Glk Will Come To The Uk

[grober]

Movie Stars, Drug Dealers or Funeral Directors?

Interesting site but no hard information on any UK introduction. The styling is growing on me particularly in the darker colour. Remains to be seen if the lowlier versions look as good as the top spec'd model shown in the video. Can anyone tell why me why all 4x4 's now seem to come "as standard" with privacy glass in the rear section. Total affectation IMHO, for people kidding themselves they're movie stars, drug dealers or funeral directors.

 

[hawk20]

Can anyone tell why me why all 4x4 's now seem to come "as standard" with privacy glass in the rear section.

Well I don't think they do, at least not round here. Most are without. Maybe it varies area to area.

 

[grober]

I stand corrected Privacy Glass from the B pillar backwards is listed as a £300 extra in the UK M class car configurator thingy. Its funny though that the profile view that comes up when the configurator starts depicts a model with privacy glass. Maybe the dealer "stock " cars are ordered with that option since it seems to be in fashion at the moment. I should also say that this is not confined solely to Mercedes 4x4s. Maybe I'm mistaken or mentally "editing out" the ones I see without it. Its a relatively new phenomenon though so is mainly to be seen in "almost new" models.

edit:- I have just discovered the special "Edition 10" version of the ML that came out in early 2008 comes with privacy glass fitted as part of the package maybe that's the answer.

 

[hawk20]

Interesting site but no hard information on any UK introduction. The styling is growing on me particularly in the darker colour.

I agree. I like it more each time I see it. The shot from the rear in posting 20 is nice and the interior shot in posting 19 looks pretty damn good to my eyes.

 

[jeremytaylor]

I think the GLK looks horrid. Reminds me of an old Jeep Wagoneer from the late 1960s - far too boxy!

 

[hawk20]

I think the GLK looks horrid. Reminds me of an old Jeep Wagoneer from the late 1960s - far too boxy!

That's what they said about the Range Rover and the Land Rover before it. IMO they define what 4x4's should look like. Rugged, macho, upright, sturdy etc.
The new diesel (see new thread) will make this the most economic 4x4 I would guess.

 

[glojo]

As a very young boy I can remember my father teaching me to drive in his willy's Jeep which was identical to this:

As stated they were very box like but only two door!

 

[Rory]

The GLK-Class will make its U.S. dealer showroom debut in January 2009 as a 2010 model.

The GLK-Class will be produced exclusively at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen, Germany.

If that's correct, then unless there are substantial changes with the Euro / USD exchange rate, it's going to be *very* difficult for MB to make money on GLK's sold in the US.

On the RHD issue, I read somewhere (but can't find it now) that even if MB do a RHD version, MB UK may still not import it as they think there would be limited demand in the UK (look at X3) and it would be difficult to position it price-wise. And the Audi Q5 isn't far away, further diluting an already very crowded, and decreasing, market segment.

 

[Alfie]

If that's correct, then unless there are substantial changes with the Euro / USD exchange rate, it's going to be *very* difficult for MB to make money on GLK's sold in the US.

On the RHD issue, I read somewhere (but can't find it now) that even if MB do a RHD version, MB UK may still not import it as they think there would be limited demand in the UK (look at X3) and it would be difficult to position it price-wise. And the Audi Q5 isn't far away, further diluting an already very crowded, and decreasing, market segment.

According to an article in the Sunday Times the 4x4 market is still booming.

 

[hawk20]

If that's correct, then unless there are substantial changes with the Euro / USD exchange rate, it's going to be *very* difficult for MB to make money on GLK's sold in the US.

On the RHD issue, I read somewhere (but can't find it now) that even if MB do a RHD version, MB UK may still not import it as they think there would be limited demand in the UK (look at X3) and it would be difficult to position it price-wise. And the Audi Q5 isn't far away, further diluting an already very crowded, and decreasing, market segment.

I agree about the exchange rate.

On RHD I read somewhere that MBUK are doing all they can to encourage MB to bring a RHD GLK to the UK because they think it will sell well. And they need a 4x4 that is not in the top tax band. ML's all pay £25 per day in London plus top VED plus the coming 'showroom tax'

If you look at the 4x4 market there is a big share taken by smaller 4x4's like Rav 4, Nissan X trail, Freelander, Honda CRV etc. and the X3. Besides it is just not conceivable that MBUK would say no to RHD GLKs after MB had spent £40 million on making them possible.

 

[grober]

4matic C class?

