person that bought an Accord when they graduated from college and then pays off the student loans and can afford something more upscale. Cadillac is doing pretty good with Escalade sales aren't they. This would have meant 100's of millions in lost sales had they not pursued that market.



The Blackwood failed from an identity crisis as will the Lincoln Mark LT. You heard it here first. It's not "in your face" enough and just doesn't have the bling factor for the money that they are asking.

 

[MongooseGA]

Because there are brand loyal people that will buy them and they don't want to miss the opportunity to sell to them. This is the reason that Acura, Lexus and Infinity were created. They want to retain that person that bought an Accord when they graduated from college and then pays off the student loans and can afford something more upscale. Cadillac is doing pretty good with Escalade sales aren't they. This would have meant 100's of millions in lost sales had they not pursued that market.



The Blackwood failed from an identity crisis as will the Lincoln Mark LT. You heard it here first. It's not "in your face" enough and just doesn't have the bling factor for the money that they are asking.

I think you're right about the brand loyalty. I've never really been to brand loyal, so I didn't consider that.



As for the "bling" in the Blackwood/LT, I disagree. There's just as much bling in the Escalade and Navigator- both of which are selling like hot cakes. In fact, I never even liked the Escalade. The interior quality really turned me off.



I don't see though, how Benz will play the brand loyalty game with the truck.

 

[SpoiledMan]

It's pretty easy to mistake the Lincoln for being an F150. I'm a car nut and it just doesn't stand out. The Escalade says LOOK AT ME! It has a significantly different grill, wheels, tail lights fender flares and so forth. Yeah, it's a dressed up Tahoe but it looks different enough. The price is really wrong on the LT and it's just not in your face enough for that price. The Navigator looks more the part even if it doesn't have a bed. Remember that this segment is not about hauling stuff but being different AND seen and the LT doesn't fit either of those as it's just too conservative.



As far as the Benz goes, I'm sure there are some general contractors out there that haul around their spare cell phone batteries that need the bed in the back to do so. Just kidding contractors, I know you have to haul the plans around too. Brand loyalty is huge! My first computer (after my Commodores) was a Mac and there have been and will be no others.