30th Anniverary G320cdi in RHD Limited Production Run
Is this an idea worth pushing? and if so, how?
I think it needs to be a limited production run, very small number, say 320 and all pesold to avoid threat to any existing markets.
I think Graz with MB should send out a world wide memo to all MB dealers for a response and indication of committment. This is such a simple thing to do. If the response is good then Graz can pretty quickly evaluate the costs and practicalities on the back of their experience with tha G55 RHD.
This Septembers face lift is a great looker and does do as MB says and brings it into the family with its new grill.
As a special run it should also be upgarded in terms of its already great list of standard equipment. Also bluetec.
Unfortunately, I think you're probably dreaming.
As mentioned previously it has nothing to do with Graz being willing or not to produce a RHD - it has to do with dealer commitment. And the problem is most dealers really don't care about the G when they can sell GLs, MLs, and GLKs.
As for willing buyers, they went down this route before and unfortunately there is a huge difference in getting people to say they will commit and those who actually put a down payment.
200 is the magic number to make it economical to re-engineer the cars and unless they can charge a very very big premium then it is not likely that they would do less.
As for the 30th Anniversary run, they have already announced next year's G and with the development schedule you would be lucky if you could get it by the end of next year or just in time for the 31st Anniversary...
I think you covered it there Max. New RHD is available to the few who can afford them. For the rest of us it is make do and mend.
Of course if you can get it done that would be great. But part of the reason I am sceptical is here in the UK we used to have a specialist G-Wagen dealer and the only real G dealer in the UK or world for that matter that specialised in RHD.
If memory serves, he tried numerous times to get RHD production restarted and even gave guaranteed minimum purchases per annum.
Mercedes wouldn't entertain the idea. They can only sell something like 12 RHD G55K per year and yet I think that roughly half of all their sales (including military) are RHD G55Ks so it is not the price of the base vehicle.
However if you do manage to push it through I am fairly certain that a friend would buy one.
I recall that in the 80's MB UK would only sell at best 9 or 10 per month of these vehicles and when the 463 came out, even less were sold. The problem, I think, was lack of advertising, so that most people did not know they existed, and then those that did know had to weigh up the cost, which was comparatively high when pitted against other 4x4s, such as the RR.
However, today I think the clean lines of the G would be seen as an attractive proposition for those wishing to drive something a little different to the generic-looking, bulbous 4x4 we have on the roads.
The G may not be the most practical 4x4 nor most comfortable for on-road use, but many cars today are sold, and sold very successfully, as lifestyle objects. Take the MINI, for instance. So whilst the G may not have been successful in terms of UK sales a decade or two ago, I think that now it stands a better chance, albeit with the problems of a worsening economy, higher fuel prices and higher taxes...
People have made some interesting and valid points on this thread, however the sad fact is MBUK would not want to have the G as part of their portfolio.
I asked the Head of MB World (Peter O'Halaren) located at Brooklands why they had every Mercedes ever produced, but no G Wagen, the initial response was because it was a;
'joint venture car between them and another manufacturer'
OK I said 'So why then do you have McLaren and Maybach?'
'Fair Point, Ok its not a UK official MB supplied car as they are all LHD's'
Ok - So why can I get a G55?'
'Your not going to make this easy for me are you?'
'Nope'
'Right we don't stock is or push it as we KNOW currently it would out sell and cut our ML and GL sales, so the GL has not taken off as we thought, but the ML is one of our most popular cars at the moment and we will not risk damaging those sales and they still have a few of the snr managers in MBUK who got burnt when the G failed last time we tried to carry it'
'OK Fair enough' said I. (why did he not say this from moment one????)
But as I am finding with my kids - Pester power can move mountains..
Spider1V - would like to see what the 320 would look/go like before he put his money down......
Spider1V - would like to see what the 320 would look/go like before he put his money down......
On paper it is faster at 0-100 than yours and has a marginally slower top speed but significantly better fuel economy....
All good points above and really no bad ones.
The car has developed incredibly since ours were all made and yes Arnie, its the only classic in this category. I don't count the defender because its a tractor in every sense of the word. yet they are sold the world over for their looks and so often to the well healed who if they new of the G's existance would jump at the chance to get into something with double the class, safety, reliability...!
