Posted on 07/07/2017 11:13:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Mercedes-Benz has chosen July 18 to unveil its production X-Class pickup truck, which the company is billing as the world's first premium mid-size pickup.
But don't look for it on our shores any time soon.
This week saw the premiere of a slick teaser commercial, posted above, and the X-Class website.
The model features a GLS-style grille with prominent horizontal bars, a tall hood and a front bumper with a skid plate, according to Autoweek. It has a live rear axle and a transfer case with reduction gears, and is powered by V6 engines. Production is set to begin next year.
Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG Chairman said X-Class closes "one of the last gaps in our portfolio."
"We want to offer customers vehicles matching their specific needs," Zetsche said. "The X-Class will set new standards in a growing segment."
However, X-Class will be available in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Australia with New Zealand and Europe. Why not the United States? For one thing, it's being produced in Argentina and Spain. That means it would be subject to the "chicken tax" - the 25 percent tariff imposed on light trucks and other goods that dates back to the 1960s.
Autoweek says Mercedes hasn't ruled out bringing the X-Class to America, especially given the country's love of mid-sized pickups. But it would have to be produced here to avoid being cost prohibitive.
Gonna be hard to compete against the "Sclade" for bragging rights wit da pimps.
I doubt that that is the target market.
Uh, as a truck owner myself, doesn’t the idea of actually USING it as a truck come into play here? As in, hauling brush, moving topsoil, trips to Home Depot, that sort of thing? How much do they want for this perfumed golf cart?
Should be interesting to see if there turns out to be able to make the Grey Market.
What say you Sir Chode ? A new F1 Pace/Med ride ?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Flog cart!!! LOL!!!
Too danged funny.
No doubt GM did not intend for the "Sclade" to be a ghetto status symbol either.
Rather dampened it's sales elsewhere, urban area dependent, of course.
Looks like a Tayoter to Me.
Does it come with a load of muslim terrorists?
Luckily they had the same vehicle in the Yukon and Tahoe.
Back in the day, we used to take our dogs with us on our annual Christmas pilgrimage back north, to see my family. We had a loaded F-150 XLT that rode like a Cadillac, and they thought they were in doggie heaven, all 1500 round-trip miles. Later, we got a GMC Canyon, and they’d hop in the cab just to ride in slow circles in the back yard. Damnedest thing was, after five minutes of that, they thought they just rode all the way back up to Grandma’s house. LOL! It didn’t take much to make them happy, but boy, it warmed the heart to see them that way.
So true. First time I ever rode in a Mercedes, circa 1980’s, I wondered who would give up the smooth comfy seats of an American car for that stiff ride?
Get it right. It’s a Slade.
Yep. You’re paying for the badge, not what’s underneath it. Keep the prestige. Give me something that versatile and functional.
I would say your post applies to all pickup trucks. You can easily spend 60k+ on a new pickup truck. I don't see too many people putting down that kind of money, and then driving down to the gravel pit to have the front end loader dump a ton of crushed stone in the back. Unless you are wealthy and just don't care, you pretty much have to buy a used truck to actually use it as a truck. The new ones make good tow vehicles and I think that's how most people use them.
My current truck is a 94 F-350 and I really don't want anything newer.
At any rate, you can just go ahead and turn in your hillbilly card if you buy a Mercedes pickup truck. Around these parts, people would be laughing at you for years.
A ‘94 F-350. Bet that sumbitch looks like five miles of bad road. And still purrs like a kitten. That’s what trucks are supposed to be. Not some Millennial gay lumberjack status symbol.
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