Since the GLK is based on the new C class platform if MB develop a 4matic version of the GLK then that should open the doors to a 4matic C class, --------but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

 

[A210AMG]

4Matci on may Merc is available just not in the UK

My dad would love his E class to be a 4matic but just not available here, same with bmw you can get the iX models in almost any model.

 

[grober]

Sorry should have added the RHD prefix to "4matic C class " since that was what I was meaning to say.

 

[hawk20]

Never ceases to amaze me that car makers go on and on making the same mistakes with cars and components like 4matic which turn out to be difficult to convert to RHD. With all the CAD they have, and years of experience you really would expect it to be written in CAPS on every drawing board, remember RHD.

 

[glojo]

Never ceases to amaze me that car makers go on and on making the same mistakes with cars and components like 4matic which turn out to be difficult to convert to RHD. With all the CAD they have, and years of experience you really would expect it to be written in CAPS on every drawing board, remember RHD.

Has the American market ever bothered and I suppose experts have decided there is not a popular enough market.

John

 

[Rory]

And they need a 4x4 that is not in the top tax band. ML's all pay £25 per day in London plus top VED plus the coming 'showroom tax'

That's a good point - BMW made a really good move there with what can only be a fiddled lower emission version of the X5 3.0d.

Never ceases to amaze me that car makers go on and on making the same mistakes with cars and components like 4matic which turn out to be difficult to convert to RHD. With all the CAD they have, and years of experience you really would expect it to be written in CAPS on every drawing board, remember RHD.

They won't have made a mistake as such - they'll have weighed up the demand in all the RHD markets and then decided not it didn't make economic sense to engineer a universal silution. Someone else mentioned iX BMW's - they used to be available in the UK but didn't sell. The LHD only solution MB have now is pretty simple so is probably very cost effective.

Many of us are saying we'd like AWD but if push came to shove, I wonder how many would order it. If it was critical we could buy Audi's, but some of their models don't get good write-ups as AWD versions as the extra weight of transmission components makes the cars seem a little clumsy compared to the equivalent FWD model.

 

[grober]

This poll indicated a fair degree of interest. http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=21885&highlight=4MATIC

Rory if you are thinking of the AUDI TT for example-- quote from What cars review:-
The good news for those on a budget is that the lighter, front-wheel-drive 2.0-litre version feels more alert and more fun than the more expensive, more powerful V6 car, which comes with Audi's quattro four-wheel-drive as standard.

Maybe its not a strictly fair comparison because most of Audi 4wd models come with the larger V6 or V8 engines which you would expect to be a bit more nose heavy /ponderous due to the heavier engine rather than the 4wd transmission ?? .

 

[hawk20]

If you go to the Times on Line you will find an article showing that 4x4 sales are actually up in March this year and the desire for 4x4's continues to grow.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

If you go to the Times on Line you will find an article showing that 4x4 sales are actually up in March this year and the desire for 4x4's continues to grow.

I wonder whether that's because now people know that pre-2006 are going to be hit by the much higher VED, then people may be thinking "Why not have a new one?".

Pre-budget I thought we were protected from the increases in VED as it was registered pre-March 2006, but post-budget I know this is no longer the case, so the thought has crossed my mind.

Also, a 5.5 V8 petrol will attract the same VED as a 3.0 V6 diesel, and off course the increased cost differential between pump prices makes the petrol option slightly more attractive than it might have been 12 months ago.

Put these together and I can't imagine I'm the only person considering a new(er) petrol 4x4 rather than keeping an extisting diesel 4x4 for longer. Not a great incentive to think environmentally is it?

 

[hawk20]

I wonder whether that's because now people know that pre-2006 are going to be hit by the much higher VED, then people may be thinking "Why not have a new one?".

Pre-budget I thought we were protected from the increases in VED as it was registered pre-March 2006, but post-budget I know this is no longer the case, so the thought has crossed my mind.

Also, a 5.5 V8 petrol will attract the same VED as a 3.0 V6 diesel, and off course the increased cost differential between pump prices makes the petrol option slightly more attractive than it might have been 12 months ago.

Put these together and I can't imagine I'm the only person considering a new(er) petrol 4x4 rather than keeping an extisting diesel 4x4 for longer. Not a great incentive to think environmentally is it?

No it isn't. And that is why I think the budget was a lot more about extra tax revenue from the motorist than about green issues. To really affect emissions the tax should rise with CO2 emitted. So, for example, every extra gram of CO2 above 225 could add £10 or £20 to the VED. So 100 over the 225 level would add £1,000 to VED. That might affect behaviour. Tinkering won't. So the message as you rightly say, seems to be: 'enjoy while you can'.