Mercedes ready to answer a question no one seems to be asking

At the same time U.S. Automobile magazine’s Jamie Kitman accurately points the finger at German automakers for the demise of the more enjoyable to drive and environmentally-friendly station wagon in North America, word out of Germany suggests Mercedes-Benz is copycatting BMW again in the never-ending game called Fill That SUV Niche!

Not content with the midsize ML, fullsize GL, crossover (nee minivan) R, and militaristic Geländewagen, Mercedes is looking at yet another SUV, this time, similar in fashion to BMW’s odd-duck X6 Sports Activity Coupe, according to a German report.

Dubbed the Geländecoupé—or GLC, as speculated above—the coupe-SUV is said to be smaller than the X6, more than likely based on the 'Benz C Class chassis and debuting in 2014. If you’re keeping score, you may remember ‘Benz already has the C-based GLK SUV. Of course, I don’t have to remind you that the German automaker stopped bringing the more rational C Class wagon to Canada, apparently to help insure GLK sales. And the GLC, if it goes ahead, will essentially be a “coupe” version of the GLK,  But apparently the brains in Stuttgart figure there’s a niche to be filled there, whether customers are asking for a vehicle like the GLC or not.

Do new car buyers need an X6 rip-off?

Is Mercedes heading in the right direction offering more SUVs and less wagons to Canadians?

[Sources: Automobile, AutoZeitung]

Comments

[RP]

Gawd, I think I'll move to Europe. At least I can get wagons over there.

[p00ch]

Wow, can their model names get any more confusing? Just how many X6s has BMW sold to make MB think this will be profitable?

[Randy]

Kitman's article is brilliant, here is a snip:

"The nominal culprit in the death of the sainted European wagon, of course, is that most tedious of automotive subgenres, the crossover. The crossover has been the worst thing to happen to the cause of driving excitement since the sport-utility vehicle began blighting the automotive landscape in the 1990s."

I couldn't have said it better. Kitman goes on to blame the automakers for this injustice. Why on earth would anyone want something that gets worse fuel economy, drives worse, is more expensive to buy, weighs hundreds of pounds more, and doesn't store any more gear than a wagon?

I'm going to get in the lineup for the Golf wagon TDI or the upcoming Acura TSX wagon....both WAY MORE fun to drive than any crossover.
As Colin Chapman said:
Increase the power you're faster in the straights. Reduce the mass and you're faster everywhere.

[Jay]

Fewer wagons. Fewer.

[CGS cat back exhaust]

The way I look at it, Mercedes models are always awesome. I am saddened though. Names are likely to be more generic or quite confusing. I wish they would come up with names that go with how the car's design or performance go.