Perhaps we should forget about the so called magic number of 200 and in particular looking to the MBUK dealers to achieve this. Instead just start with those who we know would would support the idea with an order. If the idea has any merit then with a little effort it will take off on its own, the magic number will be well in sight and the bad mouthing dealers will be left behind.
Achilles and Graz cannot but respond positively and helpfully to any such efforts. And lets face it, if the car does stop in 2010 then surely they would be minded to end on a note of good will - and, ending on a note of good will is not dreaming. It will be a sad occasion for Graz as its such an endearing car and has such a good future when brought in line with the economics of todays driving.
Bypass those that don't - they are not part of our circle anyway and nore will they have anything to say in the matter
The G is going beyond 2010. I think 2012/14 was mentioned. Also there are military contracts which need to be supported until 2020 or there about.
Trying to convince MB of further RHDs has been tried many times in the UK.... as Spider points out, none of the dealers want to deal with it. And the one independent who would, couldn't get them to budge.
Also most G fans in the UK aren't that bothered about LHD/RHD. At one of our last get togethers 90% of the Gs were LHD.
Japan is not an option as it is more prestigious for them to drive LHDs which are clearly imports.
But who knows, maybe with the Australian contract things may change. Not sure what volume they are commiting to but it may just help.
Spider1V wrote:
Spider1V - would like to see what the 320 would look/go like before he put his money down......
On paper it is faster at 0-100 than yours
eh? is the 320 Petrol or a CDI?
Spider1V - Confused...
eh? is the 320 Petrol or a CDI?
Spider1V - Confused...
7 speed CDI.
But you are not just looking for RHD buyers, you are targeting RHD diesel drivers of an expensive vehicle. The RHD is available on the market today. We are lucky to even have that available. From 2000-2005 you couldn't even get one.
I think the best we could hope for is something off the back of the Australian military order.
I wonder how well the Austrailians can count?
better than the Americans I could only presume
ie. would they notice if one disapperaed of the dockside? :lol:
just a thought?
M
I read in this thread many solid and convincing arguments for putting the CDI into RHD production... only that nobody in this forum needs convincing on the virtues of the G.... It's those MBUK snobs who need to be told that there would be enough demand in Britain if only they bothered to devote a fraction of what they invest in other vehicles in marketing the G.
But we all know that this is a lost battle.... or at least I know.
I wonder how well the Austrailians can count?
better than the Americans I could only presume
ie. would they notice if one disapperaed of the dockside? :lol:
just a thought?
M
hmmm like, it. like it...
Spider1V- being corrupted (slowly) by Marcus..... :twisted:
Yes, yes but...
Any request for open ended, RHD cdi production will have to invlove MBUK and will therefore meet with the same old difficulties, ignorance and predudices and will likey be refused. This is not the best first step,
surely a better way forward is to prepare a request for a SPECIAL ORDER; a finite number for a multiheaded (group) client at a Special Order Price,
this would be direct to Graz as might a military order and, in the first instance, it might only number 20 or 30 confirmed units. And these might well have to come with a pretty high price tag but, we must look at this as a device to to get past the refusals. Once we are taking then the Special Order might well double or treble and the conversion premium halved.
the new 320cdi has all the appeal, the distiction and economy of the globally successful Defender (and much much more). This is its market, not ML or GL buyers, and just like us they too would want to keep it confined to a one-off Special Order
The Defender market can hardly be considered to be the G's market when you are comparing two vehicles where the price difference is nearly 400%.
I would be extremely surprised if you could gather 20-30 people who would give you a deposit for a RHD G320. Those who want and can afford a RHD G are probably the same as those whoe would rather have a G55K.
How much would you expect the price differentiation betwen a LHD G320 and a RHD Special Edition G320? It would have to be at least the price difference between a LHD G55K and a RHD G55K. Which would basically push it into the same price bracket as the G55K.
There are few people out there willing to spend £100,000 on a 4x4 other than those who only want it to pose with as they drive through Knightsbridge. And for them they will want the most expensive 4x4 with an AMG badge.
I think you would have better chance of getting a 461 worker in RHD than you would a G320 or any other 463 other than the G55K.
