CleanSC

Saw this on the MB website. This is slated for release this year. I haven't seen or found thru seaches any info on this on CL.

Is this the product of the Smart infusion in the US market? Is this really an MB Minivan? Is it really a Chrysler Pacifica? Anyone have anymore info?

http://www.mbusa.com/microsite/gst/index.jsp

mkorsu

My thoughts? It's a glorified Pacifica. While I consider the Pacifica by far the nicest looking mini-van/ute crossover thingie out there. It's still a mini-van, and Homie don't play dat!!

I think it's just another indicator that MB is tanking faster than my Yankees did last year in the ALCS!!

LexFather

I love Benzs but if they can call a 4 door sedan (CLS) a damn coupe, they will probably call this R-class a coupe too, to stay away from the word "mini-van".
Benz marketing=

mmarshall

I agree...it does in fact look like a rebadged Pacifica......which especially is not surprising when you consider that the Pacifica itself is a joint Mercedes-Chrysler platform.

CleanSC

That's exactly why I had asked. Just too many arrows point to Pacifica with this thing.

How come we've never heard of any news prior to now? Usually we have spies and press releases and other covert methods of getting info but this I just casually saw on the MB USA website. They planned on kinda just slipping it into showrooms to see what would happen?

I have a feeling this will hurt MB bad. Especially when word gets out it's chassis-sharing with the Pacifica. The purists will not be happy. Plus it's fugly compared to other MB designs that are simply gorgeous.

Gojirra99

It's actually based on the Vision GST Concept(Grand Sports Tourer) that was shown in international autoshows since 2002.

May 21, 2002

Preview:
Mercedes-Benz Vision GST
by Greg Wilson

Unveiled as a concept car at the Detroit International Auto Show last January, the Mercedes-Benz Vision GST (Grand Sports Tourer) is just one example of a new generation of 'crossover' vehicles that combine the attributes of an SUV, minivan, station wagon, and luxury car, ostensibly without big sacrifices in ride comfort, handling, or appearance.

At the same Detroit auto show, at least three other automakers unveiled their 'crossovers': Chrysler showed off its new 6-passenger Pacifica, Volkswagen unveiled a six-passenger Magellan concept car, and Volvo introduced the seven passenger XC90. These vehicles typically offer three rows of seats, a tall wagon-like body style with four doors and a hatchback, a roomy cargo area, all-wheel-drive, a high ground clearance, and a well-equipped interior.

Whether there really is a large market for vehicles with multiple personalities is an unanswered question, but Professor Jürgen Hubbert, Member of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars and Smart cars, said in a recent interview that his company's market research shows there is a strong demand for this type of vehicle.

"The Vision GST is the result of an intensive dialogue with our customers - a dialogue which we have been actively pursuing for years so that we can identify what drivers want, analyse their requirements and respond to them with new vehicle concepts," said Hubbert. "This concept vehicle is a response to the frequent calls from our customers for a vehicle for all occasions which is superbly styled, exciting to drive and engineered to the highest standards - a car which offers plenty of room for family and leisure outings, for touring and for professional use but at the same time combines this with superb handling and performance. Mercedes-Benz has defined a new market segment with the Vision GST - a segment with huge potential for the future."

Hubbert explained that Mercedes-Benz' research has identified three customer desires which point towards the success of their crossover concept. "First, a desire for a sense of total enjoyment of the experience of driving, of travelling in comfort and safety with the whole family. Second: interest in a versatile vehicle, a vehicle which is spacious, practical and flexible and therefore able to meet the diverse needs of people who are leisure-oriented and like travelling. Third: a desire for cars which are out-standing not only in terms of technology, but also with regard to their emotional intelligence - in other words, vehicles which combine superbly innovative features with compelling aesthetic qualities."

The Vision GST is more than just a collection of 'parts' - part minivan, part SUV and part luxury sedan, said Hubbert. It brings together the characteristics of different vehicle concepts and combines them to create something entirely original, he says. "Its equipment includes the electronic four-wheel-drive and traction-control system from the Mercedes off-roaders, the air suspension from the top Mercedes saloons and the 360 horsepower V8 engine from a high-performance AMG model. At the same time, the Vision GST seats six passengers in a luxuriously equipped and extremely spacious interior which offers the highest possible level of comfort. And thanks to the exemplary flexibility of its interior, this Mercedes concept vehicle also meets the needs of sports enthusiasts who want to take bicycles, skis or other sports equipment with them."

The Vision GST also includes some special features, such as butterfly doors which open opposite each other; a roof with a large area of special electrochromic glass which extends from the front windscreen to the rear - the occupants can alter the tint at the touch of a button according to the intensity of the sun; and a sophisticated interior lighting concept with a new type of illuminated strip in the roof liner, the door panels and on the centre tunnel.

