Mercedes to Continue G-Wagen into 2015
As one of the forerunners of vehicle technology, Mercedes Benz has a longstanding tradition of providing their customers with the most cutting edge vehicles extant. From the S-Class luxury sedan to their AMG performance vehicles, their lineup is hardly lacking for a want of some gizmo and gadget.
With the exception of one vehicle: the Geländewagen. Known here as the G-Class, this boxy vehicle celebrated its 30th birthday this year with a pair of special editions that we will never see on these shores. Best compared to Toyota’s LandCruiser and Land Rover’s Defender, the basic G-wagen design has been unchanged since its inception. With exposed hinges, flat windows, and a boxy, five-door (although overseas markets get the very cool two door and convertible body styles) profile, the G-class is a far cry from the luxury of Mercedes’ other vehicles. And that’s for good reason.
And that’s because it’s not really a Mercedes. Although designed and engineered by Benz, the G-wagen is actually the product of Magna Steyr, an Austrian automobile assembler. Having churned out over 200,000 of the military-grade beasties, Steyr recently announced that Mercedes had contracted the company to continue to produce the current G-wagen for another 6 years, with production presumably ceasing in 2015. Already criticized in North American markets for being inanely behind the times and incongruous with Mercedes’ image, overseas they are seen as viable 4x4 products, with capable locking differentials front, center, and rear and robust, economical engines. Selected by our own armed forces as the general purpose vehicles of choice to replace the aging and deadly fleet of VW/Bombardier Iltis vehicles, the G-wagen has served overseas with some controversy as a result of its light armour.
