High end S.U.V.s!!!!!

J

jchubb

Joined
Sep 14, 2000
Messages
224
Went to the L.A. Auto Show..... drool ...drool

Hello, I went to the Los Angeles CA. Auto show and saw all of the new 4x4s and s.u.v.s. After seeing all of them I really liked the 4 door G-class Mercedes Benz.

Really neat, then I went to a dealer to test drive one. Drives great and I like everything, but the bad spot is the price. MSRP is 74k which is typical for a Mercedes Benz, however the vehicle is sooo rare and scarce that the USA dealers are asking a hellbending premium over the standard price. 25k!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!

I still am under the immpression that there is a raging reccession still going on. And a super tight economy with 100s of thousands of layoffs to match.!!! This apperently has no effect on high priced autos?? ( I somehow think it does), but things are not bad enough yet for them possibly.
Who knows! I just think that auto dealers still want to gouge the heck out of the public.

Heck just look what is happening to Ford.!!!
 
I was looking at SUV's about 6 months ago, front end of recession.

The Acura MDX looked about right....big enough, enough power, 4WD... I asked this dolled up female lot salesperson (salesgurl?) if the dealer had much room to work on these. She piped up, with a brush-back of her bangs, that "supply was a bit scarce, and they had a waiting list...".

Boom. I shut the hatch and said "Ok, thanks... not interested in paying anything close to sticker".

If the vehicle is new, and supply is below demand, you gotta bite your impulses and just walk, or have money to burn in dealer profit that just "vanishes" when you drive off the lot.

I can't believe the Merc would command a $25k premium over sticker. That is just absurd and firmly planted in the "if you have to ask, you can't ride the hot trend" category. Reminds me of Emerson and Ryan stuff, only worse, as it depreciates faster.
 
Sorry if this offends, but I find the idea of having a 3+ thousand pound 4wD that gets 14 miles per gallon to drive around town disturbing. Get the Audi Quatro instead and leave the heavy equipment to the backwoods.
 
You can find inbound G500's all day and night for MSRP...at least in New York.
 
Originally posted by Snow
Two words boys: Range Rover.
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Unfortunately, I think the 2003 looks hideous (nice gut though)....but I hear its a much better vehicle than the previous RR- which wasn't so great.

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Maybe it's just as well. I think I remember reading in Consumers that the Mercedes SUV rate-of-repair records were dismal, surprising for Mercedes. I think I'd be looking at the BMW X5 in this class instead.

Joe
 
High end SUV's; I just don't get it!
I bought a new 95 Toyota 4Runner at $30K which I thought was very expensive (at least for me). My wife and I absolutely love it. Haven't done a thing to it except for changing the oil and filter every 5K miles. It now has 60K miles on it and runs great. Someone please tell me what all these other High end SUV's do that my 4Runner can't. Granted, some folks might need a little more room in the vehicle, but GEEEEZ, some of these things are huge, and ugly. I mean, what's the deal with the Lincoln, and Range Rovers. I couldn't imagine being seen in such a huge and hideous beast.
I think what it all boils down to is a show of status symbols. Seems that some folks use their possessions the wrong way.
I'm sorry if this offends anyone but it's the truth. I mean, who needs a $100K MB SUV?
Lenny
 
Lenny pretty much nailed it. I go hunting in the National Forest a lot. I can't say I've ever seen one of the "status oriented" SUVs out there, but I see plenty of trucks and "low end" SUVs.

My Toyota Paseo sees more offroad time than most (all?) Lincoln Navigators.

Chris
 
Ditto what Lenny said.

I almost bought 4-runner, but ended up with Pathfinder, for reasons of the 4-runner's price and space mostly, other boring stuff.

There is no real legit reason for the BMW and Merc SUV's to exist. Those companies just want in on the trendy wave to own an SUV, at the high end. If the upper-middle ducks quack, feed 'em.

I'm sure profits are much higher on SUV's than on regular sedans for most of the vendors. You can't get a decently equipped decent SUV for under $28k.

I guess if you wanted something with an SUV's ground clearance and/or ability to drive on snow (w/ 4wd or AWD), and didn't care about the price, the BMW is probably great (although not that roomy). I test drove a couple BMW sedans a few years ago. Jeez those are great cars to drive...don't test drive one for fun... you may get stuck buying it. I almost did. Maybe a beemer will fit my budget later in life.

One odd point, indicative of this whole SUV trend: I figured it would be easy to find a new 4WD Pathfinder here in Louisiana, proud home of the 4WD pickup truck, about like most southern states (lots of hunting, fishing and boat pulling goes on down here). I wanted 4WD for hunting, involving off-roading, mud, slop, etc. There wasn't a single 4WD Pathfinder in the color I wanted (silver) in the state. Had to source from Mississippi, and that state had one. Unbelievable. Something like 95% to 98% of SUV's are sold as 2WD in the mid-south! If that doesn't tell you that the SUV trend is a big fluffy puffed up trendy bubble among the soccer moms...