The Defender driver is no different than the rest of us - the car is conveying an image. But the defender image is specific and, in-addition-to that of everyday needs. So I think of the Defender as a luxury (though muddy) image and therefore price is a secondary issue. Also, I don't think LHD 320s fit that interpretation of gumboot luxury, and the G55 is very much excluded from that market. Think or Barbour clothing if you can bear the thought.
The unrelenting success of this "tractor" amongst the well healed proves just how rediculously strong this muddy luxury image is. Land Rover must have been clutching their arses for the last 10 years watching the G classs development compared with the almost zero development of their own car. While we have been fighting with the UK MB dealership for G recognition and promotion, they will have been laughing at the shear blindness of them.
And this really is the stumbling block for the G in the UK. It has never been presented to the appropriate market. Even the massively eccessive G55 is a failure for this same reason. It really only exists in the fatness of the USofA and their few outposts - Knightsbridge, Geneva, Moscow...!
Look at where at where the G class is most successful - Europe, and which is their biggest seller - the 320cdi! (I've no facts and this is only intuative guessing). This is what the UK is missing out on.
All I'm trying to do is bypass these frustrations of old and the inevitable refusal, and get into some promising discussion. As I've already said, if we can avoid the usual instant refusal and get a discussion going on the basis of a one-off special order then problems of an economic number and price might begin to reslove themselves.
Anyway, I would still be foolishly battling UK Tourist Delivery had it not been for the worthy contribution of all so, thank you and I hope we get a little further.
To be honest I dont think we need a RHD version. I used to have a RHD G300 and used to drive in in Luxembourg when I lived there. Not once did I ever have a problem with visibility as the high driving position gives you a clear view over all other cars. Similarly left in the UK will be no problem either.
LHD is an issue in NZ and Australia because you can't register a LHD vehicle. Another obsticle for RHD sales in UK is that people are happy with LHD so won't pay a premium
LHD is an issue in NZ and Australia because you can't register a LHD vehicle. Another obsticle for RHD sales in UK is that people are happy with LHD so won't pay a premium
Here in NZ no problem
John
Look at where at where the G class is most successful - Europe, and which is their biggest seller - the 320cdi! (I've no facts and this is only intuative guessing). This is what the UK is missing out on.
Actually this is why I doubt it will be successful. They sell 50% more G55K per year than they do G320s. The G320 doesn't even make up a quarter of G-Class sales.
They sell marginally more G500s than they do G55s, but it is certainly the best selling model of G.
But the real reason why I doubt you will see G320 production in RHD is that they did produce a RHD G500, but even with it being the best selling G model, they couldn't sell enough of those to keep it in production.
Look, I admit that I'm a G Fanatic and really LHD shouldn't matter. But somehow its second best and I'm probably thing of all else who love using Beryl more than myself. I would just not be happy with my wife or kids and even their friend driving on the wrong side in a car I'm responsible for.
Anyway, am I really that far off the mark with Defender analogy. And Tanex what say you to A RHD if you had a choice?
Also most defender owners I know couldn't afford the £80-100K a G would set them back....
oh well
Look, I admit that I'm a G Fanatic and really LHD shouldn't matter. But somehow its second best and I'm probably thing of all else who love using Beryl more than myself. I would just not be happy with my wife or kids and even their friend driving on the wrong side in a car I'm responsible for.
Anyway, am I really that far off the mark with Defender analogy. And Tanex what say you to A RHD if you had a choice?
Honestly, a RHD is second best in terms of design and finish. In one of the other threads you started it is being discussed about all the shortcomings in a RHD.
You really should drive a LHD G in a RHD country. I find it much safer as you do have a better grasp of the road. The height is sufficient that you don't have to worry about having a blocked view by being up so high.
Even given the option of a RHD at the same price, I would still prefer a LHD G. Though in any other car I would want a RHD.
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Well, dreams have achieved bigger things!
I'm going to approach the MB distributors in NZ and test their response. Tanick, if you're there tell me what you think. We may also get Australia involved if the distribution is linked.
It might be that we can get a fairly quick local response and go to Herr Achilles/Graz for a price based on say min 30 units. Ofcourse there will be a premium but then its way under priced anyway.
Just need some starters and then I think others will show themselves. Think it has to be spontaneous and pushy, no time for window shoppers.