But while Chrysler's Pacifica and Volvo's XC90 are already heading for production, Mercedes-Benz Vision GST is still a concept. Will Mercedes-Benz build it? "Concept vehicles from Mercedes-Benz are always more than mere "show cars", says Hubbert. "You need only look at the recent past to see that visions presented by Mercedes-Benz can quite rapidly develop into real production projects. And this is also the case with this latest concept. The Vision GST paves the way for an exciting new class of Mercedes models whose development we have now decided to go ahead with."

source HERE

mmarshall

I think one of the reasons we're not getting as much advance info as we used to is that the manufacturers are working on so many different projects that the spy guys in the auto world just simply can't keep up with all of them. The engineers working at the auto companies must be putting in some pretty long hours.

Anyway....kudos to the guys here at CL who post info about new models and help keep us informed on what's coming up...especially to AmethySC and 1SICKLEX on the auto market in general and flipside909 with Lexus products.

CleanSC

Thanks for the article.

I'm curious to see exactly how it manifests itself in production form. The preview on the site shows it largely unchanged from the concept car. Does that mean it will have an AMG V8 in it, too?

This quote gave me chills: "Third: a desire for cars which are out-standing not only in terms of technology, but also with regard to their emotional intelligence - in other words, vehicles which combine superbly innovative features with compelling aesthetic qualities."

So this will be yet another untested, gizmo-packed electronic nightmare waiting to happen? All at a price that's too high to begin with?

got_trd

They are in Europe only right now. I havent heard anything about them coming to the U.S.

1SICKLEX-
The CLS is called a coupe because of the fact that the center console goes all the way back to the back seat making it only a four seater, and the fact that the doors dont have a frame. I find that part weird because the wrx doesnt have a frame on the door either but its not a coupe.

TRD-bB

I believe the Maybach has a center console that goes all the way back too.....making it into a 4 seater.
So does a few Maximas and Volvo S80s Maybe we should all call them coupes

Lil4X

Mercedes finally built in the R-class, an RX 330. Look at the lines, the front clip, the interior - it's an RX!

The Pacifica platform is full of good ideas, and several problems - hopefully worked out by now. I've driven a couple, and been fairly impressed . . . for a $30K cruiser, you could do a lot worse. Re-shaping a minivan isn't a completely bad idea - especially if you have 20 years experience as the leader in minivan production.

The problem is that by the time you option the Pacifica up to base RX standards, you have moved into the luxury range, and by the time you add Nav and DVD player, you are paying full-boat luxury prices for a second-rate automobile. That's difficult to say, being an old MoPar fan . . .

I hope MB gets it right - it looks like they've hit all the right design notes. Now, if they could only produce a quality vehicle that will compete squarely with the RX . . . well, that remains to be seen.

LexFather

I have to disagree. At least teh RX-8 has suicide doors, and it has 2 door handles.The CLS is a sedan but Benz somehow will convince us its a coupe. IT has 4 BIG doors. Do I like it, yes, I love it. But its a sedan. The CLK is a coupe. The CL is a coupe. The CLS is a sedan.
You can get a A8 or 745 with seating for 4 and the dash all the way through, those are not coupes

jet864

First off, I love my mother.

She has an '04 CLK500 but is starting to realize the coupe idea wasn't the best. She's taken real interest to the CLS and loves how it's big but still a coupe. "No mom, it's really a ploy, don't listen to them please. 4 doors equals a coupe! The wheelbase between the CLS and the E are the same don't fall for their games."

Basically her and my sister are complete MB fanatics despite any evidence I give them to even test drive other cars. We were talking with the salesman who's been helping us on all her other purchases and he brought up the new ML and the R-Class. First thought into my mom's head is "that would be a great replacement for our aging suburban". Now, we have a 95 2500 Suburban with a 454 that's starting to go the way of the dodo but if she was in total control we would have an R class attempting to haul our jet ski and do real truck duty. Needless to say I killed that idea as quick as possible but if there are people out there like her who blindly love MB (and there certainly are), the R-class will sell WELL. Who's seen the interior of one of the first year MLs...I swear the dash and seats are made of sandpaper but that just goes to show what brand loyalty can do.

James

Incendiary

CLS is called a coupe because it has frameless doors. Otherwise, I agree, 4 doors means sedan, but marketing is marketing. They took one aspect of a coupe and went with it, and that's why it's the "world's first ever 4-door coupé."

There's been a lot of word about the R-class, you just gotta look in the right places at the right times.

Sick, they're going to call it a sports wagon, I believe.

I agree that it's basically a MB version of the Pacifica. When I saw it in person at the Detroit auto show, that's the first thing I thought. I also thought that the B-class looks like a MB version of the PT Cruiser. I've been pining for a luxury minivan for a while that's a bit sportier than a real minivan (I know many of you say the current Odyssey and Sienna can be quite luxurious inside, but from my understanding, the handling isn't quite up to snuff). I think there's a market for people who want a non-SUV people/stuff hauler with more room than a conventional wagon. BMW is coming out with a minivan as well, but it won't be called that...

Gojirra99

Autoweek Article