In the flat lands (La, Tx), where torrential rains bring street flooding, the SUV has a claim to exist. Where people pull boats and don't do much offroad, another claim for the 2WD. Otherwise, those that think they are safer are only partly right... lots of "soccer moms" are flipping these high center of gravity vehicles in emergency maneuvers. They'd generally be better served with station wagons (but those are so passe right now :rolleyes: ), so the automakers laugh all the way to the bank, selling truck chassis or drives-like-a-truck SUV's to these people. Oh well, no accounting for taste.
 
Originally posted by hso
Sorry if this offends, but I find the idea of having a 3+ thousand pound 4wD that gets 14 miles per gallon to drive around town disturbing. Get the Audi Quatro instead and leave the heavy equipment to the backwoods.
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my sentiments exactly. Unless you are planning on some serious off-road duty a Quattro is the perfect auto.
 
Originally posted by rdangerer
Something like 95% to 98% of SUV's are sold as 2WD in the mid-south! If that doesn't tell you that the SUV trend is a big fluffy puffed up trendy bubble among the soccer moms...
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Truer words have never been spoken. Someone a year or so ago told me that same thing about SUVs in the south and I was just as alarmed. To have an SUV and never use the 4WD is one thing, but to NOT EVEN HAVE 4WD on your SUV, to me, is just plain stupid. That is like getting a Corvette with the engine of a Prizm. The whole point of getting an SUV is the 4WD, just like the whole point of getting a Corvette is the powerful engine.

For a while I wasn't exactly sure that you could even get a Jeep or a Pathfinder or a Tahoe in 2WD because I guess it never crossed my mind that someone would want one. To each his own I guess.

Bucky
 
I just have to chime in on this one.

I firmly believe in the right of anyone to spend their money in any way they want, even if it seems foolish to me. Having said that, I can't see why anyone would want one of these "high end" SUV's. They do nothing well, and are horribly expensive. Look at the belly of any SUV these days, and see all the low hanging fruit waiting to be ripped off by a rock or ice chunk.

I think the only really capable SUV's out there (new) are the Unimog and Gelandewagen, with the Hummer a very distant third. The Land Cruisers were emasculated in 1998 when they dropped the solid front axle and switched to a semi-floating rear axle. Undoubtably, it's still more than most people need, but it's nowhere near the quality and durability that it used to be.

I prefer a 4x4 with a very strong frame, solid axles, gear driven transfer case, PTO (for a winch), full floating rear axle, and good ground clearance. But then, I use mine in ways that most people would cringe at.

It all depends on your needs and wants.
 
I drive a big 4x4 station wagon. AM General makes it...

I would have gone for a Unimog, but the parts/service issues put me off. Plus, every now and then I have to drive on a freeway, and the Mog is too slow.
 
I have a BMW X5 because I wanted something that drove like a BMW and still gave the high driver visability and increased space of an SUV/truck. I do feel that fulltime 4WD is an advantage for highway driving. Audis are decent but do not have the height--same for the BMW wagon. The only bad thing about the X5 is that it's a little small and it's not cheap. Note that none of this has anything to do with offroad capability--where the X5 maybe gets a "fair" rating, if that.

Navigators and such are exercises in American excess--we have an long history of building land yachts, and there continues to be a market that appreciates them.
 
I was shopping for an SUV post 9-11 and wanted to purchase an American vehicle this time around.

Due to various offers I was able to purchase a 2002 Eddie Bauer Explorer with 4X4, V-8, Leather, 290 watt/6 speaker/6 cd changer with subwoofer, Side Curtain Airbags and Running Boards for invoice price with zero percent financing and no money down.

It has all the "niceties" I need for the road, and enough ability to take me to the trailheads or "put in" locations when I'm in the mountains.

So far in the first couple of thousand miles it's exceeded my expectations.
 

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Originally posted by bae
Don't running boards kinda defeat the purpose of having a 4x4?
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They are convenience for now down here in South FL. If they become a problem later on the trails or when I move out of here in a couple of years, I'll just remove 'em.
 
Well, the trend is obvious, right? There is a compromise of self-image for many people in buying a minivan or station wagon. Although we can scoff and talk about how irrational or immature that is, I have to admit to succumbing to it myself. I take my SUV off-road a couple times a year. I probably would have been better off getting a mini-van, and leasing or borrowing a friend's 4x4 for offroading. But hey, all of us have our faults, and breaking out into a cold sweat when I even contemplate driving around in a minivan is mine. Hey, as faults go, there are worse!

Anyway, given that you're looking at an SUV because you need more room, but won't buy a station wagon or minivan, and given that you won't be going off-roading much, then the next natural step is to find an SUV that will make the pavement driving experience as pleasant as possible. I think this trend is obvious and very easy to understand, and you guys are just pretending not to understand the motivation behind these kinds of SUV buyers :)

That said, the quote about the high-end SUVs not doing anything well isn't really true. A BMW X-5 will blow away most cars on pavement, much less other "trucks"!

And, BTW, I've finally reached the point where I'm looking to trade my SUV in for a minivan, sigh. Luckily, my wife will drive the minivan, I still drive the cool car.

Joe
 
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