[Unknown_Car]

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

Mercedes pickup truck?

No thanks. I'll keep my Tundra.

Tundra? What a joke truck, my fried bougt one and got rid of it right away. That thing can't pull nothing. Toyota should stick to making economy cars that's all.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by jpnh

Thats because their primary function is to be a "Truck"

That frequently involves inclement weather and <gasp> dirt and mud.

With that said RAM and others have done a very very nice job of maintaining function with an interior that will actually clean up/tolerate the element......hell....my 1 ton pickup has heated/cooled seats, a heated steering wheel and a better sound system than the H&K in the 2 series......but I guess you dont have to try THAT hard to beat that stereo

I do see your point about a "Luxury" niche but I think its a lot smaller than you might think

I would be proud to own an F150 Platinum.

[supra93]

Mercedes-Benz has hit out at critics calling its X-Class nothing more than a re-badged Nissan Navara saying automakers must use economics of scale when building light commercial vehicles.

In an interview with Motoring at the international debut of the X-Class in Cape Town, South Africa, Mercedes-Benz Vans global head Volker Mornhinweg said the automaker won't be able to achieve the number of sales it does with its passenger cars with the X-Class. Consequently, partnering with the Renault-Nissan Alliance was a necessity.

“In the LCV business it’s a common approach to work with alliance partners, and a lot of companies are working together quite successfully In the LCV business it’s a common approach to work with alliance partners, and a lot of companies are working together quite successfully.

“If we would like to be attractive from a price perspective, we have to work on things together. We cannot achieve, in our LCV segment, the huge amounts of numbers as the [Mercedes-Benz] passenger cars can,” Mornhinweg said.

The X-Class will be built in both Argentina and Spain and specifically target customers in South Africa, Europe and Australia. According to Mornhinweg, the marque's goal of introducing the X-Class at short notice also gave it no choice but to team up with Nissan.

“We had a target of introducing the car [X-Class] at a short-term notice, and as it’s a global product, we could not build-up one facility for this product.

“Therefore we discussed it with Nissan, if they [sic] are keen or have the willingness to work with us. They have a long tradition of doing pickups, and their base overall was useable for us, so we had it done,” he said.

At launch, Mercedes will offered the X-Class with two four-cylinder engines. Initially, there will be the X 220 d with a 2.3-liter turbo-diesel delivering 163 PS and the X 250 d with a bi-turbo-diesel churning out 190 PS.

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/mer...n-to-help.html

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

The real thing looks like a Wal Mart version of the beautiful concept. Typical "3rd world" looking truck. Good thing it's not coming here.

A technical for your more well-off jihadi.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by supra93

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/mer...n-to-help.html

There is nothing MB at all about it other than that badge. Not even built at an MB plant. I am assuming they will want full size truck money since it will have MB badging. Just buy a fully loaded Nissan for half lol.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by ciaranob

Eh, kinda re-enforcing my point !

To be clear, I was just supplying facts, not taking a position of defense for this vehicle. Frankly, I don't have any particular affinity for this creation. As far as I am concerned it is Mercedes' Lincoln Blackwood (or later, Mark LT) - an egregious attempt to profit with a high margin product. Perhaps Mercedes will have better luck than Lincoln, but I am not so sure. I suppose if it works out swimmingly for them, we could eventually see BMW jumping the same shark with a kidney-grilled Toyota Tacoma. It honestly wouldn't surprise me.

[Unknown_Car]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I know what I'm talking about. Their interiors do not have the material and build quality of proper luxury vehicles.

Drive a 2016 and up RAM and see their yourself . It drives really really good and interior is luxurious. Drives better then a 5 series.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by supra93

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/mer...n-to-help.html

Wow. M-B is basically admitting that it didn't want to invest in an in-house-developed pickup. I'm sure these "economies of scale" apply just as drastically to, say, its F1 budget ...

Like I said ... #MassiveFail

[wdb]

Facelifted Nissan. Fail. But it might allow people in certain neighborhoods to park a pickup in their driveway without facing derision from the neighbors.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Wow. M-B is basically admitting that it didn't want to invest in an in-house-developed pickup. I'm sure these "economies of scale" apply just as drastically to, say, its F1 budget ...

Like I said ... #MassiveFail

They're supplying Nissan / Infiniti with motors and the GLA / Q30. They need something in return. Aren't Nissan's big trucks just facelifted Rams now?

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

They're supplying Nissan / Infiniti with motors and the GLA / Q30. They need something in return. Aren't Nissan's big trucks just facelifted Rams now?

Fiat owns Chrysler. Nissan and Renault are the ones in bed together.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by wdb

Fiat owns Chrysler. Nissan and Renault are the ones in bed together.

Yeah, apparently they had a deal in place when Cerberus owned Chrysler and it was grenaded when FIAT bought Chrysler. I got thrown off by Nissan's use of Cummins motors, but looks like Ram no longer uses them.

[supra93]

Mercedes is forging into new territory with the launch of the X-Class, its first conventional pickup truck. So what do the performance-obsessed do when an automaker like Mercedes releases a new vehicle?

Why, we imagine what it'd look like in AMG spec, of course! And that's just what we have here, rendered by the talents at X-Tomi Design.

It looks pretty convincing, with all the telltale signs of an AMG sport-ute, from the gaping front bumper intakes to the blacked-out oversized alloys. The question is whether such a vehicle stands a chance of ever being built. And as we reported this past November, that depends who you ask.

“No, there will be no AMG pickup,” is what AMG boss Tobias Moers had to say about the prospect, half a year ago when the X-Class was still in the concept phase. Seems like a fairly open-and-shut case, then...until his boss weighed in. “You never know,” said Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche. “We’ll see how the market goes and how this product will be received in the marketplace.”

Not so simple, then, predicting the prospects of an X63 AMG, or even a six-cylinder X43 AMG if the V8 doesn't fit. The ultimate arbiter, however, may be whether Daimler's friends at the Renault Nissan Alliance opt to do a Nismo version of the Navara (on which the X-Class is based) or a Renault Sport version of the Alaskan (ditto) – a program on which Mercedes could piggy-back. As enticing as the prospect of Mercedes taking on the Ford Raptor may seem, though, there's even less chance of the German pickup ever making it to North America.

[supra93]

Mercedes-Benz isn’t looking into expanding the X-Class family with a high-performance V8-powered AMG version. According to CarsGuide, the announcement was made by the Mercedes-Benz Vans global chief, Volker Mornhinweg, during the presentation of the pickup truck in South Africa.

"I think the car [X-Class] is quite impressive already when it comes to styling and so on. I think the product is not right for V8", Mornhinweg said, killing off rumors concerning the possible introduction of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the pickup truck.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that an AMG-badged variant of the X-Class is completely out of the question, as the 3-liter V6 twin-turbo engine that currently powers the '43' models could be adopted, according to the brand's Vans local boss, Diane Tarr, who did not completely dismiss this idea.

An AMG styling package is also under consideration, and if it materializes, then expect more aggressive exterior enhancements, along with larger wheels and some tweaks made to the cabin.

In the meantime, those looking into a more powerful version of the pickup truck will have to settle for the X250, which comes with a bi-turbo diesel unit making 190PS (187hp), but the automaker will eventually offer it with other engines, including a V6 rated at 258PS (254hp) and 550Nm (405lb-ft) of torque.

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/no-...lass-says.html