June 4: Mercedes-Benz G wagon grows up

Humble beginnings. The very practical little G wagon (originally Gelandewagon for cross country vehicle) has been in the Benz line up for over 32 years. Wonder how many of those very wealthy city folks cruising the rough and tumble streets around their mansions would recognize this original version? This tough little number had no pretensions to be anything but a hard working truck for German farmers. But times change and Mercedes listened.

Back in the '80's there was a "gray" market (gray = independent importers) in the US for this little truck, since Mercedes didn't see an opportunity in North America. Why anyone felt they needed one of these G's I'll never know. But as always things change and Benz started importing them, but not as a plain old workaday truck, oh no, when the G arrived in the M-B showrooms it was a fully uptown vehicle..............

This very civilized G had all the high end luxury car fittings and was priced about the same as their uber luxury S class sedan. Go figure. They even made an AMG version for those wanting something a bit more sporty and quicker. Let me tell you readers, nothing, absolutely nothing, would make this truck sporty. Never figure out why our cash rich citizens would want to cruise their hoods in this lump, but each to his own.

Super luxury, but still very capable........

Our Canadian forces checked out a variety of trucks and ended up buying a boat load of G's for the army. They come in handy for tracking down senators who fudge their expense accountants (how would Mike Duffy fare one to one against an army G?). By the way, these military versions don't pack the G63 motor (more's the pity).

As I've said before, things evolve and if you can think of something, more than likely there is a customer for it. So what's next for the humble, little G? Take a look.......

Yeah baby! This over the top concept will no doubt spawn a few production versions for the urban country squire wanting something a little less common. Using the G63 544 HP drivetrain, this G63 AMG 6x6 can haul its ass to 60 mph in a mere 7 seconds. Not bad at all for a beast of this size. And certainly fast enough to surprise a few Smart cars as they disappear under your front tires. You want luxury? You got it, as nothing has been left out.......

Dual thrones  -  it's almost worth having your 6x6 chauffeur driven. I mean, who would really want to drive this beast, when they could sit in the lap of luxury, while checking their stock market reports?

Humble beginnings. Who would ever have seen this transformation? Still an ugly duckling, but with all the trimmings of a swan (nice turn of phrase). Wonder what's next for the little G?

Until next time........